Rent (often stylized as RENT) is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson^[1] based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

The musical was first seen in a limited three-week workshop production at New York Theatre Workshop in 1994. This same New York City off-Broadway theatre was also the musical's initial home following its official January 25, 1996 opening. The show's creator, Jonathan Larson, died suddenly the night before the off-Broadway premiere. The show won a Pulitzer Prize, and the production was a hit. The musical moved to Broadway's larger Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996.^[2]

On Broadway, Rent gained critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical among other awards. The Broadway production closed on September 7, 2008 after a 12-year run of 5,124 performances, the ninth-longest-running Broadway show at the time. The production grossed over $280 million.^[3]

The success of the show led to several national tours and numerous foreign productions. In 2005 it was adapted into a motion picture that features most of the original cast members.

Concept and genesis[link]

In 1988, playwright Billy Aronson wanted to create "a musical based on Puccini's La Bohème, in which the luscious splendor of Puccini's world would be replaced with the coarseness and noise of modern New York."^[4] In 1989 Jonathan Larson, a 29-year-old composer, began collaborating with Aronson on this project, and the two composed a few songs together, including "Santa Fe", "Splatter" (later re-worked into the song "Rent"), and "I Should Tell You". Larson made the suggestion to set the play in the East Village, the artsy avant-garde neighborhood of Manhattan down the street from his Greenwich Village apartment, and also came up with the show's ultimate title (a decision that Aronson was unhappy with, at least until Larson pointed out that "rent" also means torn apart.). In 1991, he asked Aronson if he could use Aronson's original concept and make Rent his own. Larson had ambitious expectations for Rent; his ultimate dream was to write a rock opera "to bring musical theater to the MTV generation."^[5] Aronson and Larson made an agreement that if the show went to Broadway, Aronson would share in the proceeds.^[5]

Jonathan Larson focused on composing Rent in the early 1990s, waiting tables at the Moondance Diner to support himself. Over the course of seven years, Larson wrote hundreds of songs and made many drastic changes to the show, which in its final incarnation contained forty-two songs. In the fall of 1992, Larson approached James Nicola, artistic director of New York Theatre Workshop, with a tape and copy of Rent's script. When Rent had its first staged reading at New York Theatre Workshop in March 1993, it became evident that despite its very promising material and moving musical numbers, many structural problems needed to be addressed including its cumbersome length and overly complex plot.^[5]

As of 1994, the New York Theatre Workshop version of Rent featured songs that never made it to the final version, such as "You're A Fool", Voice Mail #4","Come To The Meeting","Open Road", "He Says","On The Street #1-3", "You'll Get Over It", the predecessor of "Tango: Maureen," featuring Mark and Maureen; "Right Brain", the predecessor to "One Song Glory," featuring Roger; "Do A Little Business", the predecessor of "You'll See," featuring Benny, Mark, Roger, Collins, and Angel; "Female to Female A & B," featuring Maureen and Joanne; and "Real Estate", a number where Benny tries to convince Mark to become a real estate agent and drop his film making. This workshop version of Rent starred Anthony Rapp as Mark and Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi. Larson continued to work on Rent, gradually reworking its flaws and staging more workshop productions.^[6]

On January 24, 1996, after the musical's final dress rehearsal before its off-Broadway opening, Larson enjoyed his first (and only) newspaper interview with music critic Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times, attracted by the coincidence that the show was debuting exactly 100 years after Puccini's opera. Larson would not live to see Rent's success; he died from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm (believed to have resulted from Marfan syndrome) in the early morning of January 25, 1996. The first preview of Rent was canceled and instead, friends and family gathered at the theater where the actors performed a sing-through of Rent in Larson's memory.^[5] The show premiered as planned and quickly gained popularity fueled by enthusiastic reviews and the recent death of its composer. It proved extremely successful during its off-Broadway run, selling out all its shows at the 150-seat New York Theatre Workshop.^[2] Due to such overwhelming popularity and a need for a larger theater, Rent moved to Broadway's previously derelict Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street on April 29, 1996.^[2]

Sources and inspiration[link]

Larson's inspiration for Rent's content came from several different sources. Many of the characters and plot elements are drawn directly from Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème, the world premiere of which was in 1896 –- 100 years before Rent's premiere.^[4] La bohème was also about the lives of poor young artists. Tuberculosis, the plague of Puccini's opera, is replaced by AIDS in Rent; 1800s Paris is replaced by New York's East Village in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The names and identities of Rent's characters also heavily reflect Puccini's original characters, though they are not all direct adaptations. For example, Joanne in Rent represents the character of Alcindoro in Bohème, but is also partially based on Marcello. Also, Joanne is the only Rent character whose predecessor in La bohème is the opposite gender.

Other examples of parallels between Larson's and Puccini's work include Larson's song "Light My Candle", which is nearly identical to the first scene between Mimi and Rodolfo in La bohème, "Quando me n'vo (Musetta's Waltz)", a melody taken directly from Puccini's opera, and "Goodbye Love", a long, painful piece that reflects a confrontation and parting between characters in both Puccini's and Larson's work.^[8] "Quando me n' vo' " is paralleled in the first verse of "Take Me or Leave Me," when Maureen describes the way people stare when she walks in the street. It is also directly referred to in the scene where the characters are celebrating their bohemian life. Mark says, "Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song..." Roger plays a quick piece, and Mark adds, "...that doesn't remind us of 'Musetta's Waltz'."

