by Joshua White
Citysearch - Tempe
March 12, 2000

This tremendous musical, inspired by "La Boheme," is located in the contemporary East Village. A group of friends struggle to protect a squatters' camp on derelict land and maintain residency of their building. Various characters inhabit this extended family, each coping with the need to pay rent, fulfill their vocations, and put their lives on a firm foundation. At the center of the group are Roger and Mimi, both HIV-positive and afraid of love and life. With its talented cast and memorable, inventive score blending rock, rap, salsa, and ballads, the show has the kind of gutsy energy that makes musical theater exciting. In a twist of fate that only heightens "Rent"'s appreciation of life, Jonathan Larson, the writer and composer, unexpectedly died shortly before the show opened — it's clear he had prodigious talent.

"Rent" has been characterized as "Hair" for the '90s. It is darker in tone, recognizing the terrible impact of AIDS on a whole generation, but the musicals share a similar radical vision: the value of choice and experimentation, communal life, and friendship. True, the production is overly long, and the direction is occasionally muddled, but "Rent" triumphs with its authenticity and generosity. When the cast stands in a line to sing "Seasons of Love," you know that something momentous is happening, and your spirits lift. "Rent" signals a shift in musical theater to something grittier and more politically urgent than the slick and somewhat anemic spectacles of recent years. Thankfully, it also has the potential to develop a new kind of theater audience.