Miami Herald
April 17, 1998

Two of the biggest stage hits of the past decade make their much-anticipated South Florida debuts Tuesday.

Jonathan Larson's Rent, which opens with advance ticket sales of over $1.5 million for its two-week run, became in 1997 a groundbreaking Broadway phenomenon much the way Hair did in the '60s or A Chorus Line did in the '70s.

A reworking of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, Rent changed the face of American theater by populating the stage with the HIV-positive drug users; straight, gay and bisexual characters; street performers and yuppies; a passionate exotic dancer and an angelic transvestite. Larson composed music that was lush, aching, melodic, blistering; wrote lyrics that were smart, touching, trendy. Rent is a world away from the singing nuns of traditional Broadway and the falling chandeliers of megamusicals, which is a huge part of its appeal to young audiences.

Characters

Rodolfo, the poor poet of La Bohème, becomes Roger Davis in Rent, a singer-songwriter who is HIV-positive and wants to write "one great song" before he dies. He is the character closest to Rent creator Jonathan Larson.

Mimi, an impoverished seamstress suffering from tuberculosis in La Bohème, becomes Mimi Marquez, an HIV-positive heroin user and exotic dancer in Rent.

Marcello, the painter who shares Rodolfo's frigid quarters, becomes Mark Cohen, an aspiring filmmaker who is Roger's roommate and Maureen's ex-lover.

Musetta, the coquettish singer who has broken Marcello's heart repeatedly, becomes Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist.

Alcindoro, the well-heeled codger who is Musetta's latest "patron," becomes Joanne Jefferson, the lesbian lawyer who adores, and is deeply frustrated by, Maureen.

Colline, a philosopher friend of Rodolfo and Marcello, becomes Tom Collins, an HIV-positive philosophy professor who becomes Angel's lover.

Schaunard, a musician friend of Rodolfo and Marcello, becomes Angel Dumott Schunard, the HIV-positive, cross-dressing street performer who brings provisions to his pals and love to Tom Collins.

Benoit, the elderly Paris landlord, becomes Benjamin Coffin III or Benny, a yuppie landlord who threatens Mark and Roger, and uses Mimi.

Locations

Marcello and Rodolfo's attic garret in Paris becomes Mark and Roger's squatters' apartment in a New York tenement in the East Village.

Cafe Momus in Paris' Latin Quarter becomes the (real) Life Cafe, 343 E. 10th St. (at Avenue B) in the East Village by Tompkins Square Park, where the riot at the end of Act I of Rent takes place.

The Paris Christmas Eve scene of people selling butter and eggs is transformed into a New York Christmas Eve scene on St. Mark's Place with people hawking used clothes, coats, T-shirts and incense.

What Happens

In the chilly Paris apartment, Rodolfo sets his manuscript on fire to provide heat; in New York, Roger burns posters touting his band's gigs at CBGB's, a punk rock palace in the Bowery, for the same purpose.

Mimi comes to neighbor Rodolfo asking him to light her candle, and when she drops her key in the dark, he discovers it and slips it into his pocket so she won't leave. In Rent, Mimi comes calling, asking Roger to light her candle; what she drops is a packet of heroin, which Roger pockets with similar motivation.

Mimi and Rodolfo have a tempestuous relationship in La Bohème, as do Musetta and Marcello, and Mimi's death in the opera's last moments brings it to a tragic end. In Rent, Maureen has already left Mark and has her struggles with Joanne; Mimi and Roger love, break up and make up, and though near death, Mimi survives; Angel becomes the rock opera's tragic figure.