Rent is also a somewhat autobiographical work, as Larson incorporated many elements of his life into his show. Larson lived in New York for many years as a starving artist with an uncertain future. He sacrificed a life of stability for his art, and shared many of the same hopes and fears as his characters. Like his characters he endured poor living conditions, and some of these conditions (e.g. illegal wood-burning stove, bathtub in the middle of his kitchen, broken buzzer [his guests had to call from the pay phone across the street and he would throw down the keys, as in "Rent"]) made their way into the play.^[9] Part of the motivation behind the storyline in which Maureen leaves Mark for a woman (Joanne) is based on the fact that Larson's own girlfriend left him for a woman. The Mark Cohen character is based on Larson's friend, documentary filmmaker Eddie Rosenstein.

Playwright Sarah Schulman alleged that Rent bore striking similarities to her novel People in Trouble.^[10]

The line, "I'm more of a man than you'll ever be... and more of a woman than you'll ever get!", attributed to Angel Dumott Schunard at his funeral, was previously used by the character Hollywood Montrose, who appeared in the films Mannequin (1987) and Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991). Like Angel, Hollywood is a flamboyantly homosexual man who performs a song and dance number and sometimes wears women's clothing; however, the line was originally in the film Car Wash (1976) as delivered by Antonio Fargas, a flamboyant homosexual cross dresser.

The earliest concepts of the characters differ largely from the finished products. Everyone except Mark had AIDS, including Maureen and Joanne; Maureen was a serious, angry character who played off Oedipus in her performance piece instead of Hey Diddle Diddle; Mark was, at one point, a painter instead of a filmmaker; Roger was named Ralph and wrote musical plays; Angel was a jazz philosopher, while Collins was a street performer; Angel and Collins were both originally described as Caucasian; and Benny had a somewhat enlarged role in the story, taking part in songs like "Real Estate", which was later cut.^[11]

Life Café

Many actual locations and events are included in, or are the inspiration for, elements of the musical. The Life Café, where the "La Vie Boheme" numbers are set, is an actual restaurant in the East Village of New York City.^[12][13] The riot at the end of the first act is based on the East Village conflicts of the late 1980s that arose as a result of the city-imposed curfew in Tompkins Square Park.^[13]

"Will I?", a song which takes place during a Life Support meeting and expresses the pain and fear of living a life with AIDS, was inspired by a real event. Larson attended a meeting of Friends in Deed, an organization that helps people deal with illness and grief, much like Life Support. After that first time, Larson attended the meetings regularly. During one meeting, a man stood up and said that he was not afraid of dying. He did say, however, that there was one thing of which he was afraid: Would he lose his dignity? From this question stemmed the first line in the single stanza of this song. The people present at the Life Support meeting in the show, such as Gordon, Ali, and Pam carry the names of Larson's friends who died of AIDS. In the Broadway show, the names of the characters in that particular scene (they introduce themselves) are changed nightly to honor the friends of the cast members who are living with or have died from AIDS.^[14]

The scene and song "Life Support" was also based on Friends in Deed, as well as on Gordon, Pam, and Ali. Originally, the members of Life Support had a solid block of the "forget regret" refrain, and they talked about remembering love. When Jonathan's HIV positive friends heard this scene, they told him that having AIDS was not so easy to accept: it made you angry and resentful too, and the song did not match that. Jonathan then added a part where Gordon says that he has a problem with this "credo...my T-cells are low, I regret that news, okay?" Paul, the leader of the meeting, replies, "Okay...but, Gordon, how do you feel today?" Gordon admits that he is feeling the best that he has felt all year. Paul asks, "Then why choose fear?" Gordon says, "I'm a New Yorker. Fear's my life."

Lynn Thomson controversy[link]

Lynn Thomson was a dramaturg who was hired by New York Theatre Workshop to help rework Rent. She claimed that between early May and the end of October 1995, she and Larson co-wrote a "new version" of the musical. She sued the Larson estate for $40 million USD and sought 16% of the show's royalties, claiming she had written a significant portion of the lyrics and the libretto of the "new version" of Rent.

During the trial, Thomson could not recall the lyrics to the songs that she wrote or the structures of the libretto she created. The judge ruled against her and gave the Jonathan Larson Estate full credit and right to Rent. A federal appellate court upheld the original ruling on appeal. In August 1998, the case was settled out of court. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.^[15]

Musical numbers[link]

Synopsis[link]

This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2009)

Rent at David Nederlander Theatre in Manhattan, New York City

Act I[link]

On Christmas Eve at 9 P.M. Mark Cohen, an aspiring filmmaker, begins a new documentary, as his roommate, Roger Davis, tunes up his guitar ("Tune Up #1") but they are quickly interrupted by a call from Mark's mother, who wishes Mark a Merry Christmas and claims she was sorry to hear about his recent break-up with Maureen Johnson ("Voicemail #1"). Roger and Mark's friend Tom Collins, a gay anarchist and college professor, arrives at their building but is mugged before he can enter. Meanwhile, Roger and Mark receive a call from their former friend and roommate Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III. After marrying a woman from a wealthy family, Benny bought Mark and Roger's apartment building, as well as the lot next door. He tells them last year's rent is due, despite his promise to let them live there for free ("Tune Up #2"). Mark and Roger refuse to pay their rent ("Rent"). Meanwhile, a drag queen named Angel Dumott Schunard (appearing in men's clothing for this scene) finds Collins on the street and gets him on his feet ("You Okay Honey?"). The revelation that they both have AIDS kindles friendship.

