An Australian production of Jonathan Larson's rock musical Rent is opening in Melbourne, part of the show's first national tour in more than two decades.
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Rent opened off-Broadway in 1996 and became a global hit, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and multiple Tony Awards, but Larson himself never saw how successful it would become: he died suddenly in the early hours of the day the show opened to the public.
It's a tragic story that has become legend along with the musical itself, a tale of love prevailing against the odds set in New York City's East Village, and based on Puccini's La Boheme.
Despite these operatic origins, Rent was "incredibly progressive" when it was first staged, according to director Shaun Rennie.
"It was the first time that I had seen queer people on stage in a musical kissing, or drag queens - it was really groundbreaking in the '90s," he told AAP.
But as time passed, Larson's masterwork endured a period of cultural cringe.
"There was a time where the '90s wasn't cool, or we were just too close to it to be able to see it with fresh eyes," said Rennie.
Audiences are keen to see Rent once again, as a recent sold-out season in Brisbane has shown, but the challenge for the director has been keeping the production relevant and keeping its edge, while also retaining the classic moments that fans adore.
Having previously directed Rent at Sydney's Hayes Theatre in 2015 and 2016, as well as at the Sydney Opera House in 2021, Rennie has found the musical takes on a new resonance for audiences post-COVID, with its lyrics about connection in an age of isolation.
"Society seems to be getting more and more isolated as we disappear into our devices," he said.
"This show is about community, it's about being present and loving fiercely and ferociously."
At its heart Rent is also about living in the moment and celebrating life and love in the face of death, said Rennie - and that's a story that never gets old.
It helps that the cast, starring Thndo, Nick Afoa, Noah Mullins, Calista Nelmes, Jerrod Smith, are as fired up and politically charged as Jonathan Larson and his friends were in the 90s, said Rennie.
At a preview ahead of opening night on Tuesday, they had an obvious camaraderie - especially when coping with an electrical fault just before the titular song, with its lyric, "the lights go out".
Happily they came back on again quickly - clearly someone has paid the rent.
Rent has finished a recent sold-out run in Brisbane and its season in Melbourne at the State Theatre will be followed by runs in Newcastle, Perth and Canberra.
Australian Associated Press
