“Rent”

Inspired by Puccini’s opera La bohème, RENT is a rock musical that presents a year in the life of bohemians living in the East Village near the end of the millennium. RENT is semi-autobiographical in that writer/composer Jonathan Larson lived in Lower Manhattan just as Mimi, Mark, Roger, Collins, and Angel do: sacrificing heat and a stable home for their artistic vocations. All of these characters deal with the repercussions of the AIDS epidemic, which to this day has claimed 84,000 lives in New York City alone, disproportionately affecting people of color and the LGBTQIA community.

Since its inception in 1996, RENT has inspired millions of performance artists to pursue their passions, and has brought millions of non-theatre people to Broadway. The show brings all of us together and encourages us to pursue our passions no matter the sacrifice.

            RENT will be performed in memory of all the victims of HIV/AIDS and Marfan Syndrome, which took Jonathan Larson’s life following RENT’s final dress rehearsal before opening. To find out more about Marfan Syndrome, contact the National Marfan Foundation at info@marfan.org or visit www.marfan.org.