Rent (musical play)
RENT is a Broadway Musical, and the winner of the 4 1996 Tony awards, including Best Musical, Score, book, and Actor. It also won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Best American Drama. The Musical has become very popular among fans of Musicals, but is also very controversial among many people.
The plot and much of the detail is borrowed directly from Giacomo Puccini's famous 1896 opera La Boheme, set in Paris, which focused on the disease consumption (tuberculosis). In Larson's version, AIDS takes the place of consumption.
Plot
Rent covers a year in the life of a group of artists living in New York City, shedding normal life values. Their landlord, an old friend of theirs, goes back on a promise to let them live there, and demands that they pay rent for the previous year. Two of the main characters are gay (Angel and Collins), one is a lesbian, and her girlfriend is bisexual (Joanne and Maureen). The two gay characters have AIDS, as does two other character, a stripper and a guitar player (Mimi and Roger). The main character, a filmmaker (Mark), must deal with many of his friends dying (only one does throughout the course of the play). The Musical covers their life throughout the year, Roger trying to live life again rather than sulking, Mark trying to fit in and make money without conforming, and all of them seeing how short life can be when Angel dies.
Themes
the Musical deals with themes of acceptance, homosexuality, drug abuse, love, and Life as a starving artist. No aspect of their life is glorified, as some have seen. Still, in is controversial when performed by high schools due to mentioning them. Many shows, including ones in texas, have been cancelled after the community complained. However, it is a very popular musical among students, especially those involved in drama programs.
