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Rent is an American Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, with lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson. It debuted in New York City on February 13, 1996 at the New York Theatre Workshop before moving to Broadway, where it opened at the Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. It is still playing there as the seventh-longest-running Broadway musical (as of October 2006). Based on Puccini's opera La bohème, the musical centers on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Alphabet City in the early 1990s, under the shadow of AIDS.

Rent was one of the first Broadway musicals to clearly feature gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender characters. It is also noted for its ethnically diverse cast, which includes many racial minorities in its ensemble and leading roles. Rent is considered revolutionary for bringing controversial topics and counterculture to a traditionally conservative medium, and is credited with increasing the popularity of musical theater in the younger generation. Many critics have also mentioned how the show speaks to Generation X the same way that the musical HAIR spoke to those who grew up in the 1960s, calling it "a rock opera for our time, a Hair for the 90s."

The cast album from the show was the most successful recording of an American musical in almost 30 years, featuring both a double-disc "complete recording" collection with a remixed version of the song "Seasons of Love" featuring Stevie Wonder, and a single-disc "best of" highlights.

Rent was enormously successful on Broadway, enjoying both critical acclaim and word-of-mouth popularity, recently celebrating its 10th anniversary on April 24, 2006, with a special performance by its entire original cast.

In 2005 the play was also adapted into a full-length motion picture.

Creative process

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." In 1989 Jonathan Larson, a 29-year-old composer, began collaborating with Aronson on this project, and the two composed a few songs together: "Santa Fe", "Rent", and "I Should Tell You", to name a few. Larson made the suggestion to set the play in Greenwich Village, the artsy avant-garde neighborhood of Manhattan where he lived, 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." Aronson and Larson made an agreement that if the show went to Broadway, Aronson would share in the proceeds.

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 42 songs. In the fall of 1992, Larson approached James Nicola, artistic director of the New York Theatre Workshop, with a tape and copy of Rent's script. When Rent had its first staged reading at the 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. As of 1994, the New York Theatre Workshop version of Rent featured songs that never made it to the final version, such as "You'll Get Over It", the predecessor of "Tango: Maureen," featuring Mark and Maureen; "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 photography. This workshop version of Rent starred Anthony Rapp as Mark, Tony Hoylen as Roger, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi, Sarah Knowlton as Maureen, Shelley Dickenson as Joanne, Mark Setlock as Angel, Pat Briggs as Collins, and Michael Potts as Benny.

Larson continued to work on Rent, gradually reworking its flaws and staging more workshop productions. In 1996, after the musical's final dress rehearsal, Larson enjoyed his first newspaper interview with theater critic Ben Brantley of The New York Times who gave Rent a glowing review, calling it an "exhilarating, landmark rock opera" with a "glittering, inventive score" that "shimmers with hope for the future of the American musical." Unfortunately, Larson would not live to see Rent's true success; he died from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm (believed to have resulted from Marfan syndrome) in the early morning of January 25, 1996, just a few hours after his first interview. The first preview of Rent was cancelled and instead, friends and family gathered at the theater where the actors performed Rent in Larson's memory. However, the show premiered as planned and quickly became the hottest ticket in town, popularity fueled by its genuinely raw material, relevant subject matter, enthusiastic reviews, and the recent tragic death of its composer. The show proved extremely successful during its off-Broadway run, selling out all its shows at the 150 seat New York Theatre Workshop. Due to such overwhelming popularity and a need for a larger theater, Rent moved to Broadway's previously derelict Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996.

Sources/inspiration

Larson's inspirations for Rent's content came from several different sources. Many of the characters and plot elements are drawn directly from the opera La bohème, which was also about the lives of poor young artists, although the two musicals have little in common. Tuberculosis, the plague of La bohème, is replaced by AIDS in Rent; 1800s Paris is replaced by New York's modern day East Village. The names and identities of Rent's characters also heavily reflect Puccini's original characters:

• Mimi, a seamstress with tuberculosis (Mimi Marquez);
• Rodolfo, a poet (Roger Davis);
• Marcello, a painter (Mark Cohen);
• Musetta, a singer (Maureen Johnson);
• Schaunard, a musician (Angel Dumott Schunard);
• Colline, a philosopher (Tom Collins);
• Alcindoro, a state councillor (Joanne Jefferson) and
• Benoit, a landlord (Benny Coffin III).