Back at the loft, Mark tries to get Roger out of the apartment, but Roger refuses. Mark reveals that Roger has been living in withdrawal for the past year due to his girlfriend April's suicide. Mark leaves to find Collins after reminding Roger to take his AZT ("Tune Up #3"). Roger attempts to write a great song to make his mark on the world before he dies of AIDS ("One Song Glory"). Their downstairs neighbor, a club dancer and drug addict named Mimi Marquéz walks in, asking Roger to light a candle for her, only to continually blow it out so that she may flirt with him ("Light My Candle").

Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer and Maureen's new girlfriend, receives a phone call from her parents, wondering why she is stage managing for Maureen's protest and reminding her that she has to attend her mother's confirmation hearings ("Voicemail #2"). Angel, now in drag, and Collins arrive bearing gifts including alcohol and a box of Cap'n Crunch. Collins introduces Angel to his friends ("Today 4 U"). Benny arrives with an offer: if they convince Maureen to cancel her protest against him building a Cyber Studio in the lot next door, he'll let them live in his new studio project, rent-free ("You'll See"). However, the two rebuff his offer. After Benny leaves, Angel and Collins invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, a local HIV support group meeting.

Mark hurries off to help fix Maureen's sound equipment for the protest, only to run into Maureen's new girlfriend Joanne, and the two of them commiserate about Maureen's flighty, unfaithful ways ("Tango: Maureen"). He then enters—slightly late—into the support group meeting ("Life Support"). Meanwhile, Mimi attempts to seduce Roger ("Out Tonight") but Roger, afraid to fall in love again, harshly rebuffs her ("Another Day"). After Mimi leaves, Roger admits to an empty apartment his fears about dying from AIDS while the group at Life Support admits their fears as well ("Will I?").

On their way to Maureen's protest, Collins, Mark and Angel help a homeless woman who is being harassed by police officers. She then mocks Mark for trying to assuage his guilt while not really doing anything to help them ("On the Street"). Collins talks about his dream of escaping New York and opening up a restaurant in Santa Fe ("Santa Fe"). Soon after, Collins and Angel confess their love for each other and begin a relationship ("I'll Cover You"). Joanne exasperatedly prepares for Maureen's show ("We're Okay").

Roger intercepts Mimi on her way to buy drugs and apologizes for his behavior. He invites her to come to the protest and dinner with them, to which she agrees. Meanwhile, people from the streets protest for not having a place to spend Christmas ("Christmas Bells").

Maureen arrives and begins her performance: A thinly-veiled criticism of Benny through a metaphor involving a cow and a bulldog, culminating in her urging the crowd to "moo" with her ("Over The Moon"). At the Life Café after the show, Benny criticizes the protest and the group's Bohemian lifestyle, declaring that Bohemia is dead. Mark and all the bohemians in the café rise up and celebrate the Bohemian lifestyle, paying tribute to everything they love, driving Benny from the café ("La Vie Boheme A").

Mimi confronts Roger about ignoring her during dinner. Roger tries to explain that he has baggage, but Mimi isn't fazed. Then, as Mimi's beeper goes off (reminding her to take her AZT) she and Roger each discover that the other is HIV-positive ("I Should Tell You"). Joanne returns, explaining that Mark and Roger's building has been padlocked and that Benny has called the police in response to the evicted residents of Avenue B rioting and "mooing" in the streets. As the first act closes, Mark reveals that amidst the riot, Roger and Mimi share their first kiss ("La Vie Boheme B").

Act II[link]

Cast of Rent performing "Seasons of Love" at Broadway on Broadway, 2005.

Opening with "Seasons of Love" - a song which contemplates how to measure a year in a life - the second act takes place over the course of the year following the first act, beginning on New Years Eve ("Seasons of Love").

Having been locked out of their apartment by Benny; Mark, Roger, and the Bohemians gather to break-in ("Happy New Year A"). We learn through a series of voicemails ("Voicemail #3") that Mark had filmed the riot which had made the nightly news and gained him the attention of media producer Alexi Darling.

The others finally break through the door just as Benny arrives. He says he's there to call a truce, but the group doesn't trust him. He reveals that Mimi, a former girlfriend of his, convinced him to change his mind by making sexual advances on him. Mimi denies seducing Benny, but the revelation that they had once been together upsets Roger and he briefly rebuffs her before Angel settles everyone down. Roger and Mimi both apologize, but Mimi remains upset, and turns to the drug dealer for a fix ("Happy New Year B").

While setting up for another protest, Maureen and Joanne have a fight, giving each other relationship ultimatums. Maureen's flirtatious ways and Joanne's controlling behavior are too much for the other to take, so they break up ("Take Me Or Leave Me"). The company sings a reprise of "Seasons of Love", as time passes and seasons change ("Seasons of Love B"). By spring, Roger and Mimi's relationship becomes strained. Roger keeps talking about moving out of town. Mimi comes home late again, causing Roger to believe that she is cheating on him with Benny. Roger jealously storms out, Mimi stops him and tries to tell him the truth, that she is not cheating and that she is still using drugs, but can't get the words out, and Roger leaves. Alone in the apartment, Mimi sings of her love for Roger, and elsewhere, Roger sings of his love for Mimi ("Without You"). Collins continues nursing Angel who is very sick as AIDS begins to overtake him. Mark continues to receive calls from Alexi Darling at Buzzline, a tabloid news program ("Voicemail #4"). Eventually, Roger and Mimi, and Joanne and Maureen, reconcile.

