Rent

" 'Rent' ushered in a new era of realism in the musical milieu, brashly and frankly tackling such heretofore taboo topics as AIDS, drug addiction, and homosexuality within a rock-'n'-roll framework. Centering on a close-knit group of starving artists in the Lower Manhattan slums who celebrate love, confront fear, and seek truth in the face of terminal disease and poverty, 'Rent' transforms Puccini's classic opera, 'La Boehme,' into a contemporary rock opera with an uplifting message. Many of the characters must cope with a dire, irreversible fate, but learn to accept it and appreciate each beautiful moment and special relationship life gives them. "No Day But Today" is their collective anthem, and they preach it with affecting fervor and sincerity. On the surface, the message may sound trite, even sappy, but when wrapped up in a score that features such masterworks as Light My Candle, Out Tonight, What You Own, La Vie Boehme, and the iconic Seasons of Love, it resonates with an honest simplicity that's tough to shake especially when one factors in the tragic irony that Larson, who was so in tune with this viewpoint and so fervently attached to his doomed characters, never lived to see his show open, let alone achieve its monumental critical and popular success. The composer of 'Rent' died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm at the age of 38 the night before the show's off-Broadway premiere.
Larson's death adds an extra element of pathos, inspiration, and spirituality to 'Rent,' but it's his music that makes it soar. A mélange of styles from rap and reggae to pop and techno mirrors the characters' racial and sexual diversity, while providing catchy melodies, tight harmonies, and resonating lyrics that nail the emotions of the moment."
David Krauss