Rent, a reimagining of Puccini’s La Bohème, follows
a year in the lives of seven struggling artists in New
York City’s East Village. Now the show has returned
with a 20th-anniversary tour — and its message of
hope resonates as strongly as ever.
n 1996, Jonathan Larson’s Rent told the
story of struggling young artists living in
New York City in the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
The show ran on Broadway for 12 years,
I
winning the Pulitzer Prize and four Tonys, including
SUMMER 2018 | artsLife 77
Best Musical.
Rent, a reimagining of Puccini’s La Bohème,
follows a year in the lives of seven
artists struggling to follow their dreams in
New York City’s gritty East Village. The show’s
signature anthem, “Seasons of Love” (“Five
minutes …”) has become ingrained in pop
culture.
Now, Rent has returned with a 20th-anniversary
tour. Slated for June 5–10, it’s the
FAIRWINDS Broadway
in Orlando™ season.
The groundbreaking show’s message of
hope in the face of fear resonates with audiences
today just as it did two decades ago,
before advances in the treatment of AIDS.
Director Evan Ensign told Variety that “AIDS
is actually just a circumstance in the show. It’s
we create family, about acceptance.”
James Hebert, critic for the San Diego
Union-Tribune, agreed. “Once you get past
the surface signs of its time period,” he wrote,
“Rent can feel not just still vibrant but plenty
relevant.”
PHOTOS BY CAROL ROSEGG