With book and lyrics by Jonathan Larson,  RENT is an imaginative retelling of the classic Giacomo Puccini opera, 
“La Boheme” set in the gritty Lower East Village of New York City.

RENT is the unforgettable and timeless story of a group of starving bohemian artists. Despite poverty and illness, they all learn to struggle with love and life, and survive during the rise of a mysterious, deadly disease known as AIDS.

Eventually, all of them find their voices and bring about a universal message of hope.

CHARACTERS

Mark Cohen: a struggling documentary filmmaker, the narrator of the show. He is Roger and Collins' roommate until Collins moves out; he is also Maureen's ex -           boyfriend
Roger Davis: a once successful, but now, struggling musician. He hopes to write one last meaningful song in his lifetime. He is Mark's roommate.
Tom Collins: a computer genius and a teacher; vagabond anarchist. He was formerly a roommate of Roger and Mark.
Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III: landlord of Mark, Roger and Mimi's apartment building and ex-roommate of Mark, Collins, Roger and Maureen. Now married to Alison Grey of the Westport Greys and is considered a yuppie sell-out by his ex-roommates.
Joane Jefferson:  an Ivy League-educated public interest lawyer. Joanne has very important parents (one is undergoing confirmation to be a judge, the other is a political figure).
Angel Dumott Schunard:a drag queen, street percussionist.
Mimi Marquez:Roger's love interst. She lives downstairs from Mark and Roger.
Maureen Johnson: a performance artist; Mark's ex-girlfriend, and Joanne's current girlfriend.