They then break up just as quickly ("Contact"). At the same time, Angel dies, leaving Collins heartbroken ("I'll Cover You [Reprise]"). At Angel's funeral, Mark expresses his fear of being the only one left surviving when the rest of his friends die of AIDS ("Halloween"). He finally accepts the job offer from Buzzline. Roger reveals that he is leaving New York for Santa Fe, which sparks an argument about commitment between him and Mimi, and Maureen and Joanne. Collins arrives and admonishes the entire group for fighting on the day of Angel's funeral. Maureen and Joanne realize their fighting is petty, and they reconcile. Mimi tries to go to Roger, but he turns away. After everyone leaves, Mark confronts Roger about his behavior towards Mimi. As the two friends fight, Mark reveals that Roger's feelings aren't jealousy towards Benny, but fear of losing Mimi to AIDS. As Roger leaves, he runs into Mimi, who claims that she heard everything and just wanted to tell Roger goodbye ("Goodbye Love").

Roger and Mark both have an artistic epiphany, as Roger finds his song in Mimi and Mark finds his film in Angel's memory. Roger returns to New York just in time for Christmas, and Mark quits Buzzline to work on his own film ("What You Own").

Worried about their children not answering their calls, the cast's parents leave several messages on their phones ("Voice Mail #5"). On Christmas Eve, one year to date from where the show started, Mark has finished his film and is ready to screen it. Roger has found his song but can't find Mimi anywhere. Collins enters with handfuls of cash, revealing that he reprogrammed an ATM at a convenience store to provide money to anybody with the code (A-N-G-E-L). Maureen and Joanne abruptly enter carrying Mimi, who is very weak and close to death. She begins to fade, but not before telling Roger that she loves him ("Finale A"). Roger tells her to hold on as he plays her the song he wrote for her, which reveals the depths of his feelings for her ("Your Eyes"). Mimi appears to die, but suddenly awakens. She says that she was heading into a light, but Angel told her to go back. The surviving Bohemians and Benny gather together to rejoice and resolve to enjoy whatever time they have left with each other and reaffirm that there is "no day but today" ("Finale B").^[16]

Main characters[link]

• Mark Cohen (baritone/tenor): A struggling Jewish documentary filmmaker and the narrator of the show. He is Roger's and Collins's roommate until Collins moves out; he is also Maureen's ex-boyfriend.
• Roger Davis (tenor): A once successful but now struggling musician who is HIV positive and an ex-junkie. He hopes to write one last meaningful song before he dies. He is having a hard time coping with the fact that he, along with many others around him, knowing that they are going to die. His girlfriend, April, killed herself after finding out they had HIV. He is roommates with Mark.
• Mimi Márquez (alto/belter): A club dancer and drug addict.^[17] She lives downstairs from Mark and Roger, and is Roger's love interest that, like him, has HIV. She is also Benny's ex-lover.
• Tom Collins (baritone/tenor): A gay anarchist with AIDS. He is described by Mark as a "computer genius, teacher, and vagabond anarchist who ran naked through the Parthenon." Collins dreams of opening a restaurant in Santa Fe, where the problems in New York will not affect him and his friends. He was formerly a roommate of Roger, Mark, Benny, and Maureen, then just Roger and Mark, until he moves in with Angel.
• Angel Dumott Schunard (tenor, often with falsetto): A young drag queen, street percussionist with AIDS. He is Collins's love interest.
• Maureen Johnson (mezzo soprano/belter): A lesbian ^[7] performance artist who is Mark's ex-girlfriend and Joanne's current girlfriend. She is very flirtatious and cheated on Mark a lot.
• Joanne Jefferson (mezzo soprano/belter): An Ivy League-educated public interest lawyer^[17] and a lesbian. Joanne is the woman for whom Maureen left Mark. Joanne has very important parents (one is undergoing confirmation to be a judge, the other is a government official.)
• Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III (baritone/tenor): Landlord of Mark, Roger and Mimi's apartment building and ex-roommate of Mark, Collins, Roger, and Maureen. Now married to Alison Grey of the Westport Greys, a very wealthy family involved in real estate, and he is considered a yuppie scum and a sell-out by his ex-roommates. He is also Mimi's ex-lover, although he considers himself her ex-boyfriend.

Minor characters[link]

• Mrs. Cohen: Mark's stereotypical Jewish mother. Her voicemail messages are the basis for the songs Voicemail #1, Voicemail #3, and Voicemail #5.
• Alexi Darling: The producer of Buzzline who tries to employ Mark after his footage of the riot makes primetime. Sings Voicemail #3 and Voicemail #4.
• Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson: The wealthy parents of Joanne Jefferson, they leave her Voicemail #2. Mr. Jefferson is also one of the a cappella singers in Voicemail #5. Mrs. Jefferson usually sings the female solo in Seasons of Love.
• Mrs. Davis: Roger's confused mother who calls in Voicemail #5, asking continuously, "Roger, where are you?"
• Mrs. Marquez: Mimi's Spanish-speaking mother who sings in Voicemail #5, wondering, in Spanish, where she is.
• Mr. Grey: Benny's father-in-law who wants to buy out the lot.
• The Man: The local drug dealer whom Mimi buys from and Roger used to buy from.
• Paul: The man in charge of the Life Support group.
• Gordon: One of the Life Support members. Usually doubles as "The Man"
• Steve: One of the Life Support members. Usually doubles as "The Waiter"
• Ali: One of the Life Support members
• Pam: One of the Life Support members
• Sue: One of the Life Support members. As notated in the script by Larson, the roles of all of the Life Support members are encouraged to take on the name that someone in the cast (or production) knows or has known to have succumbed to AIDS. In the final Broadway performance, Sue is renamed Lisa.
• Squeegee Man: A homeless person who chants "Honest living!" over and over.

