History Theatre / Rent

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: [[spoiler:For a heroin addict about to die of AIDS and/or an overdose, Mimi looks pretty good in the finale. Meanwhile Angel, who is a biological male, has lesions on their face before they die.]]

* DragQueen: Angel is a biological male who wears female clothes, although it's not clear if Angel's androgynous, transgender or a mix.

* Angel Dumott Schunard: A mischievous, HIV-positive street percussionist and DragQueen who falls in love with Collins. Debate rages over whether Angel is a pre-operative transgender woman, [[DragQueen is just in it for the clothes and persona]], or is gender non-binary, even on this very wiki.

* RealityEnsues: After Mimi is found and brought in, the group lay her out on the table to try to get her warmed up. Collins says that it's too late and goes to the phone to dial 911.

* Angel Dumott Schunard: A mischievous, HIV-positive street percussionist and DragQueen who falls in love with Collins. Debate rages over whether Angel is a pre-operative transgender woman]], [[DragQueen is just in it for the clothes and persona]], or is gender non-binary, even on this very wiki.

* Angel Dumott Schunard: A mischievous, HIV-positive street percussionist and DragQueen who falls in love with Collins. Debate rages over whether Angel is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} pre-operative transgender woman]], [[DragQueen is just in it for the clothes and persona]], or is gender non-binary, even on this very wiki.

* Angel Dumott Schunard: A mischievous, HIV-positive street percussionist and DragQueen who falls in love with Collins. Debate rages over whether Angel is a [[{{Transgender}} pre-operative transgender woman]], [[DragQueen is just in it for the clothes and persona]], or is gender non-binary, even on this very wiki.

* CulturallySensitiveAdaptation: The 2019 performance of ''Theatre/{{Rent}} LIVE'' on Creator/{{Fox}} edited the 1995 musical to get rid of dated or unintentionally problematic issues.
** They changed a line in "Happy New Year" where Maureen sings about wanting to be Joanne's slave to her simply promising to be good to Joanne.
** Due to a shifting understanding of gender identity since the 1990s, Angel's AmbiguousGenderIdentity was updated to be more obviously transgender instead of a drag queen. Angel affirms during "I'll Cover You" that she feels the most like herself in feminine clothing, and Mark no longer refers to her as a drag queen during [[spoiler:her funeral]]. Collins also consistently refers to Angel as "she" instead of "he."

* Tom Collins: An HIV-positive philosophy professor described by Mark as a "computer genius, teacher, and vagabond anarchist who ran naked through the Parthenon". A former roommate of Mark and Roger's He has a sexual relationship with....

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Roger and Benny, to Mimi.

** Zigzagged with Mimi. It's the persona she adopts for "Light My Candle" and "Out Tonight," but "I Should Tell You" shows her vulnerability and her desire for a trusting relationship with Roger. Then she makes Roger question her loyalty by reconnecting with Benny and ultimately getting back together with him even though he's still married.

** Zigzagged with Mimi. It's the persona she adopts for "Light My Candle" and "Out Tonight," but "I Should Tell You" shows her vulnerability and her desire for a trusting relationship with Roger. Then she makes Roger question her loyalty by reconnecting with Benny and ultimately getting back together with him even though he's still married. By the end it's clear her love for Roger is sincere.

** Zigzagged with Mimi. It's the persona she adopts for "Light My Candle" and "Out Tonight," but "I Should Tell You" shows her vulnerability and her desire for a trusting relationship with Roger. Then she makes Roger question her loyalty by reconnecting with Benny and ultimately getting back together with him. By the end it's clear her love for Roger is sincere.

A 1994 RockOpera musical adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's ''Theatre/LaBoheme'', ''RENT'' depicts a group of Alphabet City-based impoverished bohemians coping and cooperating in making the most out of whatever life they're living, all under cover of the looming, invisible, inevitable threat that is HIV/AIDS.

A 1994 RockOpera musical adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's ''Theatre/LaBoheme'', ''RENT'' depicts a group of Alphabet City-based impoverished bohemians coping and cooperating in carving a life out of their given circumstances, all under cover of the looming, invisible threat that is HIV/AIDS.