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, "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.

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, broken buzzer) made their way into the play. Like the show's narrator Mark, Larson had also lost his girlfriend to another woman. In Rent, the characters attend a support group for people living with AIDS called "Life Support", which is based on a real-life support group that Larson attended called "Friends in Deed", headed by Cynthia O'Neil. 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 her 1998 book Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America, author Sarah Schulman claims that plot elements from Rent were lifted from her 1990 book People In Trouble. In an interview, she said, "The gay part of Rent is basically the plot of my novel." Schulman claims that upon reading her novel, Larson stole her ideas and altered them to make them more consumer oriented and "gay friendly" in order to turn the best profit.

Plot

Template:Spoiler

The musical follows the lives of eight friends in New York City over the course of a year as they struggle with relationships, loss, love, creativity, the purpose of living, housing, and AIDS.

Characters include:

• Mark Cohen, a struggling documentary filmmaker, the narrator of the show and the person who creates a final movie which details his friends' lives and journeys throughout the story.
• Roger Davis, an HIV-positive musician who is recovering from heroin addiction; Mark's roommate and Mimi's love interest
• Tom Collins, an HIV-positive philosophy teacher and anarchist; friend and former roommate of Roger, Mark, Benny, and Maureen; Angel's love interest
• Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, landlord of Mark, Roger and Mimi's apartment building; ex-roommate of Mark, Collins, Roger, and Maureen. Now married to Alison Grey of the Westport Greys and thus considered a yuppie sell-out.
• Joanne Jefferson, a Harvard-educated lawyer; Maureen's lover
• Angel Dumott Schunard, an HIV-positive drag queen street percussionist/musician; Collins' love interest.
• Mimi Marquez, an HIV-positive stripper and heroin junkie; Roger's love interest
• Maureen Johnson, a performance artist; Joanne's girlfriend; Mark's ex-girlfriend.

Act one

Mark, a filmmaker and the narrator of the show, decides to begin shooting an unscripted documentary about his friends on Christmas Eve in his loft, turning the camera on his roommate Roger, a songwriter who is picking up his guitar for the first time in a year (Tune Up #1). Mark's mother interrupts with a call from the suburbs telling Mark that he shouldn't care that his girlfriend Maureen dumped him for another woman, and that they'll miss him at home for Christmas (Voice Mail #1). Outside, their friend Tom Collins, a former professor of philosophy, comes to visit them but is jumped by thugs and lies bleeding on the street. Meanwhile, their former pal Benny, who married wealthy Alison Grey of Westport and bought Mark and Roger's apartment building and the lot next door, calls and breaks his promise to let them live in the apartment for free and asks for the rent, which he knows they don't have (Tune Up #2). The power to Mark and Roger's apartment shuts off, and they vent their frustrations about being broke starving artists unable to pay the rent and unable to find inspiration for their art. Meanwhile, Joanne, a Harvard-educated lawyer and Maureen's new girlfriend, is working on the sound system for Maureen's performance protesting Benny's plan to develop the lot where many homeless people are currently living, when the sound system blows. Maureen calls Mark to fix the sound system for her against Joanne's wishes, and Mark agrees to help against his better judgment because he isn't over her. Frustrated, Mark and Roger decide to rebel against Benny and refuse to pay their rent (Rent).