There are also many other non-named roles such as The Waiter, The Homeless Woman, The Preacher, Seasons of Love soloists, Cops, Bohemians, Vendors, Homeless People.

Productions[link]

New York workshops and off-Broadway production[link]

Rent had its first staged reading at New York Theatre Workshop in March 1993.^[5] A further two-week New York Theatre Workshop version was performed in 1994 starring Anthony Rapp as Mark and Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi, and more workshops followed. The show opened on January 25, 1996, again at New York Theatre Workshop, and quickly gained popularity off-Broadway, receiving enthusiastic reviews. The New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley called it an "exhilarating, landmark rock opera" with a "glittering, inventive score" that "shimmers with hope for the future of the American musical."^[18] Another reviewer wrote, "Rent speaks to Generation X the way that the musical Hair spoke to the baby boomers or those who grew up in the 1960s, calling it 'a rock opera for our time, a Hair for the 90s.'"^[19] The show proved extremely successful off-Broadway, selling out all of its performances at the 150-seat theatre.^[2]

Original Broadway production[link]

Due to its overwhelming popularity and the need for a larger theater, Rent moved to Broadway's previously derelict Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street on April 29, 1996.^[2] On Broadway, the show achieved critical acclaim and word-of-mouth popularity. The production's ethnically diverse principal cast originally included Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker.

The production's controversial topics and innovative pricing, including same day-of-performance $20 tickets, helped to increase the popularity of musical theater amongst the younger generation.^[20] The production was nominated for ten Tony Awards in 1996 and won four: Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Heredia)^[21]

On April 24, 2006, the original Broadway cast reunited for a one-night performance of the musical at the Nederlander Theatre. This performance raised over $2,000,000 for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation, Friends In Deed and New York Theatre Workshop. Former cast members were invited, and many from prior tours and former Broadway casts appeared, performing an alternate version of "Seasons of Love" as the finale of the performance.^[22]

Rent closed on September 7, 2008, after a 12-year run and 5,124 performances,^[23] making it the ninth-longest-running Broadway show.^[24] The production grossed over $280 million.^[3]

Original cast ensemble members Rodney Hicks and Gwen Stewart returned to the cast at the time of the Broadway closing. Hicks played Benny and Stewart played the role she created, the soloist in the song "Seasons of Love". In addition, actress Tracie Thoms joined the cast at the end of the run playing Joanne, the role she portrayed in the 2005 film version.^[23] The last Broadway performance was filmed and screened in movie theaters as Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway in September 2008. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats on February 3, 2009.

Early North American tours[link]

Successful United States national tours, the "Angel Tour" and the "Benny Tour", launched in the 1990s. Later, the non-Equity tour started its run. There was also a Canadian tour (often referred to as the "Collins Tour").

The Angel tour began in November 1996 in Boston. It then went on to St. Paul, Minnesota, Washington, DC, Chicago (where Anthony Rapp temporarily joined the cast), Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Los Angeles (where Daphne Rubin-Vega temporarily joined the cast), before finishing in San Francisco in September 1999. Cast members appearing in the Angel Cast included Simone, Manley Pope, Christian Anderson, Carrie Hamilton, Amy Spanger, Evan D'Angeles, Cheri Smith, Julie Danao, Sylvia MacCalla, Kamilah Martin, Jonathon Morgan, Luther Creek, Kristoffer Cusick, Tony Vincent, Courtney Corey, and Shaun Earl.

The Benny Tour began in July 1997 in San Diego, CA at the LaJolla Playhouse. Michael Grief, the original director of the Broadway show was also the artistic director of the LaJolla Playhouse and was instrumental in arranging for the Benny tour to begin in the smaller city of San Diego rather than Los Angeles, CA. It originally featured Neil Patrick Harris in the role of Mark Cohen. The Benny tour generally played shorter stops and often-smaller markets than the Angel Tour did. Cast members appearing in the Benny Cast included Eric Reed, Wilson Cruz, Keely Snelson, d'Monroe, Mark Lull, Courtney Corey, Pierre Angelo Bayuga and Jonathon Morgan.

2005–2008 U.S. touring companies[link]

Tours ran each season from 2005 to 2008. Cast members included: Aaron Tveit, Ava Gaudet, Bryce Ryness, LaDonna Burns, Jed Resnick, Warren G. Nolan, Michael Ifill, Ano Okera, Arianda Fernandez, Tracy McDowell, Chante-Carmel Frierson, Nina Metrick, Sheila Coyle, Aswad, Altamiece' Ballard, Ben Rosberry, Gavin Reign, Mike Evariste, Declan Bennett, Harley Jay, Melvin Bell III, Kristen-Alexzander Griffith, Jennifer Colby Talton, Douglas Lyons, Dan Rosenbaum, Jenna Noel, Cedric Leiba, Jr., Samuel L. Krauth, Jade Hicks, Mimi Jimenez, Joe Donohoe, Dustin Brayley, Aaron LaVigne, Heinz Winckler, Anwar Robinson, John Watson, Onyie Nwachukwu, Corey Mach, Lou Troche, Christine Dwyer, Hannah Shankman, Damien DeShaun Smith, Devon Settles Jr., Natalie R. Perkins, Enrico Banson, Tim Ehrlich, Jeff Cuttler, Christina Sajous, Miguel Jarquin-Moreland, and Stephanie Spano. The tour stopped in many cities including Knoxville and Chicago..