* Mark Cohen: A film maker. He is Maureen's ex-boyfriend and Roger's roommate. As a documentarian, Mark serves as a pseudo-narrator at several points of the play.
* Roger Davis: A musician and former drug addict. Prior to the events of the show, he and his girlfriend April were diagnosed with HIV, driving her to commit suicide shortly after.
* Mimi Marquez: An exotic dancer. Like Roger, she has AIDS and a drug problem. She tries to pursue a relationship with him, but their respective pasts get in the way. She and Angel are best friends.
* Tom Collins: An HIV-positive philosophy professor and former roommate of Mark and Roger. He has a sexual relationship with Angel.
* Angel Dumott Schunard: A mischievous, HIV-positive drummer who falls in love with Collins. Debate rages over whether Angel is a [[{{Transgender}} pre-operative transgender woman]], [[DragQueen just likes the clothes]] or is gender non-binary, even on this very wiki.
* Maureen Johnson: A free-spirited, bisexual performance artist. She left Mark for Joanne.
* Joanne Jefferson: A Harvard-educated lawyer. She is Maureen's girlfriend, the most straight-laced of all the characters.
* Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III: Mark and Roger's landlord and Mimi's ex-boyfriend. He used to be their roommate, until he married into money and "sold out". He has something of a {{Frenemy}} relationship with the others.

Like many stage musicals, ''RENT'' was adapted into a feature film. Directed by Creator/ChrisColumbus, the 2005 film adaptation featured most of the original Broadway cast reprising their roles, with the exceptions of Creator/RosarioDawson as Mimi and Tracie Thoms as Joanne. It was almost made a {{period piece}}, specifically set over a year from 1989 to 1990, whereas the original musical wasn't placed in any particular time period.

The original Broadway production was a LongRunner having a healthy 12 year run from April 29, 1996 to September 7, 2008; the final performance was filmed for home video, and was notable for having Tracie Thoms reprising her film role of Joanne.

A live television production, ''RENT: Live'', aired on Creator/{{Fox}} in January 2019, a little over a decade since the initial Broadway run ended. Among the cast of this production were Creator/JordanFisher as Mark, Music/{{Tinashe}} as Mimi, Creator/{{Valentina}} as Angel, Music/VanessaHudgens as Maureen, Creator/KierseyClemons as Joanne, and [[Film/TheGreatestShowman Keala Settle]] as the "Seasons of Love" soloist, while some of the original Broadway cast made [[RemakeCameo cameo appearances]] in the final number. Co-star Brennin Hunt (Roger) broke his ankle during the prior night's dress rehearsal, and there was no understudy prepared to take over from him. Since {{the show must go on}}, however, he was still able to perform in modified segments using a wheelchair on the actual night, but the television broadcast consisted mainly of footage from the dress rehearsal until the aforementioned grand finale.

The poor reception of the special -- including the aforementioned lack of understudies and the resulting lack of live ''RENT'', and how it had to be heavily {{bowdleri|se}}zed to make it suitable for broadcast TV -- resulted in Creator/{{NBC}} dumping its plans to broadcast a live version of another "mature" musical, ''{{Theatre/Hair}}'', in May, electing to focus more on "family-friendly" works instead.

A 1994 RockOpera adaptation of Puccini's ''Theatre/LaBoheme'', written by Jonathan Larson, ''RENT'' depicts a group of New York bohemians coping with the modern and postmodern condition. The cast includes:

* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice King]]: Roger warming up to Mimi.

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Maureen's flimsy justification for being unable to stop cheating.

!!This musical provides examples of:

* BookEnds: "''December 24th, 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time...''"
* {{Bowdlerise}}: Naturally, the 2019 live telecast removes several swear words from the script, most notably the f-bombs in "Tango Maureen".

* DragQueen: Angel is a biological male who wears female clothes, although it's not clear if Angel's androgynous, transgender or the above possiblity.

* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: Discussed. In the movie, Joanne and Maureen have an argument at their engagement party, where Joanne brings up Maureen's flirting with another woman at the Kink Club. When the scene segues into "Take Me or Leave Me", Maureen retorts that she shouldn't have a problem with it--she may flirt with other women (and men), but Joanne is her one and only. Joanne isn't placated.
-->'''Maureen:''' You are the one I choose
-->Folks would kill to fill your shoes
-->You love the limelight too, now, baby
-->So be mine and don't waste my time
-->Cryin', "Oh, Honeybear, are you still my, my, my baby?"

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: In the song "Happy New Year", Benny sings "Does your boyfriend know who your last boyfriend was?" and Roger responds "I'm not her boyfriend!"

* CondescendingCompassion: At one point, after Mark intervenes to help a homeless woman being harassed by the police by filming their encounter, she angrily rejects his assistance by accusing him of just trying to appropriate and exploit her unfortunate circumstances as inspiration for his art rather than acting out of any sincere desire to help. Tellingly, she proceeds to ask him if he has any money to spare. As he just stands there in guilty silence, she coldly remarks "Yeah, didn't think so..." before leaving.

* TrueCompanions: This is the overall relationship of the main characters.
* UnreliableNarrator: Mark.

* VillainSong: "You'll See".

** "AZT Break."
** After "Contact": "...it's over."
** From "Goodbye Love", "I'm the one of us to survive!"
** From "Happy New Year":