Rent: A Musical Analysis

The musical Rent is a representation of the Bohemian lifestyle of being different and being able to explore and be unique. What makes this musical so unique is its revolutionary musical style and a plot like no other. The lyricist and composer of the musical Jonathan Larson did something no one would ever imagine and go outside of the box. Who would have thought of putting lesbians, gays, HIV and AIDS victims, and the life of a Bohemian into one rock and pop based musical? This struggle to survive and accomplish things makes Rent amazing.

The musical Rent was first produced in 1994 by Jonathan Larson and is loosely based on the opera La Boheme (1896) by Giacomo Puccini. This rock opera production tells the story of the lives of 8 bohemians living in Manhattan for a year. Many of the characters in Rent are pulled directly from Puccini's La Bohème. There are 8 main characters the story follows; Roger Davis, a musician who is HIV positive, Mimi Márquez, an exotic dancer and Roger's girlfriend, Mark Cohen, a Jewish filmmaker who is Roger’s roommate, Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist, Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer who is Maureen's girlfriend, Tom Collins, a gay part-time philosophy professor at New York University with AIDS. Angel Dumott Schunard, a drag queen who is Collins' partner, and Benjamin 'Benny' Coffin III, their landlord and the former roommate of Roger, Mark, Collins, and Maureen.

Rent  is a 2005 American film adaptation of the Broadway musical, which was based on Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning musical. The movie depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life under the shadow of AIDS, and paying their rent. It takes place in the East Village of New York City in the late 1980s.

Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: The Revolution tells the story of how the cast and crew of Hamilton worked impossibly hard to accomplish a miraculous feat: create a Tony award-winning musical comprising of mostly hip-hop music. Starting at the beginning, it acknowledges Ron Chernow’s novel Alexander Hamilton, Miranda’s inspiration and basis for the musical, and the work Chernow put into editing the musical so it would be historically accurate. Hamilton: The Revolution pays homage to the hard-working cast and crew, and helps the reader understand everything that went into the making of the musical Hamilton.

This paper focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of the character Maureen Johnson from the musical Rent. The story of Rent takes place in New York City in the 1990s and focuses on a group of young adults as they struggle for success while staying true to their beliefs and their relationships with one another (Columbus, 2005). Through her interaction with the other characters and beliefs about herself, Maureen’s psychopathology becomes evident.

Rent. To most people it is associated with an apartment, house, or another object. This word rarely conjures pleasant memories, but more often annoyance and stress. However, when someone mentions rent to me, my mind races to some of the most memorable experiences in my life.

Two great writers of American musical theatre, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, had one idea in common. They wanted to present to the American public a new and revolutionary musical that would stand out above the rest. They wanted to make an impact on the societies of the era. They wanted to be creative and do something that was considered rebellious. When they finally combined their ideas together they created an American masterpiece in musical theatre: Oklahoma!. It was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, starting the most successful creative partnership in the history of American musical theatre.

“The Producers” is one of the most famous musicals in Broadway. Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan adapted the musical from the 1968 film of the same name. The musical is about two producers that oversell interest in a Broadway flop in order to become wealthy. The musical consist in play with in the musical. The producers, Max and Leo, choose the worst play ever written and the worst director. However, the play turns out to be successful and Max goes to jail and Leo escapes with the money to Rio. The two more important external event in the play are the event when Leo decides to help Max and the moment when the play becomes a success.

The musical “Hamilton” is the most sought after musical in years. It is the first seen rap musical and it has received the most ‘Tony’ awards and nominations in Broadway history. Hamilton premiered off Broadway in 2015 and soon moved to Broadway to stun the world with it’s incredible everything, from plot to casting. For best albums, Hamilton was second ranked in Billboard magazine and has got endless supply of recognition for the ingenious play written by the phenomenal Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton is currently the most popular sensation on Broadway because of the music with its creative lyrics and hidden messages, it’s stellar performance and the perspectives it gives us on the people that founded our county. (on the people that shaped our past and developed our future).

