Jonathan Larson’s famous rock musical Rent was influenced by Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème. The opening of Rent, in February 1994, coincided almost to the day of the 100th anniversary of the Italian premiere of La Bohème. Even though there’s a 100 year difference in time between the two stories - it’s message of creativity, love and struggle still exists and resonates with audiences. Rent is a musical about young artists, some who have AIDS or HIV, living in New York City in the mid-1990s trying to survive, be creative and find love. The mass appeal of Rent is because of the message of carpe diem and celebrate life with all its “whacky diversity.” Jonathan Larson, Rent’s playwright & composer, grew up surrounded by the arts. He was in drama clubs, played the tuba in his high school. He went to college at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York and graduated with “dreams of being an actor, [but] Stephan Sondheim encouraged him to focus on composing.” (Newsmakers, 1997, Issue 4) Larson was a Sondheim follower and decided to take Sondheim’s advice. His early works include Sacrimmoralinority, written at Adelphi University with David Glenn Armstrong, Superbia, written somewhere between 1983 and 1990, and tick, tick BOOM!, written as a rock monologue and was performed by Larson himself. He was motivated to resurrect the plot of Puccini’s masterpiece opera but update it to fit “a younger audience.” (Newsmakers, 1997, Issue 4) Sadly, Larson died of an aortic aneurysm before he could see his magnum opus open on Broadway. His death caused a sensation and in some ways acted as publicity for his play. Today, Rent is still beloved by millions despite it being off Broadway and Larson’s legacy will continue to shine on through his masterpiece. La Bohème, written by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in “Turin, on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio” (Newsmakers, 1997, Issue 4) to success throughout Italy. Many year