Back on the street, Angel, a street drummer, spots an injured Collins and comes to his aid. They are attracted to one another and quickly discover that they both have AIDS. They leave the alley together to tend to Collins's wounds (You Okay Honey?). Meanwhile, Mark asks Roger to join him in attending Maureen's protest in an effort to get him out of the house, but Roger declines. Mark reminds Roger to take his AZT, making the audience aware that Roger is HIV positive. He also reveals that Roger's girlfriend, April, committed suicide after finding out that they were both HIV-positive, probably from using dirty needles (Tune Up #3). After Mark leaves, Roger sings about his desperate need to write one great song to make his mark on the world before he dies of AIDS (One Song Glory). He hears a knock on his door and answers it to find Mimi, a nineteen-year-old junkie and S&M dancer at the Cat Scratch Club. She lives in the apartment downstairs and asks Roger to light a candle for her because her electricity and heat have also been shut off. It is obvious that Mimi also needs the candle to prepare her herion, which she drops inside the loft and then employs as means to flirt with Roger. There is mutual attraction, but Roger is hesitant as this is his first romantic situation since his girlfriend April's recent death (Light My Candle). In Maureen and Joanne's loft, Joanne's parents call about law business, but she is not home to hear it (Voice Mail #2).

Collins finally makes it to Mark and Roger's apartment, bearing gifts. He introduces Angel in full drag flashing a large stack of money. When Mark questions where (s)he earned it, Angel explains that a wealthy woman paid him to play his drums outside her neighbor's apartment to drive the yappy Akita that lived there into jumping off a window ledge (Today 4 U). Benny arrives and tells Mark and Roger that he will guarantee that they can live in the apartment rent-free if they convince Maureen to cancel her protest (You'll See). Mark refuses the deal. After Benny leaves, Angel and Collins invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, a local HIV support group meeting. Roger declines, but Mark assures them he will come after he fixes Maureen's sound equipment.

Mark arrives at the lot to fix Maureen's sound equipment and awkwardly meets Joanne. They agree that dating Maureen, a self-absorbed flirtatious diva, is like dancing an exasperatingly complicated tango, and the two quickly become friends (Tango: Maureen). After fixing the sound system, Mark joins Collins and Angel at the Life Support meeting, where members share their thoughts and fears about living with AIDS (Life Support). Meanwhile, Mimi returns to Roger's apartment and playfully asks him to take her out (Out Tonight). Roger is terrified of caring for her (in part becuase she is a heriod addict, and that is what led to Roger's HIV infection in the first place) and yells at her to leave. Mimi gently urges Roger to forget past regrets, saying that there is "no day but today." However, he refuses to listen and angrily drives her out of his apartment (Another Day). Roger changes his mind and leaves the loft at last, while at the Life Support meeting, everyone sings of the fear and uncertainty in their lives (Will I?).

After leaving Life Support, the friends save a homeless bag lady from being beaten by a police officer, only to be reprimanded by her for being pretentious artists (On The Street). As they walk away contemplating her response, Collins starts to fantasize about living in an idealized Santa Fe, where the climate and the people are much warmer (Santa Fe). Mark leaves, promising that he will try to convince Roger to go to Maureen's show. Collins and Angel then sing about their newfound love and officially become a couple (I'll Cover You). Joanne gets ready for the protest and her upcoming legal case (We're Okay). Roger apologizes to Mimi and invites her to the protest and the dinner party afterwards, and she accepts. Meanwhile, the riot police and Benny prepare for the protest, and Angel buys Collins a new coat (Christmas Bells).

All of the friends attend Maureen's performance, a thinly veiled criticism of Benny through a metaphor involving a cow and a bulldog, cribbing from "hey Diddle Diddle" (Over The Moon). The protest ends in a riot that Mark catches on camera, and a local news station purchases the footage. Afterwards, the group goes to the Life Cafe, where they spot Benny and his investor, Mr. Grey, who is also Benny's father-in-law. Benny mocks the protest and the group's Bohemian lifestyle, declaring that Bohemia is dead. Mark gets up and delivers an amusing eulogy for Bohemia, and all the bohemians in the cafe rise up and celebrate La Vie Boheme, "the bohemian life", joyfully paying tribute to everything they love about life and dancing on the tables. We discover that Benny and Mimi used to be in a relationship when Benny confronts Mimi about Roger. Joanne catches Maureen kissing Mark and angrily stalks off (La Vie Boheme). Mimi's beeper goes off reminding her to take her AZT, and Roger and Mimi discover that they are both HIV-positive. They talk openly for the first time and despite their uncertainties and fears, they finally take the plunge into starting a relationship (I Should Tell You). Joanne comes back to break up with Maureen, and informs everyone that the homeless are refusing to leave the lot despite police presence. This news sparks a new round of joyful revelry (La Vie Boheme B). The act closes as Mimi and Roger share a small, lovely kiss.

