Rent

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Rent is a rock musical that premiered on Broadway in 1996, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. It is loosely based on the opera La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini, but sets the story in New York City during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The musical follows a group of struggling artists and musicians who are trying to survive and create in the face of poverty, illness, and discrimination.

The main characters include Mark, an aspiring filmmaker and narrator of the show; Roger, a musician and former drug addict who is HIV-positive; Mimi, a drug addict and exotic dancer who is also HIV-positive and becomes involved with Roger; and Tom, a gay philosophy professor who becomes Roger's friend and roommate. Other characters include Angel, a drag queen and street performer; Joanne, a lesbian lawyer who is Maureen's girlfriend; and Benny, Mark and Roger's former roommate who has become their landlord and is trying to evict them from their apartment building.

The musical addresses themes of love, loss, friendship, and the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV/AIDS. It features powerful songs such as "Seasons of Love," "La Vie Bohème," and "Take Me or Leave Me," and has been praised for its groundbreaking representation of diverse characters and issues. Rent won four Tony Awards in 1996, including Best Musical, and went on to become a cultural phenomenon that has continued to inspire audiences around the world.