UK productions[link]

The show made its UK premiere on April 21, 1998 at the West End's Shaftesbury Theatre and officially opened on May 12, 1998. The original cast included Krysten Cummings as Mimi Marquez, Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Angel Schunard, Bonny Lockhart as Benjamin Coffin III, Jesse L. Martin as Tom Collins, Adam Pascal as Roger Davis, Anthony Rapp as Mark Cohen, and Jessica Tezier as Maureen Johnson. The show closed on October 30, 1999 after one-and-a-half years. Limited revivals took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre from December 4, 2001 to January 6, 2002; December 6, 2002 to March 1, 2003. There was also a successful production in Manchester in 2006, starring Matthew Robbins, Lizzy Aroxa and Danny Travers, with an additional 'goodbye' performance in 2008 from the Manchester cast.

Ireland (Dublin) 2000[link]

The Dublin production had an extended run at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin in 2000 it starred Sean Pol McGreevy as Mark, Samuel Nicholl as Roger Rachel Tucker as Maureen, Jacqui Dubois as Joanne, Mykal Rand as Collins, Thomas Goodridge as Angel and Allyson Brown as Mimi under the direction of Phil Willmot. The show returned to Dublin in 2009, this time performed by students of Dublin City University's Drama Society.

[edit] Rent: School Edition

In 2007, a modified edition of Rent was made available to five non-professional acting groups in the United States for production. Billed as Rent: School Edition, this version omits the song "Contact" and eliminates some of the coarse language and tones down some public displays of affection of the original.^[25] Shorewood High School in Shorewood, WI became the first high school to perform an early version of the adaptation in May 2006. The high school was selected to present a workshop performance as part of Music Theatre International's work to adapt the musical for younger actors and potentially more conservative audiences.^[26]

There were four test shows of the Rent: School Edition, the first of which premiered at the Stuart, Florida's Lyric Theater in June, 2007, produced by StarStruck Performing Arts Center.^[27] The original cast of the finalized version of the Rent: School Edition was in summer of 2007 at Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts camp. In June 2010, Hollywood High School in Hollywood, CA was the first high school to perform the original broadway version of Rent, including the song "Contact," which is omitted in the School Edition.

[edit] Rent Remixed

On October 16, 2007, the production Rent Remixed opened at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End. Directed by William Baker, it was set in the present day. The cast included Oliver Thornton (Mark), Luke Evans (Roger), Craig Stein (Benny), Leon Lopez (Collins), Francesca Jackson (Joanne), Jay Webb (Angel), Siobhán Donaghy (Mimi), and Denise Van Outen (Maureen). From December 24, 2007, the role of Maureen was played by Jessie Wallace.^[28] The production received generally unfavorable reviews. The Guardian gave it only one out of five stars, writing, "They call this 'Rent Remixed'. I'd dub it 'Rent Reduced', in that the late Jonathan Larson's reworking of La Bohème, while never a great musical, has been turned into a grisly, synthetic, pseudo pop concert with no particular roots or identity."^[29] The production closed on February 2, 2008.^[30]

The production radically altered elements of the musical including defining the characters of Mimi, Angel and Mark as British. Songs were reordered (including Maureen's first appearance at the start of Act 2). The rehaul of the score was masterminded by Steve Anderson and featured radically rearranged versions of Out Tonight, Today 4 U and Happy New Year.

Australia 1999[link]

The Australian cast featured Justin Smith as Mark, Rodger Corser as Roger, Opell Ross as Angel and Australian ARIA Award winner Christine Anu as Mimi. The tour began in Sydney, and wrapped in Melbourne.

A production in Perth, Western Australia was mounted in 2007 and featured Anthony Callea as Mark, Tim Campbell as Roger, Jaya Henderson as Mimi, Courtney Act as Angel, Shai Yammanne as Tom Collins, Sharon Wisniewski as Joanne, Andrew Conaghan as Benny and Nikki Webster as Maureen.

2005–2006 International tour[link]

The international tour, which played from 2005–2006, started in Singapore in 2005 and ended in Budapest in 2006. It also visited Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Barcelona, Madrid, Stockholm, Reykjavik, Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Cape Town, Johannesburg, St. Petersburg, and Moscow.

2009 U.S. National tour[link]

A national tour starring Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, reprising their original Broadway (and film) roles, launched in January 2009 in Cleveland, OH. After having a reprise performance in the summer of 2007, they signed on to be part of the 2009 tour. Original "Seasons of Love" soloist Gwen Stewart signed on to this tour as well. Joining them were Nicolette Hart as Maureen, Justin Johnston as Angel, Lexi Lawson as Mimi, Michael McElroy as Collins, Jacques C. Smith as Benny, and Haneefah Wood as Joanne. Ensemble members were Karmine Alers, Toby Blackwell, Adam Halpin, Trisha Jeffrey, Joshua Kobak, Telly Leung, Caren Tackett, Jed Resnick, Andy Senor, Cary Shields, Yuka Takara, and John Watson.