Act two

The cast sings about the various ways one can measure a year, but ultimately decides to measure in love (Seasons of Love).

Mimi, Mark, and Roger's building has been padlocked as a result of Maureen's protest. On New Year's Eve, Roger, Mark and Mimi try to break into their building with the help of their friends. Mimi optimistically makes a New Year's resolution to give up her heroin addiction and go back to school. Joanne and Maureen decide to give their relationship another try, and all the couples are happy together. Collins and Angel make an appearance as James Bond and Pussy Galore, and Angel brings a blowtorch. Mark, Maureen, and Joanne scale the fire escape and break in through a window, while the others use Angel's blowtorch to break down the door (Happy New Year A). Alexi Darling of "Buzzline," a tabloid newsmagazine, had seen Mark's footage of the riot and has left a message on Mark's answering machine offering him a contract (Voice Mail #3). All the friends enter the apartment celebrating the new year, but Benny shows up prematurely ending the festivities. Benny asks Mark to film him offering a rent-free contract, but the friends accuse him of just trying to get good press. Incensed, Benny maliciously implies that Mimi showed up at his place and "convinced" him to rethink the financial situation, while Mimi denies everything. Roger becomes extremely upset and renounces their relationship, but Angel convinces everyone to calm down and make a New Year's resolution to always remain friends. Roger and Mimi make up, but Mimi is still upset and sneaks off to buy heroin (Happy New Year B).

On Valentine's Day, Maureen and Joanne have a fight while rehearsing for a new protest, and break up again (Take Me or Leave Me). (In the movie version, Maureen and Joanne participate in a commitment ceremony, but Joanne is no longer able to contain her jealousy at Maureen's being overly "friendly" with other women, which leads to the argument, the song, and the breakup.) In the spring as everything deteriorates, the cast poses the question, "How do you measure a last year on earth?" (Seasons of Love B). Mimi comes home late again after secretly buying drugs, causing Roger to believe that she is cheating on him with Benny. Roger jealously storms out, and Mimi sings about life without him. All the while, Angel's health seriously deteriorates and Collins tries to nurse him/her back to health. All the couples reconcile because they realize the emptiness in living alone (Without You). Alexi keeps calling Mark to try to convince him to join Buzzline (Voice Mail #4). All of the couples have sex, which quickly transforms into a frustrating and awkward situation for all of them, especially the lesbians and Mimi and Roger. Soon afterward, Angel dies (Contact). Collins is heartbroken, and at Angel's funeral he emotionally declares his undying love. The others also take part in the funeral, mourning the loss of such a close friend (I'll Cover You (Reprise)). Mark expresses his fear of being the only one left surviving when the rest of his friends die of AIDS, and finally accepts Alexi's job offer (Halloween). Roger reveals that he is leaving New York for Santa Fe, which sparks an argument about commitment between both couples, with Mark and Benny desperately trying to restore calm. Collins arrives and puts everyone to shame, stating "Angel helped us believe in love/I can't believe you disgree". Maureen and Joanne make up yet again, but Mimi leaves with Benny after Roger shuns her. Roger and Mark fight because Roger is leaving; Roger accuses Mark of living a fake life by hiding in his work, and Mark accuses Roger of running away because he is afraid of watching Mimi die. When Roger leaves the apartment, he is horrified to find Mimi, who had come to say goodbye, standing outside the door and realizes that she overheard everything. She is visibly shaken and bids Roger a tearful goodbye, as Roger runs away determined to find his song. Finding a very distraught Mimi, Mark suggests that she enroll at a rehabilitation clinic, which Benny offers to pay for (Goodbye Love).

