RENT: a musical about Love, Friendship, and Survival.

The rock opera Rent has been performed thousands of times since its opening in 1996 and has proven its popularity time and time again even after exiting Broadway. Rent, written by Jonathan Larson and, in part, Billy Aronson, over many years was inspired by their love of Puccinis La Bohme. It also was a way to show the effect of HIV and AIDs in the 90s as it spread to many people, specifically in New York City. In 1996, Rent won three categories at the Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score while also being nominated for six others. Rent also won the 1996 Pulitzer prize for Drama. (Siteforrent.com) The popular show left Broadway, found its way to the silver screen, and even went as far as Perth, Australia before finding its way back. The off Broadway shows have also been performed all over the United States and only recently stopped in 2012. Given its popularity, the message it has to send about raising awareness for diseases such as HIV/AIDs, and the fun, energetic nature of the musical, it would be a great idea to consider it for production at Pitt-Greensburg. Jonathan Larson was born in White Plains, New York. He participated in drama clubs, took music lessons, and attended Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. Even though he graduated with the hope of becoming an actor, he was encouraged to focus on composition by Stephen Sondheim, who was an enormous influence on his life, especially throughout his work with Rent. Larson won the Richard Rodgers Studio Production Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for a workshop version of Rent and a Rodgers Development Grant for a futuristic rock musical called Suberbia. Despite earning a Stephen Sondheim Award from the American Music Theater Festival, composing composed the score for a musical called J.P.

Morgan Saves the Nation, and performing a rock monologue called Tick, Tick, ... Boom! at the New York Theater Workshop and other stages, Larson lived in poverty. He was a waiter and worked for seven years to take Rent to the stage. After winning the $45,000 Richard Rogers grant in 1994, the New York Theatre Workshop was used to put on a studio production. After this workshop, the show was still out of focus. This frustrated Jonathan, who struggled with collaboration between himself and financial backers. He contacted his brother, Chuck McCollum, who talked him into not assuming everything they say is stupid and followed up with an analogy about the play, saying that it was up to Jonathan to figure out what the small problems were within the work that people didnt like, and then work out the kinks. Look and see if you can come up with solutions that satisfy both of you, rather than just dig your heels in. Dont operate out of fear of whether or not theyre going to pull the money (Rent. p. 33). While working on Rent, twice during tech week, Larson was taken to the ER with severe chest pain, but was ultimately released and diagnosed with either food poisoning or the flu. Excited about the the dress rehearsal, Larson attended the first full dress rehearsal on January 24th, 1996, despite feeling sick. That night, he was interviewed by Anthony Tommasini, who was the only reporter able to talk to Larson substantially about Rent. After Tommasini left, Larson put on a kettle to make tea, and died from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm. It is believed that he died as a result of Marfan Syndrome (American Theatre Wing, Inc.). The death of the writer of Rent shook the cast and everyone around him. Jim Nicola and Michael Greif decided that the cast would sit at tables and sing through the score without getting caught up in quick changes and lighting cues (Without You, p. 125). So after [the performance], we went backstage to put away the mikes and came out and everyone was silent

for a really long time. Then this sobbing voice said, Thank you, Jonathan Larson. And everybody clapped again (Rent. p. 52) The musicals five-week run sold out within the first day of the opening night. Rent became a massive and popular success. Rent accomplished Larsons goal of making musical theater socially and personally relevant to a younger audience (PBS). --Rent is a Broadway play written mostly by Jonathan Larson. In 1989, Billy Aronson contacted Larson after being recommended to do so by Ira Weitzman, the musical theatre program director of Playwrights Horizons. Aronson wanted to create a modern musical based on Puccinis La Bohme. They agreed to meet after Aronson heard some of Larsons music. They agreed to work together and eventually wrote the first drafts of the songs Rent, Santa Fe, and I Should Tell You. Jonathan suggested the title Rent because it reminded him of its other definition: to tear apart with force or violence (Rent is Real, Rent. p. x). Though Aronson and Larson split ways after recording demo versions of each of the three songs, Larson asked for permission to continue writing Rent in 1991. After four of Larsons friends were diagnosed HIV positive, the play seemed even more important to complete. Rent follows the character concepts of Puccinis La Bohme. In 1896, La Bohme had its first performance. The opera depicts a group of artists, composers and their friends who live lives of romanticized poverty, searching for love and connection despite jealousy and hardship. [...] The opera nearly failed in its first few weeks but went on to become Puccinis most popular work (Rent. p.25) Using the same idea of artists, composers, and friends who live lives of romanticized poverty, Larson rebuilt Puccinis La Bohme to attract a younger crowd. Most of the

