RENT

The musical that opened a new chapter in Broadway history.

“RENT” is a revolutionary musical by Jonathan Larson that tells the story of a group of young, eccentric people who fight for their dreams and recognition in the heart of New York's East Village in the late 1980s and early 1990s, facing poverty, exclusion, drug addiction and the AIDS epidemic on a daily basis. The show is a tribute to the modern bohemian who puts creativity, individuality and independence above material benefits and for whom love is the most important measure of life. Although the action “RENT” is set at a specific moment in history, thanks to its universal themes, social awareness, diversity of characters and emotional depth of the songs, the musical resonates with many generations of viewers.

“This could be the hair of our generation!”

The musical was created on the canvas of the classic opera “Gyganeria” of 1896 by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, which tells about the life of the Parisian bohemian and was inspired by the novel by the French writer Henri Murger “Scenes from the life of bohemia”. Almost 100 years after its premiere, the work was reached by the fearless and passionate Jonathan Larson, an American composer and playwright who wanted to attract the MTV generation to the theater, listening passionately to rock and its subgenres, in particular grunge.Larson's musical was created with clear rock influences in music, lyrics and arrangements.

Art imitates life

The idea to renew Puccini's classic opera “Gyganeria” and place it on the streets of New York came up with Billy Aronson, who worked with Jonathan Larson in the early stages of the project. “RENT” is not directly an autobiographical story of Larson himself, although many of the elements in it were inspired by the experiences, observations and life of the author himself and those around him. Larson witnessed the hardships his friends faced in New York City during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, and many of these experiences were reflected in the plot and characters of “RENT.” He obtained the source material by participating, among others, in the meetings of Friends In Deed, a non-profit organization founded in response to the AIDS crisis. In turn, the living conditions of the heroes of the musical are not at all significantly different from those in which Larson lived with his friend Jonathan Burkhart in the 80s in the New York neighborhood of SoHo.

Bohemian Life

The story centers on the fate of two roommates: Mark and Roger. Mark is an independent filmmaker who makes a documentary about his East Village friends, showing their daily struggles with financial problems, illness, the loss of love and the struggle to survive. He is also the ex-boyfriend of Maureen Johnson, an eccentric artist and political activist who abandons him for left-wing lawyer Joanne. Roger is a talented musician and composer who lost the desire to create after the death of his partner April. He meets Mimi Marquez, an erotic dancer who, like him, struggles with AIDS. Through this relationship, she begins to open herself to new experiences and rediscovers the meaning of life and love. Benny Coffin III is the ex-boyfriend of Mimi, who, thanks to his marriage to the wealthy daughter of a developer, became the owner of the townhouse where he once lived with Mark, Roger and Maureen. Mark and Roger's friend and their former roommate, Tom Collins, is a computer genius, teacher, and also HIV-infected social activist who forms a deep and touching relationship with AIDS-afflicted drummer and drag queen Angel Dumott Schunard.

Grief and Success

Jonathan Larson died unexpectedly the night before the premiere. The musical debuted on Off-Broadway, on the stage of the New York Theater Workshop, on January 25, 1996. The show was directed by Michael Greif. Favorable reviews, articles in prestigious magazines, the broadcast of works on the airwaves, as well as the tragic circumstances of the author's death, brought the musical to national fame at a surprising pace, which resulted in the transfer of the title to Broadway boards to the Nederlander Theater, just a few months after its premiere. The musical received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Drama, four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and 6 Drama Desk Awards. In 2005, a film adaptation, directed by Chris Columbus, starred six of the eight members of the original Broadway cast. The last performance was staged on Broadway on September 7, 2008. Over the course of 12 years, it has been staged 5,124 times, making it the 10th longest-running Broadway musical. He has seen stage adaptations in many countries around the world, including in Poland. The last domestic premiere took place in 2014 at the Rampa Theatre in Warsaw, directed by Jakub Szydłowski.

Premiere at Cracow's VARIETE Theatre

The premiere of the musical “RENT” will take place at the Variete Theater in Krakow on December 7, 2024. The director and staging of the performance is Jakub Wocial, winner of the Jan Kiepura Theater Award in the category “Best Musical Singer” in 2018, who has directed, among others, the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” or the musical show with the greatest hits of the Queen group “Rapsodia z Demon”. The co-director, director and choreographer of the show is Santiago Bello, a dancer and choreographer from Spain, winner of the Jan Kiepura Theater Music Award for the best musical dancer in 2019 and the choreographer for such performances as “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Rhapsody with the Demon”, “Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown” or “Broadway Exclusive.” The band will be led by Marta Zalewska, vocalist, composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, winner of the competition of the National Center of Polish Song in Opole in 2016, winner of the Polish Radio Four competition “Wydaj ę z Bę Główno”, thanks to which her debut album was released and winner of the “Męskie Granie Young” competition in 2019 year. The costumes will be prepared by Dorota Sabak-Ciołkosz, set designer, stylist and make-up artist, who in 2019 received the Jan Kiepura Theatre Award in the category “Best Costumes” for the musical “Cats”. The scenography will be developed by Marta Mojnowska, who has been cooperating with many Polish theatres and operas as a designer and performer for many years.

Premiere: December 7, 8, 2024

Performance with live music.

The show is recommended for viewers from the age of 12.

The performance uses stroboscopic light effects (light pulsating with high frequency). If you are sensitive to this type of lighting, please exercise extreme caution.

Duration of the performance: 2 hours 40 minutes (1 break).

RENT was originally produced in New York by the New York Theatre Workshop and on Broadway by Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon and the New York Theatre Workshop.

Presented in agreement with Music Theatre International www.mtishows.eu.