In Santa Fe, Roger can't get himself to forget Mimi, and back in New York, Mark remembers Angel and her overall joy in life and love. They both suddenly have an artistic epiphany, as Roger finally 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). Everyone's parents call to try to find their children but nobody is home (Voice Mail #5). Roger is ecstatic about finding his song, but is unable to find Mimi anywhere. Mark, Roger and Collins are together again on Christmas Eve when Maureen and Joanne arrive, calling for help. They bring in Mimi who is very sick and delirious from living on the streets in the dead of winter. Roger is frantic and Collins calls 911 but is put on hold. Mimi and Roger finally clear up their misunderstandings, and Mimi tells Roger that she loves him (Finale A). Knowing that time is short, Roger asks Mimi to listen to the song that he had been working on all year that was inspired by her (Your Eyes). As he finishes the song and finally tells her that he has always loved her, they kiss. Mimi goes limp and Roger, in tears, believes her to be dead. Suddenly Mimi comes back to life, saying that she was heading into a warm, white light and that Angel was there, telling her to turn back and listen to Roger's song. She and Roger embrace, and everyone is touched and relieved as they are reminded of the fleetingness of life and reaffirm that there is "no day but today" (Finale B).

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Productions

North American tours

There have been three very successful United States national tours. The "Angel Tour" and the "Benny Tour" launched soon after the Broadway production opened. More recently, 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 joined the cast for a bit), Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Los Angeles (where Daphne Rubin Vega joined the cast for a bit), before finishing in San Francisco in September, 1999. Cast members appearing in the Angel Cast included Simone, Manley Pope, Christian Anderson, Carrie Hamilton (daughter of Carol Burnett), Amy Spanger, Cheri Smith, Julie Danao, Sylvia MacCalla, Kamilah Martin, Dan Robbins, Luther Creek, Kristoffer Cusick, Tony Vincent, and Shaun Earl.

The Benny Tour began in May 1997 in Los Angeles. 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. Cast members appearing in the Benny Cast included Mark Leroy Jackson, D'Monroe, Maya Days (aka Laura Dias), Kenna Ramsey, and Andy Senor.

International productions

International productions of Rent include performances in: Sweden, Australia, China, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Rent also opened in Portugal on October 6, 2006.

10th Anniversary production

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

Amateur productions

On May 19, 2006, Shorewood High School, Shorewood, Wisconsin performed the first-ever non-professional production of Rent in North America, which was called Rent: School Edition. This edition omits certain scenes and dialogue, including the sexually explicit number "Contact".

The Australian amateur premiere was performed by G-String Productions in Canberra, Australia on August 12, 2005.

Rockdale Musical Society performed the Australian NSW premiere on September 16, 2005.

Awards

Tony Awards

Rent was nominated for, and WON the following Tony Awards in 1996:

• Tony Award for Best Musical WINNER
• Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical WINNER
• Tony Award for Best Original Score WINNER
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Adam Pascal)
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Daphne Rubin-Vega)
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Wilson Jermaine Heredia) WINNER
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Idina Menzel)
• Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Blake Burba)
• Tony Award for Best Choreography (Marlies Yearby)
• Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Michael Greif).

Other awards

Rent was nominated for, and WON the following awards:

• 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Adam Pascal)
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Daphne Rubin-Vega)
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Wilson Jermaine Heredia) WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical (Michael Greif)
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (Steve Skinner) WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music WINNER
• 1996 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Costume Design (Angela Wendt)
• 1996 Theater World Award for Outstanding New Talent (Adam Pascal) WINNER
• 1996 Theater World Award for Outstanding New Talent (Daphne Rubin-Vega) WINNER
• 1996 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical WINNER
• 1996 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical WINNER
• 1996 Drama League Award for Best Musical WINNER
• 1996 Obie Award for Outstanding Book, Music, and Lyrics WINNER
• 1996 Obie Award for Outstanding Direction (Michael Greif) WINNER
• 1996 Obie Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance WINNER

Cultural impact

Rent has gathered a huge following of obsessive fans that 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 has an obsession with/love of the show. These rush tickets are discounted tickets to seats in the first two rows of the theater reserved for sale by lottery two hours prior to each show. Since Rent started the trend of rush tickets, many other Broadway shows have followed Rent's example and now also offer cheaper tickets in efforts to make Broadway theater accessible to more people who would otherwise be unable to afford the ticket prices.

