Rent

No day but today. That is the tagline of the hit Broadway musical Rent. In 2005, Chris Columbus brought the musical to life on film. It is a musical with a message. It was composed by writer, Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics. It is a play about the lower east side in New York City. It is a place populated with homeless people, drug addicts, aspiring performers, drag queens, and other artists living on the streets or run down apartments. They are outcasts who have found their own sense of family and belonging (Stoll & Giltz 50).
It is based on Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme. The characters were transformed into gay and straight struggling artists. Larson turned New York’s seamy underbelly into a celebration of life and love. This play broke ground by bringing the issue of AIDS to the forefront of society’s conscience. The main characters all dealt with AIDS either directly or indirectly. Rent spoke to audience’s worldwide and celebrated the lives of the very people audiences stepped over outside the Broadway venues (51).
Rent won several Tony Awards and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama. When it came time to bring the musical to film almost ten years later, Columbus wanted to use as many of the original cast as possible. All but two characters reprised their roles. In the stage production, there is little in the way of setting. For the film, Columbus shot on location in New York and San Francisco. It added a difference sense of authenticity to the narrative.
The transition to film also intensified intimate moments such as Angel’s death from AIDS. “The death of Angel is not pretty. It’s a real hospital scene—lesions and all” says Jermaine Heredia, who plays Angel. Seeing is believing. It also shows Mimi’s struggle with heroin addiction and the physical and emotional pain and suffering of trying to get clean. The strife of both of these characters is captured in the sequence titled “Without You.” The transition between each shot is a fade to black. It signifies that time is passing as we view excerpts from the character’s lives. Each shot is constantly in motion as the camera is either panning or zooming in and out. It creates fluidity within the sequence that tie together beautifully with the lyrics.

Rent's message of tolerance, acceptance, and awareness is still pertinent today. When Rent took place in 1989, an estimated 650,000 people were believed to be HIV-positive. Today it is estimated t be more than 1.1 million (10). Rent is a prime example of a musical being much more than light hearted fun. This is why it will continue to be a pivotal play on the stage on the screen for decades to come.