by Michael Grossman
Columbus Dispatch
July 2, 1998

Rent is causing a commotion at the Palace Theatre, with people lining up daily in the hope of buying a limited number of cheap tickets.

"I love the music and the message. I come out of the theater feeling happy and uplifted,'' said Erin Thomas, an Ohio State University student who bought one of 24 discount tickets sold two hours before each performance.

Her $20 ticket reserved the 18- year-old a choice seat Tuesday in the center of the front row.

Inspired by the Pulitzer Prize- winning rock opera's theme of solidarity among poor young people, Thomas gave her Coney Island hot dog to a beggar Tuesday, "and I probably wouldn't have done that before I saw the show.''

Lori Machens, 30, and Tina Olson, 16, were among a handful of people who began lining up for tickets at 9 a.m. Tuesday for the opening night of the Broadway Series touring show. They were successful.

They returned at 7 a.m. yesterday with sleeping bags, crawled in and went to sleep. When they awoke at lunchtime, a line had formed around them. Again, they scored.

"At first, I came for the music,'' Machens said.

"Then I fell in love with the story. Now it's the cast, and the people you meet in the rush line. The plane tickets were expensive but the tickets are cheap.''

Machens and Olson flew here from Los Angeles to see Rent -- Machens for the 48th time and Olson, for the 16th -- and they say they plan to line up several more times during the two-week Columbus run. Each has followed the 1996 Tony winner for best musical from city to city, starting in Los Angeles.

"I've been so many places and met so many different people,'' Olson said. "Plus, Rent has opened my eyes to different lifestyles.''

The multiracial cast plays gay, lesbian and heterosexual characters, from starving artists to attorneys and landlords, in composer-lyricist Jonathan Larson's Generation-X update of Puccini's opera La Boheme.

"Rent has made us more aware of musical theater,'' Machens said.

"I never would have thought of watching the Tonys before, but I did, and now we're seeing Cabaret, Chicago, Les Miz and The Lion King.''

Bryce Morrison, who works at Columbus' Huntington Bank, was one of the lucky 24 awarded cheap seats for Tuesday's opening. He said he's seen the touring company 18 times in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Rebecca Baldwin drove here from Cleveland with her mother to see Rent, after seeing it several times in Cleveland.

"I like how Rent reaches out to everyone, and gets everyone involved. It makes people understand other people and look at them in a new light,'' Baldwin said.

Patty Ricci, 25, took the day off from work and drove from Pittsburgh with two friends to get in line. In Pittsburgh, she paid about $50 to see Rent for the first time.

About half the people in line yesterday afternoon were hoping to get $20 tickets to see Rent for the first time. Lynn Hunnh, who will be a sophomore in social work at Ohio State University in the fall, said she listens to the compact disc of Rent every day and can't wait to finally see the musical.

Frank Martin, a 23-year-old Columbus resident who is pursuing a career as a dancer, agreed. "A lot of the story is part of my life,'' Martin said.

"I think Rent is pretty realistic.''

Following a tradition suggested by Larson for the Broadway show, Columbus' Broadway Series is offering 24 discount tickets -- cash-only, two tickets per person, starting two hours before each performance -- for two front rows added to the orchestra pit. The pit is otherwise unused because Rent's five-person band performs onstage.

Based on Tuesday and yesterday, those who get in line after 5 p.m. may be out of luck. Carla Buggs and Paulette Davidson arrived about 5:15 p.m. yesterday. About two doz en people were ahead of them in line, but Buggs and Davidson were hopeful.

"We tried to see Rent on a trip to New York, but it was sold out,'' Davidson said.

"If the $20 tickets sell out, we'll probably get regular seats.''