Rent began its life in the late 1980s when Billy Aronson and Jonathan Larson started collaborating on an idea of Aronson’s; to translate Puccini’s La Boheme into modern day New York.

In the early 90s, Larson continued with this idea and created RENT; developing and modifying the original 1993 workshop material to its current Broadway version. 

On 25th Jan 1996 Jonathan Larson passed away from an Aortic Aneurysm, the same day as the rst Off Broadway Preview. The preview became a gathering of friends and family with the cast singing through the show.

Rent’s popularity picked up pace following the previews and off-Broadway run. It moved into the Nederlander Theatre in April 1996 and ran for 5,123 shows; closing in 2008. The show was critically acclaimed, winning 4 Tony Awards, 6 Drama Desk Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

It also became the anthem of a generation, gaining coverage in mainstream media. Unlike any previous Broadway musical, it spoke to the “MTV Generation” and launched many careers including Idina Menzel, Antony Rapp and Taye Diggs.

Now Rent is a powerhouse in musical theatre with productions having toured all over the world and is a feature lm with many of the original cast. Larson’s work has had a global impact; it even has it own fanbase known as “RentHeads”.