characters were updated to different genders, names, and, in Mimis case, a different disease. Rent is set in the Lower East Side and follows Mark, an independent Jewish filmmaker, Roger, a musician recovering from heroin addiction who is paralyzed by fear, Collins, a NYU philosophy professor who falls for a transvestite named Angel, Mimi, a sassy, HIV-positive dancer at an S&M club, and Maureen, who dumps Mark for Joanne, a lawyer from a socially prominent family. While Larson borrows loosely from La Bohme, Rent shows Larsons own struggle with poverty and art. But Larsons and Puccinis bohemians have more in comon than harship: they share spirit, youth, hope, delight in one anothers companionship, and above all, a willingness to fight for love (Rent. p. 25). Mark and Roger dont have enough money to pay the rent. Maureen dumped Mark for Joanne. Rogers girlfriend tested positive for HIV and killed herself, leaving Roger to fend for himself with not only HIV but also heroin addiction. Rent chronicles the journey through poverty and art as friends come together to play a principal part of Mark Cohens documentary about their lives. Mark is something of a stand-in for Larson himself. The character watches his friends dying all around him and yet cannot do anything to save them. Instead, he saves their memory in his own art. The end of the musical finishes with Marks film projecting on the back wall scenes from Rent as the cast sings a reprise of No Day but Today and Without You after a near-death-Mimi wakes from her HIV caused fever, ending Rent on a good note, rather than a sad one, which veers from Puccinis opera. Without you/ the hand gropes /the ear hears /the pulse beats /life goes on /but Im gone /cause I die without you and Theres only now /theres only here /give in to love /or live in fear /no other path /no other way /no day but today (Rent. p. 141) compliment each other perfectly and leave the lasting legacy of Jonathan Larson:

like a message from beyond the grave--as if he had known the he would die after completing his work. Larson imagined a show that could be his breakthrough work, Hair for the 90s. The time had come to reclaim Broadway from stagnation and empty spectacle, to bring musical theater to the MTV generation (Tommasini). He wanted to shake people with a grisly, messy show. Like many musicals, the making of "Rent" involved determination, pluck and vision. But the authenticity and spirit that critics and audiences have responded to derive from Mr. Larson's personal odyssey. This is the story of a composer who almost realized his dream (Tommasini). Ben Brantley of the New York Times discusses the brilliance behind Rent and the pitfalls in concern to how large the Nederlander on Broadway was considered to its former home off Broadway. After the move from the 150 seats in the New York Theater Workshop, no one seems to have thought rationally about reconceiving the show for a larger house (Brantley). Thank heavens for its top-flight cast, which does indeed pump the theater full of emotional adrenaline. But the actors work harder than they should have to (Brantley). Additionally, the top ticket price to see Rent was $67.50, a figure that would feed most of its cast in an Avenue B restaurant (Brantley). Brantley goes on to praise Rent. That Rent still qualifies as a major success,is almost entirely because of Mr. Larson's clever but deeply felt words and score and the cast and musicians who interpret them. What makes Rent so wonderful is not its hipness quotient, but its extraordinary spirit of hopeful defiance and humanity (Brantley). He continues by saying Mr. Larson has conceived his show's surrogate family of fringe artists, drag queens and H.I.V.-infected drug users with such rich affection and compassion that it is impossible not

