This paper discusses Jonathan Larson's modern day musical theater version of opera's La Boheme, Rent, debuted on Broadway in January of 1996 and has been one of the hottest tickets on the Great White Way ever since. Larson's story and lyrically rich songs about a group of young artists living in New York's East Village, dealing with AIDS, love, and struggling to maintain artistic integrity, while facing the trials and tribulations of being a young person at the turn of the millennium, instantly struck a chord with millions of theater-goers worldwide, and continues to entertain, inspire and educate.
