Rock Musical Rent Debuts on Broadway

It's the evening of April 29th, 1996, backstage at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City.

24-year-old actor Anthony Rapp strives through the warn of dressing rooms and production offices that's nestled beneath the theatre.

Backstage crew clear a path for Anthony down a narrow hallway, wishing him luck as he goes, or as they say in theatre land, break a leg.

A voice crackles through speakers on the wall.

It's the stage manager calling for places.

All actors for the first number must make their way to the stage at once.

Tonight's production is about to begin, so Anthony picks up the pace.

Tonight marks a milestone in Anthony's show business career.

He spent more than a decade trying to become a star, but so far has only acted in a series of smaller roles in television, film and theatre.

18 months ago, though, he was cast as Mark Cohen, one of the lead roles in Rent, an off-Broadway musical that was then still in development.

The show finally premiered several weeks ago, and after wowing audiences, it's transferred to the larger Nederlander Theatre for its debut in the most famous theatre district in the world, Broadway.

Anthony heads up a narrow flight of stairs to a door-marked stage.

He gently pushes through into the cool, still darkness beyond.

You can hear the chatter of the waiting audience.

A dresser adjusts Anthony's scarf, making sure that his costume is just right.

The dresser then offers a silent thumbs up and leaves Anthony to find his position next to his castmates for the opening number.

In the darkness, he shares a quick smile with the other actors.

This is the moment they've all been waiting for.

The audience grows quiet as the lights in the theater dim.

Anthony takes one long final breath and takes his first step on stage.

The Broadway debut of Rent will win critical acclaim for its story of race, queerness, and perseverance in the face of strife.

It's a triumph for its creator, 35-year-old Jonathan Larson.

But Jonathan will not witness his musical success.

His unexpected death on the eve of his show's debut will cast a poignant shadow over Rent, even as it becomes a modern classic after its first spectacular performance on Broadway on April 29, 1996.

From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day.

On this podcast every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is April 29th, 1996.

Rock musical Rent debuts on Broadway.

It's a sweltering summer's day in 1989 in Greenwich Village, New York, seven years before Rent's first Broadway performance.

29-year-old composer Jonathan Larson takes a sip of cheap lemonade and suns himself in a folding chair on the roof of his apartment building.

Next to Jonathan, playwright Billy Aronson fans himself with a newspaper.

There's not much that can be done to beat the searing heat, but their conversation serves as a distraction.

The pair talk about their shared passion, theater.

Jonathan complains about the lack of interest producers have shown in a futuristic musical he's written, loosely based on George Orwell's 1984.

With that show stuck in development, Jonathan's itching for a new project to sink his teeth into, one that he hopes will finally make it to the stage.

Billy groans in understanding and says that he's actually tinkering with a new idea himself, an adaptation of Puccini's opera La Boheme.

The original story follows a group of creatives living in Paris, struggling to find meaning in a world that's ambivalent to their plight.

It's a predicament that feels familiar to both Billy and Jonathan as young artists.

And Billy explains that he's considering reimagining this story with the streets of modern New York City, replacing Paris.

The local neighborhood of Greenwich Village is an epicenter of counterculture.

Struggling artists, wannabe poets and cultural outcasts have all carved community for themselves here.

In other words, it's the perfect modern equivalent to Puccini's Paris.

Hearing the pitch, Jonathan is transfixed and immediately wants to turn it into a musical, which Jonathan feels could shine a spotlight on the colorful lives of people like himself.

So soon, Jonathan and Billy agree on a name for the new show, Rent.

It's partly a reference to the stress of dealing with New York's extortionate housing costs.

But Jonathan also likes the more dramatic meaning of the word, to be torn apart.

Jonathan envisions the people in the play as being split between different ideas, feelings and paths.

Rent asunder.

Billy and Jonathan work out a basic outline of the plot.

Then Billy sets about writing lyrics and Jonathan scores them.

Slowly, a few songs start to form.

I Should Tell You, a love song about jumping into the unknown against one's better judgment.

And Santa Fe, a pop song fantasizing about leaving the difficult New York life behind for something simpler.

But though Jonathan and Billy are close friends, they find collaborating a struggle.

Each of them has their own idea for why that is.

Jonathan claims that when they demo new songs, the response to Billy's lyrics isn't as positive as the reaction to Jonathan's score.

But Billy simply says it's a matter of creative differences.

He prefers a more acerbic and witty tone while Jonathan wants to approach the themes in the play in a more sincere and passionate way.

Regardless of the reasons, the duo eventually agree to amicably separate, and Billy gives full creative control of the project to Jonathan.

As a show of gratitude, Jonathan promises to credit Billy for the original idea of the show if it ever debuts.

So now on his own, Jonathan continues working on Rent, weaving in more of his own struggles as a creative.

But as he writes, he has to deal with numerous tragedies in his personal life.

Deaths from HIV and AIDS are common in this part of New York.

AIDS was first identified in the United States only seven years ago.

But since then, it has spread across the country and hitting neighborhoods like Jonathan's especially hard.

People suffering from the disease must cope not only with a frightening illness, but with a society that has turned its back on them.

Many Americans seem indifferent to the growing death toll and view the AIDS epidemic as a problem that doesn't affect them.

Jonathan is sickened by that attitude.

During the process of working out his new musical, three of Jonathan's friends die due to complications with HIV and AIDS.

And after these deaths, the approach that Jonathan is taking with rent feels increasingly self-centered and shallow.

He decides that the story should not focus on his own struggles as a composer and playwright, and instead it should focus on the lives of people like his recently deceased friends.

So between funerals, Jonathan rewrites the story.

Slowly but surely over the course of the next year, Jonathan will fine-tune rent into a full script with a catalog of songs.