to care about them. The cast members beam with the good will and against-the-odds optimism that is at the heart of the American musical (Brantley). Finally, There's no denying that Mr. Larson discovered a winningly accessible and ground-breaking musical formula that combines rock's drive, pop's memory-grabbing melodiousness and the leitmotifs and harmonic counterpoints of opera (Brantley). While there were still problems to work out, Rent was obviously a big hit. In 2005, Rent came to the silver screen starring, surprisingly, most of the same Broadway cast. Directed by Christopher Columbus, Rent came to life with more conventional dialogue than simply lines sung. Rent became a musical-movie, rather than the opera it was written to be. Mimi and Joanne were each played by new actresses, but the remainder of the roles primarily stayed the same. Instead of the simplistic set design, Maureen sported a proper performance space with screens to enhance her acting during Over the Moon. A large crowd stood in front of her and mooed enthusiastically before a fight broke out. During La vie Boheme, the cast danced in a real restaurant, making just as much of a stir as on stage. For Santa Fe, Mark, Roger, Collins, and Angel took the subway, something that they couldnt have done on stage. But while Rent satisfies on the silver screen, it simply isnt the same as the real deal. The theater reviews were conflicting. Raphael Shargel found it to be superficial and pretentious (Shargel) while A. O. Scott found himself pleased and somewhat surprised (Scott). Both agree that Rent is sometimes silly, often melodramatic, and never subtle (Scott). Rent is ambitious and offensive (Shargel). They disagree on the choice of director. Columbus has no feel for contemporary New York. His vision of the city is closer to a tourist's than a native's (Shargel). And Mr. Columbus has taken a source that is fiercely and jealously

loved by its core fans and refrained from messing it up. It is not just that he shows dexterity and imagination in transferring the spectacle onto the actual streets of the East Village in Manhattan. The real key to his success is his utter lack of condescension (Scott). Even though Rent has to change from stage to film, its joy and cleverness remain in the lyrics that are sung throughout the movie. The film soundtrack is more available because it is studio recorded and refined. Despite this, one of the major problems in the play versus the film is the placement of the songs. Chbosky, who wrote the script for the film, moved several songs, like Youll See to suit his vision. In Larsons libretto, Youll See follows Today 4 U, whereas, Youll See chases Rent in the film. There are 42 songs in the libretto. Several of them have been fused together in the film or transposed into spoken word, rather than retaining their lyricism. Rent, however, becomes digitally available for every out-of-place artist all over the word through film, something it could not achieve on Broadway. --Rents appeal is infectious. (No pun intended.) Through large, belty numbers, the rock opera has a lot to offer, specifically where music comes into play. The songs of Rent combine as many types of music as possible: rock, pop, salsa, even heartfelt ballads. And while hearing Out Tonight over and over during an audition might be annoying, La Vie Boheme could be a very satisfying group number. As offensive as some of the subjects may be, educating about HIV is important and gay advocacy could also help turn tolerance into acceptance. From a directors point of view, Rent could be scary, but rewarding. It would require a fresh perspective, a willingness to veer from the past, and a willing cast ready to take direction that might not be exactly what they expected. Rent has a lot of inspirational numbers and given its extremely popular past, it could draw a very large crowd to the theatre. Perhaps it could even

inspire a whole new generation of theatre lovers or get those that have yet to be involved to find a way to chip in. While controversial, Rent does offer a great insight into artists and talent, both of which are typically involved in the theatre process. Maybe people just need the opportunity to belong one way or another. After all, theres no day but today (Larson).

Works Cited "About Jonathan Larson." American Theatre Wing. American Theatre Wing, Inc., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://americantheatrewing.org/larsongrants/about.php>.

Brantley, Ben. "THEATER REVIEW; Enter Singing: Young, Hopeful And Taking On The Big Time." New York Times. N.p., 30 Apr. 1996. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/30/theater/theater-review-enter-singing-young-hopefuland-taking-on-the-big-time.html?src=pm>.

"FAQs." Rent - The Award-winning Musical Phenomenon by Jonathan Larson. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://www.siteforrent.com/>.

"Jonathan Larson." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/jonathan-larson/>.

Larson, Jonathan. Rent: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical. New York: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2008. Print.

Larson, Jonathan, Evelyn McDonnell, Kathy Silberger, Larry Fink, Stewart Ferebee, and Kate Giel. Rent. New York: Rob Weisbach, 1997. Print.

Rapp, Anthony. Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Print.

Rent. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Tracie Thoms. Sony Pictures, 2005. DVD.

Scott, A. O. "New Tenants in Tinseltown." New York Times. New York Times, 23 Nov. 2005. Web. 7 Mar. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/23/movies/23rent.html?_r=0>.

"Search for Award Winners." American Academy of Arts and Letters. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013. <http://www.artsandletters.org/awards2_search.php>.

Shargel, Raphael. "Professions of love." The New Leader 88.6 (2005): 59+. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.

Tommasini, Anthony. "THEATER; The Seven-Year Odyssey That Led to 'RENT.'" The New York Times. New York Times, 17 Mar. 1996. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/17/theater/theather-the-seven-year-odyssey-that-led-torent.html>.