The song "Seasons of Love" became a somewhat successful pop song and is often performed without the rest of the musical.

References in pop culture

• The Simpsons: In episode "Behind the Laughter", a desperate-for-work Homer Simpson appears in the musical "Rent II: Condo Fever!" Made up as a stereotypical Melodrama villain, complete with black cape and moustache sings the lines: "Where is the rent? I must have the rent. Dollars, dimes and nickels, I need them all right now!".
• Family Guy: In the episode "The King Is Dead", Lois is directing a stage production of The King and I, and her conduct displeases Peter. He quips, "I thought you were trying to do a good show! If you want to do a bad show, why don't we just do Rent?".
• Arrested Development: In the episode "Queen For A Day", Tobias recruits a group of hot-cop strippers, hired by Lindsay to appear as thugs, to dance at the Queen Mary club. When he extends the offer to them to work as performers, one exclaims, "It'll be great! We can do Rent!".</ref>
• Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back: Parodies of Rent songs in this off-Broadway musical include "Rant" (Rent), "Ouch! They're Tight" (Out Tonight), "Too Gay For You: Too Het'ro For Me" (Today 4 U), "Pretty Voices Singing" (Christmas Bells), "Season of Hype" (Seasons of Love), "This Ain't Boheme" (La Vie Boheme) and "Death And Resurrection" (Musetta's Waltz And La Vie Boheme).
• Team America: World Police: Protagonist Gary Johnston has the lead role in a Broadway show entitled "LEASE", which is a parody of Rent. It features a musical number called "Everyone has AIDS".
• Friends: In the episode "The One with the Dirty Girl", Rachel, trying to finish the New York Times crossword puzzle without help, says, "You know what we should all do? Go see a musical... And you know which one we should see? The 1996 Tony award winner. Do you happen to know the name of that one?"
• Will and Grace: In the episode "The Unsinkable Mommy Adler", Will, imitating Grace's mother, says, "Honey, I'm just so thrilled about you and your little pillow store, but did I tell you that the Schenectady Times said that my performance in Rent stole the show?", to which Grace replies, "Well, I'm not surprised. I mean, look at you, Mom. You were born to play an adolescent struggling with homelessness and heroin addiction".
• In the 2001 film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the character Yitzhak is seen wearing a Rent T-shirt, and later announces his ambition to play Angel in a Polynesian production of the musical.
• Felicity: In the episode "The Depths", Felicity and Julie find themselves trapped on a subway train, and a man on the train tells them that he is on his way to get a loan so that he would have enough money to feed his family. A woman replies by saying, "I know just what he's talking about. I saw the show Rent."
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: A season-eight episode ("Horror of Party Beach") contains the riff: "I just saw Rent."

In the November 2006 issue of Transworld skateboarding, Basement Jaxx's album received 0/5, and the closing line of the review read as "This album is the British Version of Rent"

Casts

Original Broadway cast

The original Broadway cast of Rent is as follows:

Current Broadway cast

As of October 16, 2006, the current Broadway company of Rent is as follows:

Current tour cast

Celebrity casting

Over the years, big names and pop stars have played characters in Rent. Some of these include:

• Joey Fatone - Mark
• Melanie Brown (a.k.a. Scary Spice) - Mimi
• Frenchie Davis - Mrs. Jefferson, woman with bags, and others
• Jai Rodriguez - Angel
• Neil Patrick Harris - Mark
• Wilson Cruz - Angel
• Drew Lachey- Mark
• Constantine Maroulis-Roger

Movie

Rent was adapted into a movie, filmed on location in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Santa Fe. It was released on November 23, 2005. Chris Columbus directed, with Diggs, Heredia, Martin, Menzel, Pascal, and Rapp reprising their stage roles. Rosario Dawson appeared in the role of Mimi and Tracie Thoms played the role of Joanne. Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker, the original Mimi and Joanne respectively, were not cast in the film (Rubin-Vega was pregnant and Walker was, by her own admission, too old for the part). Screenplay was written by Stephen Chbosky. The film version of Rent remained in the top 10 at the box office for 3 weeks. Although the film's take at the box office was mediocre, it has since found popularity on DVD.

