On April 29, 1996, Jonathan Larson's hit musical Rent made its Broadway debut on the Netherland Theatre stage. The show is a moving rock musical set in New York City between 1989 and 1990 which follows the lives of the six leads, all struggling artists during the days of the Bohemian Alphabet City while also dealing with the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
Jonathan Larson was himself a struggling artist until inspiration came for this new musical. Rent is loosely based off of Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème. Larson wrote the music, lyrics, and the book for the musical. He knew all about the struggles his characters were facing because he had lived it himself either directly or indirectly. Larson would never see the success of his musical. On January 25, 1996, the morning of Rent's first preview performance Off Broadway, Larson died unexpected. He suffered an aortic dissection, believed to have been caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome.
The musical gained much success and launched the careers of some of its leads. The original cast includes: Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, Fredi Walker, and Taye Diggs. Some of their most notable work following the success of Rent include:
Idina Menzel: originating the role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, play Shelby Corcoran in the musical dramedy tv series Glee, and voicing Queen Else in the 2013 Disney film Frozen.
Jesse L. Martin: featured in the 2012 film Joyful Noise, portrayed Detective Edward "Ed" Green on the crime drama tv series Law & Order from 1999-2008, and most recently portrays Joe West on the CW tv series The Flash.
Taye Diggs: featured as The Bandleader in the 2002 musical film Chicago and he portrayed Dr. Sam Bennett on the ABC medical drama series Private Practice.
The original cast of the 1996 musical (not including Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker) became their characters once again the 2005 film adaption of the musical. Rent closed on Broadway in 2008 and is the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history. The musical won the 1996 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical, Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Performance by a Featured Actor.
In January 2019, Fox aired a partially live television special of the musical, Rent: Live. Some of the leads included Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudgens, and Kiersey Clemons. The original Broadway cast made cameo appearances in the special.
This musical is a fantastic musical. It discusses some hard situations that some of the characters go through as way to bring awareness to the threat. There are many loves stories throughout the musical and relationship situations that many could relate to. A wonderful musical created by a man who knew and understood the world he lived in and showed the growth of the characters through their seasons of love.
