ONE SHOW GLORY

Written by Official RENT Blog contributor Andrew Milne

Roughly 8,469,600 minutes ago, the world changed forever: RENT opened. One Pulitzer, multiple Tony Awards, and hundreds of sold-out shows later, many people still do not know the history of the show that glorifies life in the present. Like the show itself, I’m going to try my best here to “document real life” – the journey of RENT from conception to its Broadway birth on April 29th, 1996, and the life of the man who made it.

Art mirrors life, and Jonathan Larson’s magnum opus is no exception; Larson lived in downtown Manhattan, owned an illegal wood-burning stove, and was surrounded by artists and people with AIDS (the two were seldom mutually exclusive). The people and events of his life color the story and score of the show, down to throwing his keys to the street due to the broken buzzer of his apartment building (the same tiny apartment where Larson held the auditions for the showcase). Small details were not the only aspect of RENT from where Larson’s life peppered the show – “Will I?” and “Life Support” were both based on Friends In Deed meetings (an organization dealing with emotions relating to illness and dying) that Larson attended. His bohemian lifestyle generally provided the backdrop for RENT; Mark is based on Larson’s friend Eddie Rosenstein, and some characters were based on Friends In Deed acquaintances.

As Maria explains in The Sound of Music, (now I’m getting my musicals crossed) nothing comes of nothing, and RENT is no exception: it is heavily based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Boheme. The gilded salons and elegance of 19th century Paris are replaced with the grit and dirt of pre-millennium New York, but the stories are markedly similar – a group of artists seize life, choosing art over riches. Mimi the seamstress becomes Mimi the exotic dancer, Marcello the painter morphs into Mark the filmmaker, and tuberculosis becomes AIDS, but the overall themes are the same: life is for living, and loving.

Jonathan Larson died the day before RENT had its off-Broadway debut. Yet, like his masterpiece, the important thing is not that he died, but how he lived. He made something great, beautiful, and real. He inspired countless people with his story of not living in the past, not fretting over the future, but enjoying the present. He lived like a bohemian. He lived. So close to the sixteen year anniversary of his achievement, it’s important that we not just remember that he died like one of his characters, but celebrate that he lived like one: he lived – and loved – through his art.

Andrew

Do you have friends that inspire you the way Jonathan's inspired him? Do you have your very own Mark, Roger, Maureen, Mimi, Joanne or Angel in your life? Tell us about them in the comments below or on RENT's Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more about the current Off-Broadway production of RENT at www.siteforrent.com.

OFFICIAL RENT BLOGGER INTERVIEWS PRODUCER JEFFREY SELLER

Official Blogger, Paul, recently sat down with Jeffrey Seller to talk about the new Off-Broadway production of RENT, now playing at New World Stages. Watch Paul's interview with Jeffrey to find out more about why RENT is back in New York City and which song from RENT is Jeffrey's favorite!



Look out for more interviews soon! For tickets and information about RENT, please visit www.siteforrent.com.

RENT RETURNS

NEW OFF-BROADWAY PRODUCTION SET FOR SUMMER 2011 AT NEW WORLD STAGES

SEARCH IS ON FOR NEW CAST



Producers Jeffrey Seller Kevin McCollum Allan S. Gordon have announced that the landmark musical RENT will open in a new, off-Broadway production on Thursday, August 11 at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Previews begin Thursday, July 14.

RENT, written by Jonathan Larson, will be directed by Michael Greif who directed the show’s original off-Broadway and Broadway productions. The creative team will include choreographer Larry Keigwin; music supervisor Tim Weil; set designer Mark Wendland; costume designer Angela Wendt; lighting designer Kevin Adams; sound designer Brian Ronan; and casting director Telsey + Company.

Casting for this production begins immediately with open calls in New York on Friday, March 18, 11am – 2pm, at New World Stages, and in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 30, 1:30pm – 4:00pm at the Hollywood United Methodist Church, 6817 Franklin Avenue. For more casting information and to enter an online auditions contest, please visit siteforrent.com.

RENT first opened February 13, 1996 at New York Theatre Workshop where it was hailed as a landmark in the history of the American musical. It transferred to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. Additionally, RENT is one of only eight musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In all RENT won four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, two Theatre World Awards, and Obie Awards for its creator, director, and entire cast. RENT closed at the Nederlander Theatre on Sunday, September 7, 2008, after playing 5,124 performances and 16 previews.