Trivia

• The Life Cafe, where the number "La Vie Boheme" takes place in the show, is a real restaurant in New York City's East Village.
• Tracie Thoms unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of Joanne several times in the Broadway production of Rent before landing the role in the movie. She considers herself a "RENThead".
• The composer of Rent, Jonathan Larson, died the night of Rent's final dress rehearsal.
• The riot at the end of Act I is a reference to the real-life Tompkins Square Park Police Riot.
• "Rent" premiered one hundred years after Puccini's opera "La Boheme", which served as the inspiration for many of the characters and incidents in the musical.
• Jesse L. Martin worked for one day at the Moondance Diner with Jonathan Larson (Jonathan worked as a waiter), and was his waiting trainee; later he would perform the role of Tom Collins in the original cast of Larson's Rent.
• Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs, "Maureen" and "Benny" of the Original Broadway Cast, were married on January 11, 2003.
• Although half of the eight main characters are gay or lesbian, the only OBC (Original Broadway Cast) member who is "out" is the person who plays Mark, the straight, non-HIV positive filmmaker: Anthony Rapp. Rapp's current partner is Rodney To, and they plan to marry sometime this year.

References

1. ^ Larson, Jonathan. Rent. (New York: Harper Entertainment, 1997)
2. ^ Peter Marks, "Looking on Broadway for Ramshackle Home," The New York Times, 26 February 1996, C9.
3. "The Birth of a Theatrical Comet," The New York Times, 17 March 1996, Arts and Leisure Desk section 2 page 1.
4. "Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)", Accessed July 24, 2006.
5. Jones, Kenneth. "Rent's 10th Anniversary Celebration Will Reunite Past Bohemians, for Three Good Causes," March 2006.
6. ^ Anthony Tommasini, "The Seven-Year Odyssey That Led to 'Rent'," The New York Times, March 17, 1996, Arts and Leisure Desk section 2 page 7.
7. Ben Brantley, "Rock Opera A la 'Boheme' And 'Hair'," The New York Times, 14 February 1996.
8. Puccini's La Boheme libretto, complete opera translation in English, accessed July 23, 2006.
9. Beals, Gregory. "The world of 'RENT'," Newsweek, 13 May 1996.
10. Thomas, June. "Sarah Schulman: The lesbian writer Rent ripped off," November 2005.
11. http://www.rentomusical.com
12. "The Official Website of the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards", accessed July 21, 2006.
13. ^ "Rent - Broadway musical," accessed July 21, 2006.
14. Michael Riedel, "Every day a 'Rent' Party: hardcore fans of the hit musical form a squatters camp at the box office," New York Daily News, March 3, 1997, p. 27.
15. "The Simpsons Archive: The Simpsons Song Lyrics", accessed July 21, 2006.
16. "Planet Family Guy: Subtitle Script", accessed July 21, 2006.
17. "Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back!: Another Unoriginal Cast Recording, Volume 4 (1996 New York Cast)", accessed July 21, 2006.
18. Murray, Rebecca, "'Team America: World Police' Movie Review," accessed July 21, 2006.
19. Transcript of The One with the Dirty Girl, accessed July 21, 2006.
20. "The Unsinkable Mommy Adler," accessed July 21, 2006.
21. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, accessed July 21, 2006.
22. "The Depths" accessed October 14,2006.
23. "Life Cafe," accessed July 21, 2006.
24. Rent - Tracie Thoms Archives, accessed July 21, 2006.

External links

• Official Rent musical site
• Official Rent movie site
• 2006 Official Portuguese Rent Musical
• Official Rent World Tour site
• Rent Audition Advice & Show Information from MusicalTheatreAudition.com
• Rent Movie Reviews
• Rent Movie Forum
• ​Rent​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• Rent at IMDb

• 1996 musicals
• American musicals
• Broadway musicals