RENT

The original Broadway cast performs “Seasons of Love” the most well recognized song from Rent.

Broadway is one of the major attractions that people will think of immediately when they think of New York City. New York has been a center of entertainment since the beginning of the 20th century and that has only grown since then. Broadway shows are a sole reason that people will travel for New York and then they stay for the overall excitement and appeal of the city. One of the most influential and popular shows that emerged from the late 20th century is Rent. The popularity and influence of Rent is twofold. First, Rent takes place and was written in a very complicated and divided time in New York City and it reflects this in the plot and the songs. Second, Rent’s songs and the use of ensembles, character development, and plot lines that stay relevant as time passes make it a musical that has stuck with people and grown on people who did not get to experience the phenomenon when it was first produced.

Rent was originally conceptualized by a young playwright named Billy Aronson after he developed a new infatuation with opera in the late 1980s. The opera that resonated with him the most was La Bohème. In that opera, he saw similarities between the artists and their poverty and New York in the 80s. In New York, the homeless population was rising, people were dying in the city, AIDs was prevalent, and there was lack of support for the arts. However, Aronson wanted to change the plot a little. He wanted the plot to contain events and characters so overwhelming that feelings were hard to express. In La Bohème, characters were very quick to share their feelings. In 1989, Aronson asked playwrights he knew for any good composers. Jonathan Larson, who would later become the name that is associated with Rent, was one of the composers offered. In regards to working with Larson, Aronson said, “I got in touch with him, and he was very excited about the idea…I thought maybe we could do something funnier, but he really wanted to do this…his music was so expressive, and in that way Rent is more like La Bohème. So even though there were differences, I wanted to work with him and see what would happen.”[1]

Larson and Aronson took the aspects of La Bohème and rewrote them to fit the then modern day New York City. The characters in La Bohème suffer from tuberculosis. To bring the plotline into the then modern day New York, the characters that were infected with tuberculosis were written to have AIDs. Likewise, instead of living in Parisian garrets, the characters now live in the East Village of New York. Even though Aronson originally wanted the plot to originally change a bit, the plot did not stray very much from the plot of La Bohème. Although the two were working together, in the end, Larson asked if he could take over the project on his own and he made Rent what it was today.[2]

Since Rent is based off of an opera, it is a predominantly sung show. The songs are a door into the times and plot of the play. For example, the titular song Rent states “And we’re hungry and frozen some life that we’ve chosen how we gonna pay how we gonna pay how we gonna pay last year’s rent.”[3] The characters singing are struggling artists that are struggling to survive on very low income, which was very common of artists in the East Village—one of the exact reasons Aronson originally came up with the idea to write the play. Next, the most recognizable song from Rent, “Seasons of Love”, discusses how much can happen and how to measure a year. A particularly relevant lyric in the song is “In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried? In bridges he burned, or the way that she died?”[4] The people, both in the play and in this time period in New York, were living and going through a lot—the city was in a decay period which made many people uneasy about the state of the city. Within the city, crime rates were up, drug use was an issue, and homelessness was also elevating. The wealthy were not keen on seeing the city in shambles and the impoverished were struggling to make ends meet. The song talks about the ups and downs, this particular lyric being a down, but it is a reality for many people in that time period. The song also states to “remember the love” and “share love, give love, spread love, measure your life in love,[5]” bringing a more positive light in how to really portray life.

The legacy of Rent has stayed relevant for the 21 years since it premiered on Broadway.  Rent had become a phenomenon because it spoke to a generation. It also plays on many typically seen theater traits that are commonplace, but Rent elevates them. There were taboo subjects that were covered in Rent that rely heavily on classical musical theater structures and images. The romantic leads in the show, Mimi and Roger are complimented with two other couples—the always quarreling Maureen and Joanne, who function as comic relief, and Angel and Collins who are an HIV positive couple who have a never ending amount of devotion toward each other, which will ultimately end in tragedy. The lively end of first act number “La Vie Bohème”, where the romance between Roger and Mimi is established, is an anthem of youth and nonconformity.[6]

Rent provides viewers with a little bit of everything and gives everyone who watches a relatable character or moment. Also, people love when a character grows in a piece of work and Rent delivers. Roger, one of the eight New Yorkers the play follows, grows from a broken man with no hope in sight to a man who has found love and a reason to write music again. Roger wants to live again and Rent chronicles Roger on his way back to life. Roger learns how to accept that he is a person “living with living with, living with, not dying from disease,” and at the end, Roger chooses to be alive and happy—no longer living in fear of not getting a tomorrow. [7] People believe that they can connect to a character that changes over time because no one in their life remains stagnant. Rent provides people with a character that begins as too scared to live and eventually becomes scared to not live.

Rent is influential in New York not just because it is one of the most popular and successful Broadway shows, but also because it takes place in the city. Notable places such as the East Village and the Life Café are present in the play as places the characters live and frequent. Among that, the two theaters, the New York Theater Workshop and the Nederlander, were the two theaters that showed Rent both off and on Broadway. These are iconic places in the city that add to the authenticity of Rent.

