Composer and author Jonathan Larson based his musical, which premiered in 1996, on the plot of Puccini's La Bohème, but relocated it to New York's East Village in the 1990s. His bohemians are artists struggling for success and money for the rent due.
Mimi is not at risk of dying from tuberculosis, but from the consequences of AIDS. And other characters in the plot are also affected by the HIV pandemic. Rent tackles controversial topics such as homophobia, AIDS and racism, but wraps them up in a rousing musical mix of romantic, passionate ballads and rocking, electrifying songs.
New York in the 1990s: Filmmaker Mark and musician Roger can no longer pay the rent on their run-down apartment. Their landlord and former flatmate Benny wants them to move out so that he can carry out a luxury renovation on the apartment. Such a renovation is planned for the entire Avenue A in the hip East Village district in order to drive the bohemians and homeless people living there out of the neighborhood. When drug addict Mimi and transvestite Angel appear in the lives of the two protagonists, their lives are thrown into further disarray ...
Premiere September 30, 2023
Further performances: October 7, 15, 22 and 28, November 3, 12 and 16, December 1, 7, 10, 27 and 31, 2023, January 12, 14 and 18, February 11, 14, 18 and 24, March 2, 22 and 24 and April 1, 2024
