Book, Music, and Lyrics by
Jonathan Larson
based on the French novel by
Henri Murger
May 29-June 21, 2025
RENT
New Line's 100th Show!
Praise for New Line's 2025 Production
“Rent? Yes, Rent again. But Rent done as it should be and better than ever.” – Bob Wilcox, HEC-TV“Literally everything about New Line's production feels like this amazing cosmic convergence. It can't be duplicated. It's an incredibly unique production.” – Jack Janssen, Jack Reviews Musicals
“Intimate and direct, a soaring triumph. . . a wondrous, exhilarating gift.” – Mark Bretz, Ladue News
"In terms of perfect comprehensibility and a kind of symbolic purity on every level, this time really felt like the first." – Richard Green, Talkin Broadway
“Heartfelt, well-cast and especially well-sung.” – Michelle Kenyon, Snoop’s Theatre Thoughts
“Raw honesty. . . relevant themes and truly unforgettable songs.” – Tina Farmer, Mound City Messenger
“New Line Theatre’s absorbing production of RENT is fresh, feels new, and rejuvenates the appreciation of Larson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony winning musical. It’s intensely enjoyable for Rent-heads.” – James Lindhorst, St. Louis Arts Scene
How do you measure a year in the life?
New Line closed its 33rd season with Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize winning cultural phenomenon, the long-running rock opera Rent. This cheerfully transgressive, 1990s rock/pop riff on a classic story, set in New York City’s East Village, is best described in its creator's own words: “In these dangerous times, where it seems the world is ripping apart at the seams, we can all learn how to survive from those who stare death squarely in the face every day and we should reach out to each other and bond as a community, rather than hide from the terrors of life at the end of the millennium.”
A show about connection and healing seems like a story we need right now, maybe more than ever before.
Rent was nominated for a staggering ten Tony Awards and won four, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. It also won six Drama Desk Awards, three Obie Awards, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Drama League Award. And the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The original production ran more than twelve years and over five thousand performances — it's still one of the top ten longest running musicals in Broadway history — and the 2010 off Broadway revival, opening just three years after the original closed, ran another year.
The New Line cast included David Brooks (as Mark Cohen), Nathan Mecey (Roger Davis), Corrinna Redford (Mimi Marquez), Sarah Lueken (Maureen Johnson), Aarin Kamphoefner (Angel Dumott Schunard), Chris Moore (Tom Collins), Jazmine Kendela Wade (Joanne Jefferson), Aaron Tucker (Benjamin Coffin III), and Rafael Da Costa, Chelsie Johnston, Brittany Kohl, Gabriel Scott Lawrence, Sofia McGrath, Tawaine Noah, Rachel Parker, and Lauren Tennenbaum.
The New Line's production was directed by Scott Miller and Chris Moore, with tango choreography by Chelsie Johnston, music direction by Randon Lane, scenic design by Todd Schaefer, sound design by Ryan Day, costume design by Zachary Thompson, and lighting design by Ryan Thorp.
New Line previously produced Rent in 2014. Rent is produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York.
Want to explore more?
We recommend:
A fun, accessible English translation of the original French novel by Henri Murger that the show is based on
The original Broadway
cast album
Artistic Director Scott Miller's analysis and background essay about Rent, from his book Rebels with Applause
The
Rent coffee table book, including the entire script
This
Charlie Rose interview with the
original artistic team and three of the original leads
Anthony Rapp's
Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and
the Musical Rent
The
final performance on Broadway filmed
live, on DVD
Photos from the East Village in
the 1990s
The excellent book
Poseur: A Memoir of Downtown New York City in the '90s
A timeline of the AIDS epidemic
