Rent (musical)
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Rent is a Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical. It opened in New York City on April 29, 1996, at the Nederlander Theatre and continues to play on Broadway (the seventh-longest running Broadway musical as of March 1, 2006). Based upon Puccini's opera La bohème, the musical centers on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive in New York's Alphabet City neighborhood under the shadow of AIDS (in La bohème the disease was tuberculosis).
The cast album from the show was the most successful recording of an American musical in almost 30 years, featuring both a 2-Disc, "complete recording" collection with a remixed version of the song "Seasons of Love" featuring Stevie Wonder, and a 1-disc "best of" highlights.
Rent was one of the first Broadway musicals that featured some of the first clearly gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender characters on stage. Almost every previous production that dealt with such issues had generally been relegated to off-Broadway venues (an exception is La Cage aux Folles).
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Creative process
Playwright Billy Aronson [1] came up with the original idea to write a musical update of La bohème in 1988. He 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, got together with Aronson to swap ideas. Larson came up with the title and suggested moving the setting from the Upper West Side to downtown, where Larson himself lived. In 1991, he asked Billy if he could use the original concept on which they had collaborated and make Rent his own. They made an agreement that if the show went to Broadway, Aronson would share in the proceeds.
Jonathan Larson lived for Rent for several years, making several rewrites and changes and writing hundreds of songs for the show - 44 are in the final version. Even as the show solidified, it proved intensely popular. Unfortunately, Larson would not live to see its true success: he died from an undiagnosed aortic dissection in the early morning of January 25, 1996, just a few hours after the musical had its final dress rehearsal at the New York Theatre Workshop; the show was to open that very day. It is believed that the defect resulted from Marfan syndrome.
The show did premiere, at the request of Larson's parents, at the New York Theatre Workshop the very day Jonathan Larson died. That opening night show, according to first-hand accounts of cast and audience members, began as a simple sit-down performance, but around the number "La Vie Boheme A", the cast began to do the full performance. It was so popular that a move to Broadway was inevitable; it premiered at the previously-derelict Nederlander Theatre, at the time the only Broadway show south of 42nd Street, on April 29, 1996.
Plot
The musical follows the lives of a handful of New Yorkers over the course of a year as they struggle with the purpose of living, housing, relationships, loss, and AIDS.
Characters include Roger, a musician suffering from HIV and recovering from heroin addiction; Mark, a struggling film maker; Maureen, Mark's bisexual performance artist ex-girlfriend; Tom Collins, a teacher at New York University (NYU) who is HIV-positive and a friend and former roommate of Roger and Mark; Angel, Collins' drag queen lover, also HIV-positive and a street percussionist/musician; Benny, an old friend and another former roommate of Mark and Roger who later became their landlord; Mimi, an HIV-positive dancer and heroin junkie; and Joanne, a Harvard-educated lawyer and Maureen's girlfriend.
Act One
On Christmas Eve, Mark decides to begin shooting a film without a script. We learn that his roommate, Roger, is a musician who lost his inspiration when his girlfriend (April) committed suicide after finding out that the two of them were HIV-positive. Meanwhile, their former pal Benny, who married a wealthy woman, Alison Grey of Westport, and bought the lot next door to Mark and Roger's apartment building (which he also owns), breaks his promise to let them live in the apartment for free and asks for the rent, which he knows they don't have. He says he will let it slide and sign papers saying that they can live in the apartment rent-free -- if they get Maureen, a performance artist and Mark's ex-girlfriend, to cancel her protest against his plan to develop the lot, which is currently the site of a homeless tent city. He believes that Mark can do this because he used to date Maureen (before she dumped him for a female lawyer named Joanne).
Outside, Tom Collins, a former professor of computer age philosophy who used to live with Roger and Mark as well, is trying to get in after coming home from teaching at MIT. However, he is jumped by thugs and lies bleeding on the street. Angel, a transvestite drag queen and street drummer, spots Collins and comes to his aid. They are attracted to one another and quickly discover that they both have AIDS. They leave the alley to tend to Collins' wounds.