At the tour stop in Detroit, Michigan, Pascal herniated two discs in his neck and was put on medical leave. Cary Shields, an understudy and a Broadway Rent veteran himself, filled in. Pascal made a full recovery and returned to the show.^[31]

The 2009 National Tour ended on February 7, 2010, in Sacramento, CA.^[32] Tour stops included: Los Angeles, Seattle, Costa Mesa, Toronto, Phoenix, Sacramento, Orlando, Miami, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Tokyo, Cincinnati, Norfolk, and Houston.

2010 Hollywood Bowl[link]

Rent veteran Neil Patrick Harris directed Rent at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA. The production played a three night engagement, August 6–8, 2010. His Beastly co-star Vanessa Hudgens played Mimi.^[33]

On April 30, 2010, it was confirmed that Wayne Brady, Aaron Tveit, Skylar Astin, Collins Pennie, Tracie Thoms, Telly Leung, and Gwen Stewart had also been cast as Tom Collins, Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Benjamin Coffin III, Joanne Jefferson, Angel Dumott-Shunard and Season of Love soloist (and additional roles) respectively.^[34]

On June 4, 2010, it was confirmed that Nicole Scherzinger would round out the cast of Rent playing Maureen. Additionally the show's ensemble included Yassmin Alers, Eric B. Anthony, King Aswad, Susan Beaubian, David Burtka, Kathy Deitch, Sam Given, Rachael Harris, Tricia Kelly, Ethan Le Phong, Kristolyn Lloyd, Zarah Mahler, Laura Mixon, Jason Paige, MiRi Park and Brandon Wardell.^[35]

2011 Off-Broadway revival[link]

The show was revived Off-Broadway at Stage 1 of New World Stages with previews starting July 14, 2011 and a scheduled opening of August 11, 2011. This is the first New York Revival of the show since the original production closed less than three years earlier. The production was directed by Rent's original director Michael Greif. Joining Greiff are several Tony Award winning/nominated designers. Almost the entire show is different from the original yet the reinvention did not please the critics, who complained that the new actors did not have a feel for the characters they were playing and it made the show feel contrived.^[36]

International productions[link]

Rent has been performed in countries around the world, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Panama, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa, Australia, Guam, New Zealand, Israel, Puerto Rico, Austria, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic.

The musical has been performed in twenty-four languages: Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Greek, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Hebrew.

[edit] Rent in repertory with La Bohème

The first ever in-repertory production of La Bohème and Rent was at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in February 2011. Both productions were directed by Victoria Bussert. La Bohème was conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos, who conducted Baz Luhrmann's production on Broadway. Rent was music directed by Ryan Fielding Garrett.

Cultural impact and Legacy[link]

The song "Seasons of Love" became a successful pop song and often is performed on its own. Because of its connection to New Years and looking back at times past, it.is sometimes performed at graduations or school holiday programs.

RENT-heads[link]

Rent gathered a following of fans who refer to themselves as "RENT-heads." The name originally referred to people who would camp out at the Nederlander Theater for hours in advance for the discounted $20 rush tickets to each show, though it generally refers to anyone who is obsessed with the show.^[37] These discounted tickets were for seats in the first two rows of the theater reserved for sale by lottery two hours prior to each show.^[37][38] Other Broadway shows have followed Rent's example and now also offer cheaper tickets in efforts to make Broadway theater accessible to people who would otherwise be unable to afford the ticket prices.

The term originated in RENT's first months on Broadway. The show's producers offered 34 seats in the front two rows of the orchestra for $20 each, two hours before the performance. Fans and others interested in tickets would camp out for hours in front of the Nederlander Theater - which is on 41st Street, just outside Times Square -- to buy these tickets.^[38] Many RENTheads have seen the show dozens of times, some in various cities.^[39] At least one person has seen the show more than 1100 times over the course of the show's nearly 12 year run. Journalist Kelly Nestruck writes in The Guardian that "Rent fans...are known colloquially as Rentheads and even more colloquially as the most annoying of all musical fans".^[40]

Popular culture references[link]

The television series The Simpsons,^[41] Family Guy,^[42] Friends,^[43] Will and Grace,^[44] Scrubs,^[45] Glee, The Big Bang Theory, Felicity,^[46] Saturday Night Live, The Office, Franklin & Bash and Modern Family have included references to the show.

In film, Team America: World Police includes a character who plays a lead role in Lease, a Broadway musical parody of Rent; the finale song is "Everyone has AIDS!";.^[47] a character in Hedwig and the Angry Inch wears a Rent t-shirt and speaks of his aspiration to play the role of Angel.^[48]

The off-Broadway musical revue Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back includes parodies of Rent songs such as "Rant" ("Rent"), "Ouch! They're Tight" ("Out Tonight"), "Season of Hype" ("Seasons of Love"), "Too Gay 4 U (Too Het'ro 4 Me)" ("Today 4 U"), "Pretty Voices Singing" ("Christmas Bells") and "This Ain't Boheme" ("La Vie Boheme").^[49]

Cast[link]

Recordings and adaptations[link]

Audio recordings[link]

The original Broadway cast recording features most of the musical material in the show on a double-disc "complete recording" collection with a remixed version of the song "Seasons of Love" featuring Stevie Wonder.^[54] The label later issued a single-disc "best of" highlights.^[55]

The film version also yielded a double-disc soundtrack recording of the complete score,^[56] and single CD of highlights.^[57]

There are also many foreign cast recordings.^[58] One of the most recent ones performed by the seniors at Mark county Sr. High in Sweden with Joel Nyman as Collins, Jasmine Strandberg as Mimi, Amanda Frisk as Maureen, Sandra Karlsson as Joanna etc.

