Rent started out from the dream of Billy Aronson to make a musical out of La Bohème, an opera, and have it based in New York. A year into working on the concept, Jonathon Larson started to collaborate on the project, and they wrote some of the music together. It was Larson's idea to call the show Rent, and it was his idea to set it up around poverty, homelessness, and the LGBT community. In 1991, Larson asked Aronson for permission to take the concept of Rent and make it his own. He worked on it for years while working at a diner, writing hundreds of songs but eventually settling on 42. He did a stage reading for the show in 1993 with the New York Theatre Workshop and he realized he's have to rework it so it wasn't as long and complicated. By 1996 the musical had gotten to the stage of final rehearsals before debuting off-Broadway. Before previews could start Larson died, and the very first preview of the show ended up being a sing through in his honor. The show became so popular it moved to Broadway the very same year and the rest is history really. I will never get over the fact that Larson never got the chance to see his masterpiece become a reality. It's too horrible for words, and every time I sing one of the songs, or cry watching it I send a little thank you up to him for the amazing gift this show it.
Peace.
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