Meanwhile, Mark asks Roger to join him tonight in going Maureen's protest then out to dinner. Roger declines, saying that he has no money. Mark reminds Roger to take his AZT, making the audience aware that Roger is also HIV positive. After Mark leaves, Roger laments about wanting to write one great song before he dies from AIDS, as he believes he will, when he hears a knock on the door. He finds Mimi, a nineteen-year-old junkie who lives in the apartment below. We learn that she is a dancer at an S&M club called The "Cat Scratch Club". She asks him to light a candle for her, because her electricity has been shut off. Although sparks and flirtation fly, Roger is afraid to get involved with her because of the tragic ending to his last relationship.
Hours later, Collins finally makes it to Mark and Roger's apartment, bearing gifts. He introduces Angel, who, now dressed in drag, flashes a large stack of money. When Mark questions whether (s)he earned it on the street, Angel explains that a wealthy woman paid her to drum a beat outside her apartment to drive her neighbor's yappy dog insane. Angel and Collins invite the two to attend a Life Support (a local HIV support group) meeting and come to dinner after Maureen's show. Right before they are about to leave, Mark receives a phone call from Maureen who informs him that her equipment broke down and she needs his help. Mark goes to help her, while Angel and Collins go to the Life Support meeting, but Roger stays behind.
Mark arrives at the lot, meets Joanne, and they agree that living with Maureen is like dancing a complicated tango (Tango Maureen), in that she plays her lovers for all they are worth. After successfully 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.
Meanwhile, Mimi wants to go out (She sings, "Out Tonight"), and returns to Roger and Mark's. Roger roughly turns her down after a passionate kiss, and drives her out of the apartment. However, his worries about his future begin to haunt him and he, too, decides to leave (They sing, "Another Day").
Collins and Angel become an official couple (they sing, "I'll Cover You"), and Roger finds Mimi again and asks her to go to the protest and the dinner party planned for afterwards (Maureen sings, "On the Street"). Mimi accepts Mark's invitation; Collins, Angel, Mark, Roger, Mimi, and Joanne attend Maureen's protest and watch as Maureen cleverly insults Benny for trying to evict the homeless from the lot just so he can build a cyber studio (she sings, "Over The Moon"). Afterward, 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 tells them that they need to grow up, that Bohemia is dead. Mark gets up and delivers an amusing eulogy for Bohemia; then all the bohemians in the cafe rise up and tell Benny and his companions what La Vie Boheme (the bohemian life) is about. Through song, they explain that acceptance, love, and fun are critical parts of life.
During the song, Mimi and Roger's beepers go off simultaneously, reminding them to take their AZT. They discover they are both HIV-positive and bond immediately, promising not to keep secrets and to love each other openly (they then sing the song, "I should tell you"). Meanwhile Joanne who has been cleaning up after the protest, enters and says that a riot has broken out in the lot and the police have been called in, sparking a new round of celebration through the song, "La Via Boheme B".
Act Two
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 Angel, Collins, Joanne, and Maureen. Mimi decides to give up her heroin addiction and go back to school, while Roger says that he is happy again because Mimi is in his life.
Mark, Maureen, and Joanne scale the fire escape to try to break in through a window. When they enter the apartment, they find that the electricity is on again. They listen to an answering machine message from Alexi Darling of "Buzzline," a "sleazy" news show. She has seen Mark's footage of the riots on TV and wants to offer him a contract. Maureen, excited, decides that she will plan another protest and Mark can film it as a documentary. They go downstairs to meet up with the others.
Benny shows up as soon as the lock is broken and, after suggesting that Mark begin taping, offers Mark and Roger a new lease, rent free. When Mark says that his batteries were dead, Benny wants to reshoot, prompting Roger and Maureen to say that he only wants the good press that having this action on film would get him. Benny, incensed, implies that Mimi showed up at his place and had sex with him to get him to change his mind, while Mimi denies everything. Roger gets extremely upset, but Angel convinces everyone to calm down and make a New Year's resolution to always remain friends. They all toast Benny and go inside. Mimi, however, remains outside. She sneaks off to get some heroin from a dealer.
As the year moves on, the happy New Year's couples become not so happy. While rehearsing for the new protest, Maureen and Joanne have a fight and break up again. Mimi comes into her apartment to find Roger waiting for her, tired of her excuses and convinced that she is cheating on him with Benny, her ex-boyfriend. However, they make up.
