Details
Rent is a Rock Opera, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson . It charts the story of several young artists and musicians living in New York's Lower East Side under the shadow of AIDS. It is also a somewhat autobiographical work, as Larson incorporated many elements of his life into his show. Larson lived in New York for many years as a starving artist with an uncertain future. He sacrificed a life of stability for his art, and shared many of the same hopes and fears as his characters. Like his characters he endured poor living conditions, and some of these conditions (e.g. illegal wood-burning stove, bathtub in the middle of his kitchen, broken buzzer his guests had to call from the pay phone across the street and he would throw down the keys, as in "Rent") made their way into the play. Part of the motivation behind the storyline in which Maureen leaves Mark for a woman (Joanne) is based on the fact that Larson's own girlfriend left him for another woman.
Creatives/Company
Book by:
Jonathan LarsonMusic:
Jonathan LarsonLyrics:
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