Artist Rent

By now, Jonathan Larson’s Rent has been immortalized at least three times. First, by its Broadway run, which lasted 5,124 performances from 1996 until 2008; second, by Chris Columbus’ 2006 film adaptation; and third, by the musical marionette parody “Everybody Has AIDS!” from Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Team America: World Police. Depending on where one stands, theSouth Park creators are either trivializing a very real and tragic epidemic for the sake of a cheap (and arguably homophobic) laugh, or they’re highlighting the absurdity of addressing such an important issue with a feel-good song-and-dance number. Regardless, Larson’s rock opera about impoverished artists in Manhattan’s Lower East Side (based on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables) is immensely popular, with large swaths of fiercely loyal fans, so you can always decide for yourself.

Updated 05/14/2012