All the while, Angel is growing more ill. After a long struggle to hold onto life and the ones he loves, he dies. At Angel's funeral, a fight breaks out between Mimi, Roger, Maureen, and Joanne. Mimi and Joanne exclaim that they have done nothing but love Roger and Maureen, respectively, and they would be "happy to die for a taste of what Angel had -- someone to live for, unafraid to say 'I love you.'" Maureen and Joanne make up yet again, but Roger is leaving for Santa Fe. Roger and Mark fight because Roger is leaving; Mark accuses Roger of running away because Mimi does not look very well. Mimi, coming into the middle of this fight, says goodbye to Roger and breaks down. Mark suggests that she go away to a clinic, and Benny offers to pay.
Roger returns from Santa Fe just in time for Christmas. In his time away he has realized how much he loves Mimi, but though he scours the city for her he cannot find her. On Christmas Eve, Collins shows up with money. He explains that he has rewired an ATM so that anyone with the PIN "Angel" can get money. Maureen and Joanne arrive, calling for help. They are carrying Mimi, who has been living on the street and has caught a fever. They bring her into the apartment; Collins calls 911 but is put on hold. Mimi and Roger talk. She tells him that she has always loved him. Roger sings Mimi the song that he had been trying to write all year, which he was finally able to write after he realized that he loved her. Mimi faints. Roger and the others believe that she is dead, but suddenly she comes to. She says 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. Touched and relieved, the group breaks into song.
Musical numbers
Act One:
- Tune Up #1- Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- Voice Mail #1- Mrs. Cohen
- Tune Up #2- Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Tom Collins, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
- Rent- Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, Ensemble
- You Okay Honey?- Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins
- Tune Up #3- Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- One Song Glory- Roger Davis
- Light My Candle- Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez
- Voice Mail #2- Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Jefferson
- Today 4 U- Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins, Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- You'll See- Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard
- Tango: Maureen- Joanne Jefferson, Mark Cohen
- Life Support- Paul, Gordon, Roger Davis, Ensemble
- Out Tonight- Mimi Marquez
- Another Day- Mimi Marquez, Roger Davis, Ensemble
- Will I?- Steve, Ensemble
- On the Street- Homeless, Police, Mark Cohen, Angel Dumott Schunard
- Santa Fe- Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard, Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Homeless
- I'll Cover You- Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins
- We're Okay- Joanne Jefferson
- Christmas Bells- Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Mimi Marquez, Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, Joanne Jefferson, Maureen Johnson, Vendors, Homeless, Police, The Man, Ensemble
- Over the Moon- Maureen Johnson
- La Vie Boheme- Mark Cohen, Ensemble
- I Should Tell You- Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez
- La Vie Boheme B- Mark Cohen, Ensemble
Act Two:
- Seasons of Love- Ensemble, Soloist 1 & 2
- Happy New Year- Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard
- Voice Mail #3- Mrs. Cohen, Alexi Darling
- Happy New Year B-Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
- Take Me or Leave Me- Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson
- Seasons of Love B- Ensemble
- Without You- Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez
- Voice Mail #4- Alexi Darling
- Contact- Angel Dumott Schunard, Ensemble
- I'll Cover You (Reprise)- Tom Collins, Joanne Jefferson, Ensemble
- Halloween- Mark Cohen
- Goodbye Love- Mimi Marquez, Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Tom Collins, Joanne Jefferson, Maureen Johnson, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
- What You Own- Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- Voice Mail #5- Mrs. Cohen, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Marquez, Mr. Jefferson
- Finale- Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Tom Collins, Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson
- Your Eyes- Roger Davis
- Finale B- Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Ensemble
Sources/inspiration
Larson pulled together multiple, diverse sources for Rent. Most of the characters and many plot elements are drawn directly from the opera La Bohème. Several scenes are adapted nearly line-for-line in a playful translation from 1840s Paris on the Left Bank to 1980s New York in Alphabet City. The political components are based on actual events in Alphabet City, and the riot in Rent is based on an actual riot in Tompkins Square Park in August 1988.
Larson also drew from his own life experience in writing the show. Larson and his roommates lived in a run-down apartment, and for a while kept an illegal wood-burning stove. Like the one in "Rent", his apartment did not have a doorman and he had to throw down the key to guests. He also dated a dancer for four years who sometimes left him for other men and eventually left him for another woman. Finally, he lived through the AIDS epidemic and lost friends to it (a number of whom are paid tribute as group members in the song Life Support).
