Left Bank;Renttells the story of young bohemian
artists and musicians in 1990’s New York lower East
Side. Larson ultimately took the idea on his own and
penned the music and book. Aronson is credited as
“Original Concept/Additional Lyrics.”
After repeated attempts and multiple revisions,
Larson received a $45,000 Richard Rodgers Award
in January, 1994, to stage a workshop version of the
show the following October. After a well-received
two-week run, plans were made for a full-scale work-
shop production at New York Theatre Workshop
(NYTW).Rentwas set to open on January 25, 1996.
The night before, after the final dress rehearsal,
Larson collapsed from an aortic aneurysm; the cre-
ator ofRentwas dead at thirty-five. The official
NYTW opening was delayed, but when the musical
opened, it received critical acclaim. The first month
of the workshop’s performances sold out in a matter
of days. Its run was extended by one month to the
end of March and sold out within one week.Rent
opened on Broadway on April 29, 1996, at the
Nederlander Theatre. The U.S. national tour began
in Boston in November, 1996, with other scheduled
tours in Los Angeles, Toronto, and London for the
following year.Recognition Rentreceived multiple awards and in-
ternational acclaim. In 1996, it received ten Tony
Award nominations. It won for Best Musical, Best
Book of a Musical (Larson), Best Original Score
(Larson), and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Wil-
son Jermaine Heredia).Renttied withBring in ’da
Noise, Bring in ’da FunkandThe King and Ifor four
Tonys. Larson posthumously received the 1996 Pu-
litzer Prize in drama.
The New York Drama Critics’ Circle awardedRent
Best Musical.Rentalso received Drama Desk Awards
for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Music (Lar-
son), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
(Heredia), and Outstanding Orchestrations (Steve
Skinner), and the Drama League Award for Best Mu-
sical. The Theatre World Award for Outstanding
New Talent went to twoRentcast members, Adam
Pascal and Daphne Rubin-Vega. TheVillage Voice’sThe Nineties in America Rent 715
The cast ofRentat New York’s Nederlander Theatre in 1996.(AP/Wide World Photos)