Rent has left a major impression on New Yorkers and on the rest of the country. It has become a phenomenon with a movie that has been produced and 20th anniversary tour still going on. It is convenient that places that are important to the play can be visited and seen by fans. Although there are more places to visit, these are a few key areas to go to see where important events occurred in Rent.

[1] Larson, Jonathan. Rent (book). New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 18

[2] Larson, Jonathan. Rent (book). New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc. 20

[3] Larson, Jonathan, writer. Rent. Performed by Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Daphne Ruben Vega, and Fredi Walker. Rent (original broadway cast). 1996

[4] Larson, Jonathan, writer. Seasons of Love. Performed by Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin, Taye Diggs,x Fredi Walker, Wilson Jermaine. Heredia, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Idina Menzel. -original Broadway recording. 1996.

[5] Larson, Jonathan, writer. Seasons of Love. Performed by Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin, Taye Diggs,x Fredi Walker, Wilson Jermaine. Heredia, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Idina Menzel. -original Broadway recording. 1996.

[6]Elizabeth L.  Wollman, “Rock Musicians in the Musical Theater: The 1990s.” In The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical, from Hair to Hedwig, 2006, 171.

[7] Scott Miller, “Inside RENT.” New Line Theater. 2001. Accessed November 14, 2017.

[8] “NYTW / What We Do.” NYTW. Accessed November 14, 2017. https://www.nytw.org/about/what-we-do/.

[9] “NYTW / What We Do.” NYTW. Accessed November 14, 2017. https://www.nytw.org/about/what-we-do/.

[10] “NYTW / What We Do.” NYTW. Accessed November 14, 2017. https://www.nytw.org/about/what-we-do/.

[11] Nederlander Theatre – The Official Website – Ticketmaster is the authorized ticket service for this theatre. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://nederlandertheatre.com/about.php.

[12] “Nederlander Theater: View More.” Playbill. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://www.playbill.com/venue/view-more?venue=00000150-aacd-d8be-af71-ffef18850006.

[13] “Nederlander Theater: View More.” Playbill. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://www.playbill.com/venue/view-more?venue=00000150-aacd-d8be-af71-ffef18850006.

[14] “RENT Connection « Life Cafe – New York City and Brooklyn Bar, Restaurant, Cafe.” Life Cafe – New York City and Brooklyn Bar, Restaurant, Cafe. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://lifecafe.com/rentconnection/.

[15] Janet Abu-Lughod, “Diversity, Democracy, and Self-Determination in an Urban Neighborhood: The East Village of Manhattan.” Social Research 61, no. 1 1994 187.

[16] Larson, Jonathan, writer. You’ll See. Performed by Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, and Taye Diggs. –original Broadway recording. 1996.

[17] Janet Abu-Lughod, “Diversity, Democracy, and Self-Determination in an Urban Neighborhood: The East Village of Manhattan.” Social Research 61, no. 1 1994 187.

Bibliography

Abu-Lughod, Janet. “Diversity, Democracy, and Self-Determination in an Urban Neighborhood: The East Village of Manhattan.” Social Research 61, no. 1 (Spring94 1994): 181-203. Political Science Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed November 14, 2017).

Larson, Jonathan, writer. Rent. Performed by Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Daphne Ruben Vega, and Fredi Walker. Rent (original broadway cast). 1996

Larson, Jonathan, writer. Seasons of Love. Performed by Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin, Taye Diggs,x Fredi Walker, Wilson Jermaine. Heredia, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Idina Menzel. -original Broadway recording. 1996.

Larson, Jonathan, writer. You’ll See. Performed by Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, and Taye Diggs. –original Broadway recording. 1996.

Larson, Jonathan. Rent. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc.

Miller, Scott. “Inside RENT.” New Line Theater. 2001. Accessed November 14, 2017

Nederlander Theatre – The Official Website – Ticketmaster is the authorized ticket service for this theatre. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://nederlandertheatre.com/about.php.

“Nederlander Theater: View More.” Playbill. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://www.playbill.com/venue/view-more?venue=00000150-aacd-d8be-af71-ffef18850006.

“NYTW / What We Do.” NYTW. Accessed November 14, 2017. https://www.nytw.org/about/what-we-do/.

“NYTW / Who We Are.” NYTW. Accessed November 14, 2017. https://www.nytw.org/about/who-we-are/.

“RENT Connection « Life Cafe – New York City and Brooklyn Bar, Restaurant, Cafe.” Life Cafe – New York City and Brooklyn Bar, Restaurant, Cafe. Accessed November 14, 2017. http://lifecafe.com/rentconnection/.

Wollman, Elizabeth L. “Rock Musicians in the Musical Theater: The 1990s.” In The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical, from Hair to Hedwig, 158-200. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006.

  • New York Theater Workshop

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