The window card for the original Broadway production featuring Pascal, Menzel, Rubin-Vega, Martin, Rapp, Walker, Diggs, and Heredia.
Rent (often stylized RENT) is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. It was based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème. Rent tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians (known to themselves as Bohemians), struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of the Bohemian East Village, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
The musical was first seen in a limited two-week workshop run at the New York Theatre Workshop in 1994. This off-Broadway theatre was also the musical's initial home following its official January 1996 opening. Tragically, Larson, the show's creator, died suddenly of an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm, the night before the off-Broadway premiere. The premiere was cancelled and the cast did a sing-through of the play instead in his honor. Rent won a 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and was ultimately a hit. It moved to Broadway's larger Nederlander Theater on April 29th, 1996.
On Broadway, Rent gained critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical, among other awards. The musical brought together an ethnically diverse cast and controversial topics to a traditionally conservative medium, helping to increase the popularity of musical theater and AIDS awareness amongst the younger generation. The Broadway production closed on September 7th, 2008, after a 12-year run and 5,124 performances. It was the seventh-longest-running Broadway show. The production grossed over $280 million. At the time of its closing, it was the second-longest-running musical playing on Broadway, eight years behind the Phantom of the Opera.
The success of the show led to several national tours and numerous foreign productions, and in 2005, Rent was also adapted into a motion picture that featured many of the original cast members.
The original Broadway cast included Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs, and Fredi Walker.
Cast
| Role | Original Broadway Cast | Final Broadway Cast |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Cohen | Anthony Rapp | Adam Kantor |
| Roger Davis | Adam Pascal | Will Chase |
| Mimi Márquez | Daphne Rubin-Vega | Renee Elise Goldsberry |
| Tom Collins | Jesse L. Martin | Michael McElroy |
| Angel Dumott Schunard | Wilson Jermaine Heredia | Justin Johnston |
| Maureen Johnson | Idina Menzel | Eden Espinosa |
| Joanne Jefferson | Fredi Walker | Tracie Thoms |
| Benjamin Coffin III | Taye Diggs | Rodney Hicks |
Musical numbers
Act I
| Number | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Tune Up #1 | Roger and Mark |
| Voice Mail #1 | Mrs. Cohen |
| Tune Up #2 | Mark, Roger, Collins, and Benny |
| Rent | Company |
| You Okay Honey? | Collins and Angel |
| Tune Up #3 | Mark and Roger |
| One Song Glory | Roger |
| Light My Candle | Roger and Mimi |
| Voice Mail #2 | Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson |
| Today 4 U | Mark, Roger, Collins, and Angel |
| You'll See | Benny, Mark, Roger, Collins, and Angel |
| Tango: Maureen | Mark and Joanne |
| Life Support | Company |
| Out Tonight | Mimi |
| Another Day | Roger, Mimi, and Company |
| Will I? | Company |
| On the Street | Company |
| Santa Fe | Collins, Angel, and Mark |
| I'll Cover You | Collins and Angel |
| We're Okay | Joanne |
| Christmas Bells | Company |
| Over the Moon | Maureen |
| Over the Moon (Playout) | The Band |
| La Vie Bohème A | Company |
| I Should Tell You | Roger and Mimi |
| La Vie Bohème B | Company |
Act II
| Number | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Seasons of Love | Company |
| Happy New Year A | Mark, Roger, Mimi, Collins, Angel, Maureen, and Joanne |
| Voice Mail #3 | Mrs. Cohen and Alexi |
| Happy New Year B | Mark, Roger, Mimi, Collins, Angel, Maureen, Joanne, and Benny |
| Take Me or Leave Me | Maureen and Joanne |
| Seasons of Love B | Company |
| Without You | Roger and Mimi |
| Voice Mail #4 | Alexi |
| Contact | Company |
| I'll Cover You (Reprise) | Collins and Company |
| Halloween | Mark |
| Goodbye Love | Mimi, Roger, Maureen, Joanne, Mark, Collins, and Benny |
| What You Own | Roger and Mark |
| Voice Mail #5 | Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Márquez, Mrs. Cohen, and Mr. Jefferson |
| Finale A | Company |
| Your Eyes | Roger |
| Finale B | Company |
| I'll Cover You (Playout) | The Band |