by Charlie Patton
Florida Times-Union
January 16, 2000

From the moment it debuted in New York in the spring of 1996, Rent has been hailed as a revolutionary musical.

To quote Newsweek, it completed ''a fortuitous trilogy, begun by Hair in 1967 and continued by A Chorus Line in 1975 . . . [that] deal with 'marginal' Americans - '60s flower children, the blue-collar gypsy dancers of Broadway, and now, in Rent, the young people who follow a dream of art in a cold time for spirit and body.''

Rent is based loosely on Puccini's opera La Boheme - with tuberculosis, the harrowing plague that afflicted Puccini's fin de siecle Left Bank aesthetes, replaced by a new plague, AIDS, that haunts the young artists of New York.

Such a story could be tragic and depressing, but it's not. In fact, the ultimate message of Rent is powerfully life affirming, according to Horace V. Rogers, who plays Tom Collins, an HIV positive teacher/philosopher in the production of Rent that comes to the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday for eight performances.

''It's a show that actually changes people's perspectives,'' Rogers said in a telephone interview. ''I think of the song There's No Day But Today. It means carpe diem, seize the moment, seize opportunities. Life is brief.''

Ironically, nobody better demonstrated that premise than the man most responsible for Rent. Jonathan Larson, who wrote the text, the music and the lyrics, died 10 days before the show opened, suddenly and unexpectedly, of an aortic aneurysm. He was 35.

Rogers, who joined the touring company about a year ago in the role that was originated on Broadway by Jesse L. Martin - now appearing in Law & Order - never got the opportunity to meet Larson.

But he said the spirit of the show's creator continues to inspire the actors. Backstage, they keep a wooden plaque, into which Larson's uncle carved his nephew's name. It's a talisman for the actors, who often touch the plaque, seeking inspiration or luck.

When the company visited Albuquerque, N.M., they met Larson's parents, Rogers said. ''They are just holding the torch for this man, who never got a chance to reap the benefits of what he had accomplished,'' Rogers said. ''The horrible loss that they suffered and that the world of theater suffered . . . it galvanized the message about the brevity of life.

''. . . We have to honor that source. Every night I feel the necessity of remembering this man.''

It is to honor Larson that the producers of Rent have maintained the tradition of reserving the first two rows of the orchestra at each performance and selling them for $20 on the day of performance. Those tickets go on sale two hours before each show and are only sold at the box office, for cash, with a limit of two tickets per person.

The idea is to give young people like Larson, who loved the theater but lacked the cash to pay the usual Broadway ticket prices, an opportunity to see the show.

The practice has helped foster the creation of a core of loyal fans - Rogers calls them ''Rent heads'' - who attend again and again.

The result can be charming but also distracting, Rogers said, since sometimes the front rows are filled with people who know the show as well as the actors on stage know it.