2005 film[link]

Rent was adapted into a movie directed by Chris Columbus with a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky. With the exception of Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker, the original Broadway cast members reprised the principal roles. Rosario Dawson played Mimi and Tracie Thoms was cast as Joanne, as Rubin-Vega (Mimi) was pregnant at the time of filming and Walker (Joanne) felt she was too old for the part. Released on November 23, 2005, the film remained in the box office top ten for three weeks. Several plot elements were changed slightly, and some of the songs were changed to spoken dialogue in the film. The film's soundtrack was produced by Rob Cavallo, engineered by Doug McKean and features renowned session musicians, Jamie Muhoberac, Tim Pierce, and Dorian Crozier.

2008 live filming[link]

On September 7, 2008, the final performance of the Broadway production of Rent was filmed live and (also using footage shot at a live performance in August 2008) released as Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway in cinemas with high definition digital projection systems in the U.S. and Canada between September 24 and 28, 2008. Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway was released on February 3, 2009 on DVD & Blu-ray formats.^{[59][unreliable source?]}

Awards and nominations[link]

Original Broadway production[link]

Original London production[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rent

• Official Rent musical site
• Rent at LiveBway.com - Filmed Broadway Shows Database
• Rent Musical on Broadway.com
• The Rent Fanlisting
• Rent at the Internet Broadway Database
• Rent at the Internet Movie Database
• Rent Wiki

Look up rent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Rent may refer to:

• Renting, a system of payment for the temporary use of something owned by someone else (hiring); the payments for such use are typically referred to as "rent"
• Economic rent, in economics, a payment to a factor of production in excess of that which is needed to keep it employed in its current use
• Rent (musical), a stage musical by Jonathan Larson, directed by Michael Greif
  • Rent (film), a 2005 movie version of the musical, directed by Chris Columbus
  • Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway, the final performance of the Broadway production filmed live in 2008, directed by Michael John Warren
• Rent (song), a 1987 pop music hit from the Pet Shop Boys
• Rent (MUD), a game mechanic in some MUDs
• Rentboy or rent boy, a slang term for a male prostitute
• Past form of the verb "to rend"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up Musical or musical in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Musical is the adjective form of music. It may also refer to:

• MusicAL: Albanian Television channel which broadcasts Albanian folk music
• Musical artist
• Musical composer
• Musical composition, an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music
• Musical ensemble, a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music
• Musical film: musicals on film produced for the cinema
• Musical instrument, a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds
• Musical Instrument Digital Interface, an industry-standard protocol that enables electronic musical instruments, computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other
• Musical keyboard, the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano
• Musical theatre: any dramatic work heavily involving music; often called a "musical"
• Musical Merry-Go-Round, a NBC TV series which aired from 1947 to 1949

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Rosario Dawson
Dawson in 2009
Born	(1979-05-09) May 9, 1979 (age 33) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, writer
Years active	1995–present
Website
Official website

Rosario Isabel Dawson^[1] (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and Unstoppable.

Early life[link]

Dawson was born in New York City. Her mother, Isabel Celeste, is a writer and singer who is of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent. Isabel was seventeen years old when Rosario was born; she never married Rosario's biological father, Patrick C. Harris.^[2][3] When Isabel was eighteen, she married Greg Dawson, a construction worker, who "loved and raised Rosario as his own daughter"^[2] (Dawson has stated that "He's always been my dad").^[3] Dawson has a brother, Clay, who is four years younger. Her parents divorced in 2006.

At the age of 21, Isabel moved the family into an abandoned building squat on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where she and her husband renovated an apartment and installed the plumbing and electrical wiring for the building, creating affordable housing where Rosario and Clay would grow up. Dawson has cited this part of her history when explaining how she learned that "If you wanted something better, you had to do it yourself."^[4][5]

Career[link]

As a child, Dawson made a brief appearance on Sesame Street. At the age of 15, she was subsequently discovered on her front porch step by photographer Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, where Harmony lauded her as being perfect for a part he had written in his screenplay that would become the controversial 1995 film Kids. She went on to star in varied roles, ranging from independent films to big budget blockbusters including Rent, He Got Game, and Men in Black II.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

In 1999, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "1999."^[11] The new remixed version featured the actress in an introductory voice over, offering commentary on the state of the world in the year before the new millennium.^[12] The same year, she appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album Surrender.^[13] She is also featured on the track "She Lives In My Lap" from the second disc of the OutKast album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, in which she speaks the intro and a brief interlude towards the end. In 2001, she appeared in the movie, Josie and the Pussycats.

Dawson researching her role in Eagle Eye, 2007

Dawson starred as Naturelle Rivera, the love interest of a convicted drug dealer played by Edward Norton, in the 2002 Spike Lee film drama, 25th Hour. In the 2004 Oliver Stone film Alexander, she played the bride of Alexander the Great. In the autumn of 2005, Dawson appeared on stage as Julia in the Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona.^[14] It was her first appearance on stage. “That park is so beautiful,” she said of New York's Central Park.^[15]

In the film adaptation of the popular musical Rent in 2005, she played the exotic dancer Mimi Marquez, replacing Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was pregnant and unable to play the part. She also appeared in the adaptation of the graphic novel Sin City, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, portraying Gail, a prostitute-dominatrix. Also in that year, she appeared in a graphically violent scene in the Rob Zombie film The Devil's Rejects. Though the scene was cut from the final film, it is available in the deleted scenes on the DVD release.