Generation X has finally taken out a lease on the future of theatre, and it looks like it is more than able to pay the "Rent" (Coulbourn 43). "Rent" is a musical for our time, for our generation and for generations to come. It has won numerous Tony Awards including best musical, book, score, lyrics, and ensemble performance. This musical is an excellent representation of cultural religion and it has had a profound impact on society both in the 90's and today. "Rent" is not only a representation of the culture of the new millennium but is an excellent representation of the faith of a new generation.

The Vocal Point concert titled From Rent to Now: The last 20 Years of Broadway: is directed by Dr. Sara Baker. This Contemporary Broadway show consists of sixteen characters. It is a spoof on musicals. The opening scene played by Trey Shonkwiler and Konnor Widmann was funny, and catchy. They sang A Musical from Something Rotten! Shonkwiler is a Tenor, while Widmann is a Baritone. Together they made beautiful harmonies, they complimented each other vocally, and as actors very well. The next song Mama Who Bore Me from Spring Awakening was sung by all the women, with a soloist. Kristen Garth has a lovely alto voice, her performance was unconfident, and a bit nervous, she had a few notes that were flat, overall it was nice. There were a few moments where the background singers were too loud, overpowering the soloist. When He Sees Me, from Waitress, sung by Kris Glorsorio was wonderful. She has a beautiful Alto/ Mezzo voice. She connected wholly with her character, I thought the balance of head

Hamilton: An American Musical retells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. With the aid of hip-hop and rap, Lin-Manuel Miranda dramatises Hamilton’s struggles and contributions during the American Revolution and the formative years of the United States. It is praised for its breaking of Broadway conventions, compelling characters and their interactions, beautiful musicality, and the progression of its plot. There are many that see this musical masterpiece as Hamilton’s true autobiography. However, it is not an accurate telling of historical events. Hamilton: An American Musical intentionally alters the truth of Hamilton’s tale as it misrepresents the historical figures of America’s birth, falsifies a romantic interest between Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, alters details of certain distressing events, and paints the main antagonist, Aaron Burr, as a villain.

Jukebox musicals began in film and later shifted to theatre. They had begun to make theatre more popular with the public, which had begun to gravitate towards film and music. By combining the two, they gain some of the same as well as a whole new audience. I will discuss how this came to be by speaking of the shift that occurred.

The film Rent (2005) is based on the musical by the same title, which is a story about people trying to make ends meet while being directly or indirectly affected by AIDS. The title is a little misleading, because the story mainly follows the relationships between characters and the effects AIDS make on their lives, while the subplot is them struggling to pay the rent. There is one main heteronormative relationship that is followed in the film, but the other two are not. One includes a gay man, Collins, who is with a person that is inferred to be a transgender woman, Angel. The other relationship is about a bisexual woman, Maureen, who loves a lesbian named Joanne. The original musical was written by Jonathan Larson, who incorporated autobiographical aspects, such as his bisexual girlfriend who is portrayed by Maureen, who left him for another woman. Larson was inspired by the La Bohème opera, but changed the gender of Joanne’s character to be based on to a woman. Larson was known for exploring social issues in his works and illustrates topics of homophobia, addiction, and multiculturalism in Rent. The musical and film reaches out to people that are considered to be unconventional, giving the message to take pride in who you are and characteristics or qualities that are considered to be disgraceful. The different relationships are used to show there is more than just non-heteronormative relationships, providing a message that taking pride in

Giacomo Puccini has written a number of operas, including Turandot, Gianni Schicchi, and Madama Butterfly. La Bohème is said to be “one of the most successful and enchanting operas ever written.” Written in the romantic period, the text and score interrelations play an important role in an overall aesthetically and historically pleasing opera. In a story of love found and love lost, Puccini uses text and score to create empathy for the characters of La Boheme. Puccini does so particularly in the aria Donde lieta uscì, sung by Mimi towards the end of Act III.