All he will need to do then is find someone to take a chance on him, and somewhere to give rent a home.

It's the fall of 1992 in East Village, New York, two years after Jonathan Larson and Billy Aronson came up with the concept for rent.

Jonathan cycles down the street, glancing around at the goings on in the neighborhood.

It's a peaceful day, with young people lounging outside cafes and apartment buildings smoking cigarettes.

But soon, Jonathan spots a small hive of activity in the otherwise quiet streets.

Builders are hard at work outside the New York Theater workshop, a small venue in the very neighborhood in which rent is set.

Suddenly, Jonathan realizes that the perfect home for his musical is right under his nose.

Walking inside, he spots a friend who works in the theater.

Jonathan tells him about the new show he's been working on and how the New York Theater Workshop would be the ideal place for it to premiere.

All it takes is a single read-through of the script for the theater's artistic director to agree, and Jonathan's vision has taken a step closer to the stage.

With a venue secure, Jonathan's next challenge is to find a cast.

Over the following weeks, he selects a group of talented young actors, many of whom live in the same East Village streets that Rent portrays.

As rehearsals begin, Jonathan continues to tinker with the script, though, adding, rewriting, and removing songs as he goes.

But this constant change slows down production.

Still, with each passing day, the musical inches closer and closer to its final form.

But in the midst of this exciting chapter of his life, Jonathan's health declines.

The first warning sign occurs when he collapses in the middle of rehearsal.

After he recovers, Jonathan laughs off the episode.

He thinks it's ironic that he fainted while the cast was singing the phrase, Dying in America from his song, What You Own.

But despite playing down his collapse, Jonathan undergoes medical tests.

They offer no definitive diagnosis.

Determined to see his play through to the end, Jonathan returns to rehearsals, but it doesn't take long for his ailments to get in the way again.

In January 1996, only a few days before opening night, Jonathan complains of chest pains.

But a further raft of tests in the emergency room still prove inconclusive.

Then on January 24th, Jonathan returns to the set to watch the final dress rehearsal.

He's clearly tired, but nothing could keep him away from the theater at such a crucial stage.

The rehearsal goes well, and the cast and crew leave the venue excited for the next day's performance.

After seven years of planning, Rent is finally ready to hit the stage.

But Jonathan does not live to see it.

Upon returning home from the dress rehearsal, Jonathan collapses.

His roommate finds him dead in the kitchen a few hours later.

Subsequent investigations will reveal that Jonathan suffered an aortic dissection, possibly the result of an undiagnosed genetic disorder.

One by one, the cast and crew of Rent hear the terrible news.

Shocked and grieving, they meet at the New York Theatre Workshop to decide what to do.

Rent is set to premiere that evening, and Jonathan's parents have flown to New York for the performance.

So after discussing it among themselves, the cast decides to continue with the premiere and dedicate it to Jonathan's memory.

In front of an emotional audience of friends and family, the cast of Rent performs the show as a table read, without costumes or set decoration.

At least, that's how it starts.

But as they go through the script, the actors find they can't help but stand up and move around, bringing Jonathan's writing to life.

By act two, the table read is scrapped.

The cast returns to the stage after the interval in full costume, performing the show as it was intended.

At the end of the premiere, the audience erupts into cheers.

Tears stream down many people's faces.

Jonathan's absence is most keenly felt during the curtain call, when the show's creator would usually take the applause at a premiere.

But a single audience member breaks the tension, crying out, thank you, Jonathan Larson, as the applause fades.

After the success of this emotional first performance, Rant will become a runaway hit at the New York Theatre Workshop and quickly prove itself worthy of a larger stage.

And once it opens at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, three months later, Rant will reach even greater heights.

It will become a worldwide sensation, making overnight stars out of its cast.

And it will ensure that the memory of the show's founder, Jonathan Larson, will remain very much alive.

It's June 2nd, 1996 at the Majestic Theater in New York, six months after Jonathan Larson's death.

To loud applause, British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber walks on stage holding an envelope and takes his place in front of a podium.

This is the Tony Awards, a ceremony recognizing the best of Broadway theater.

Andrew is here to present the evening's most coveted prize, Best Musical.

He pauses, opens the envelope, looks out at the audience, and then announces the name of the winner, Rent.

The room explodes in cheers.

Four producers jump out of their seats and hug each other before rushing to the stage.

Taking turns, they thank the show's director, the company, the audience, and finally, the man more responsible than anyone else for the musical's success, the much-missed writer and composer, Jonathan Larson.

Rent had 10 nominations at this ceremony, and the award for Best Musical is its fourth win.

But although there are no more trophies to be handed out at this year's Tonys, Rent has more honors to come.

Over the course of the next few months, it wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, six different Theater Desk Awards, and two Theater World Awards.

The accolades ensure that Rent sells out night after night for years.

In 2006, 10 years after Rent's debut, the original Broadway cast reunites for a benefit performance.

Together, they helped raise over $2 million for good causes close to Jonathan Larson's heart, the local performing arts industry, and HIV and AIDS charities.

The final performance of Rent on Broadway comes in 2008.

By then, the show has been performed to more than 5,000 audiences and grossed over $280 million.

But the musical's legacy extends far beyond the money it made or the crowds it entertained.

Rent shone a spotlight on an often discriminated against community, and through the unforgettable words and music of Jonathan Larson, it has changed hearts and minds from the moment it debuted on Broadway, April 29th, 1996.

Next, on History Daily, April 30th, 1963, a boycott protesting a bus company's hiring policies draws national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily.

Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Molly Bond.

Sound design by Molly Bond.

Music by Thrum.

This episode is written and researched by Georgia Hampton, edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer, Emily Byrd.

Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noise.