Those are the lyrics of “Seasons of Love,” the opening song in Act Two of Jonathan Larson’s rock opera Rent, which is coming to the Orpheum Theatre at the end of April. The song is about how people must measure their lives in terms of love, passion, creation, pain, sadness and death — emotions that encompass life.

For nearly a decade, the creation of Rent was Larson’s love, an intense seven-year plunge into creation’s purpose: a personal expression of one’s fears, dreams and most profound passions. But in the winter of 1996, Larson experienced his last season of love. After the final dress rehearsal of Rent, one day before it opened off-Broadway and went on to become a musical sensation, Larson collapsed on his kitchen floor and unexpectedly died of an aortic aneurysm. He lived and surrounded himself in a world of creation, sensitivity and love. What he left behind is a legacy of inspiration for artists and anyone who wants to stay true to their dreams and aspirations.

Since 1996, Rent has made audiences breathless in anticipation and speechless after experiencing it. It took the 1996 Tony Awards with vigor, taking home four awards, including Best Musical. Larson also received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for drama.

But Rent is more than the critical acclaim it has received. Rent is a living, breathing rock-opera and pulsates with energy that drives the soul.
The original concept for Rent started with playwright Billy Aronson who, after seeing a production of the Italian opera La Boheme, was inspired to modernize the plot using musical theater as his medium. When he asked around for possible composers, Larson came highly recommended.

However, Larson and Aronson became preoccupied with other projects and in 1991, Larson asked Aronson for permission to continue developing Rent on his own. What followed was five years of intense soul searching that breathes like fire through Rent. Unfortunately, it also was five years of financial hardship and physical exhaustion. But nothing could stop Larson. His belief in Rent was too deep, his passion relentless.

The plot is as tragic and moving as the story of Larson’s death that surrounds it. It is loosely based on La Boheme, which tells a story of a group of destitute artists in turn-of-the-century Paris who are dying from tuberculosis, while still struggling to create art.

In Rent, a group of poor artists is living in New York’s East Village, and instead of tuberculosis, many of the characters are dying from AIDS. Although based on La Boheme, Rent is a complex personal expression of Larson. Some characters take on facets of Larson, while other characters draw upon the inspirations of friends.

Matt Caplan, who is playing the character of a struggling filmmaker, said that his character is a culmination of both Larson and his friends. While Larson’s friends contributed more of the tangible elements to Caplan’s character, such as his looks and the struggle of remaining an artist with unfulfilled dreams, it was also part of Jonathan’s own struggle.

However, even through the toughest of struggles, Larson persevered. He lived the life of a traditional artist, scraping by on odd jobs that would allow just enough monetary stability to keep food in the refrigerator and the electricity on — and sometimes he did not even have the luxury of that.

All of his passion and strength was devoted to his art. In the interview book titled, Rent it says, “In the notes for a 1992 script for Rent: Art is about love — the love you never got as a child — the love you can’t give as an adult — the love you can only give your work.”

Watching Rent is like watching life itself, unfolding in front of the audience — vibrant, alive, humorous, painful, always moving and always emotional. And Larson’s inspiration often is felt before each show, as cast members touch a plaque that has an inscription of the first words spoken at his memorial service: “Thank you, Jonathan.”

“One song before I go/Glory/One song to leave behind.”

The song, “Glory,” is one of the more powerful solos in the show and, as eerie as it may seem, the most prophetic. In fact, the musical reminds one of a dying man’s last wish or a foreshadowing of what was to come. Knowing that death fell upon Larson after he wrote a musical that was just as much about death as it was about living, makes the musical more tragic and so beautiful that it hurts. Other musicals can render an emotion intellectually through great skill, but Rent is experienced instinctually through pure emotion.

The modern musical theater has lacked inspiration in recent years. Musical theater, although the most profitable form of theater, has lacked the grit and honesty of Rent. Other musicals are well-composed and well-choreographed, but they are missing one thing that seems to be fundamentally necessary in a modern time that is so heavily dependent on numbing us with technology: honest emotions. As cast member Matt Caplan said, “People wanted something more raw, real and down to earth.”

Larson once assured, “I’m the future of the American musical.” And he was correct. It was Larson’s intention to mix the younger MTV generation with musical theater and he has succeeded. The La Boheme factor brings maturity to the script, drawing an older crowd, while the hard, in-your-face energy of rock brings more young faces flocking to Rent. But if Larson is the “future of the American musical,” then does his death mark the beginning and end of this new theater, or will Rent go on to inspire a new wave of theater? Caplan thinks that it will have a spiraling affect, and more artists will be devoted to writing more moving works of art.

Rent is a reminder that the future is the past and the past is the future. Today we are not dying of tuberculosis. However, artists remain misunderstood, under appreciated and unable to pay the rent. Like Puccini writing the masterful La Boheme while dying of tuberculosis, Larson has left America a masterpiece that is just as much a part of his soul as it is a well-crafted, well-composed and finely-staged work of art.

Rent is a tribute to artists, the gay community, literature, rock, opera and, most importantly, to life itself in all of its extremes. It is a musical about living life to the fullest even in the face of tragedy. Rent is arguably the greatest musical ever produced. Unfortunately, it will be Larson’s opus and not a spectacular debut. But Larson has achieved what every artist yearns for — immortality.

Thank you, Jonathan.