In her 1998 book Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America (ISBN 0822322641), author Sarah Schulman contends 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. As many scenes are adapted directly from La Boheme, this is an improbable claim. [2]
Theatrical run
The original cast, as appeared in the Broadway production from April 16, 1996 through opening night and several months after (with some cast members staying around for over a year), and the album recording, was as follows:
- Taye Diggs - Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
- Wilson Jermaine Heredia - Angel Dumott Schunard
- Jesse L. Martin - Tom Collins
- Idina Menzel - Maureen Johnson
- Adam Pascal - Roger Davis
- Anthony Rapp - Mark Cohen
- Daphne Rubin-Vega - Mimi Marquez
- Fredi Walker - Joanne Jefferson
- Gilles Chiasson - Steve and others, Mark and Roger understudy
- Rodney Hicks - Paul and others, Benny understudy
- Kristen Lee Kelly - Mark's mom and others, Maureen understudy
- Aiko Nakasone - Alexi Darling and others
- Timothy Britten Parker - Gordon and others
- Gwen Stewart - Mrs. Jefferson and others
- Byron Utley - Mr. Jefferson and others, Collins understudy
- Yassmin Alers (Maureen and Mimi understudy)
- Darius de Haas (Angel, Collins, and Benny understudy)
- Shelley Dickinson (Joanne understudy)
- David Driver (Mark and Roger understudy)
- Mark Setlock (Angel understudy)
- Simone (Joanne and Mimi understudy) - swings
The show was a massive success on Broadway; however, the original London production didn't achieve the same success.
There have been three very successful United States national tours -- the "Angel Tour" and the "Benny Tour," both of which launched soon after the Broadway production opened, as well as a recent non-Equity tour -- plus a Canadian tour (often referred to as the "Collins Tour"). There have also been various international productions, including productions in Australia, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Germany, Japan, Bolivia, Korea, the Philippines and the UK.
In order to provide theatergoing opportunities to those who might otherwise be unable to afford them, the first two rows of the theater (on Broadway and on tour) are reserved for sale by rush (first-come, first-serve, or lottery) two hours before the show for $20 per seat.
Creative control for Rent and its various tours and satellite shows is held by the family of Jonathan Larson. They also had final say for creative decisions in the motion picture.
Awards
In 1996, Rent won at the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Actor Wilson Jermaine Heredia won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Angel.
Additionally, actors Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Idina Menzel were nominated in the Leading Actor, Leading Actress, and Featured Actress in a Musical categories (for their portrayals of Roger, Mimi, and Maureen, respectively). Adam Pascal also acquired a Drama Desk nomination and won the Obie Award and Theatre World Award for his role as Roger. The show itself was nominated for Tonys for its lighting design (Blake Burba), choreography (Marlies Yearby), and direction (Michael Greiif).
Rent also won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1996.
Cultural impact
The musical Rent has been mentioned elsewhere in pop culture, including (but not limited to) the cartoons The Simpsons, Family Guy, the puppet musical Avenue Q, the off-Broadway satiric review Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back and the television show Friends.
Ths show has gathered a huge following over the years and has obsessive fans that refer to themselves as "RENT-heads" (usually all in caps, sometimes hyphenated). The name originally refered to people who would camp out for the $20 rush line before each show.
In the 2001 film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the character Yitzhak is seen wearing a Rent shirt, and later announces his intention to play Angel in a Polynesian production of Rent. The 2004 movie Team America: World Police included a parody of the musical entitled Lease, the portion depicted in the film being a showy song entitled "Everyone Has AIDS," a parody of the movie's message with the piano bassline of La Vie Boheme.
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. Newcomer 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 at the time of casting. Walker herself has stated that she looks too old to play the part of Joanne. Screenplay was written by Stephen Chbosky. Although the film performed so-so at the box-office it has since found popularity on DVD.
External links
- RENT: The Original Broadway Version on DVD! (petition)
- Rent at Internet Broadway Database
- Rent page on the Internet Movie Database
- Rubin-Vega has no Rent regrets
- Official Broadway production site
- Official movie site
- Message Board for Fans
- Anthony Rapp on the film Rent
- Rent Fan Forumsde:Rent (Musical)