It won Tony's Best Musical and Pulitzer Prize in 1996. It is very rare for musical to receive Pulitzer Prize. In 1996, soon after it was opened on Off-Broadway, Rent became a quite sensation. And only 2 month later, it was moved up to the Broadway. RENT becomes a Mega-hit original American musical in a decade. Newsweek calls musical of the 60’s is Hair, and 70’s is Chorus Line and 90’s is RENT. It is the best description of this musical. Hair and Chorus Line both have message to the society from young people who are facing social conflicts. However the time is different, RENT's also has same concept. The story is based on the opera La Boheme. In RENT, the story sets in New York instead of Paris. The main characters are young artists who hardly have money to pay for their rent. Drug, Homosexual, AIDS were social problems surround young people in mid 80's to 90's. The story is telling the heart and spirit of a community of young artists who struggle with the soaring hopes and tough realities of today's world.

Jonathan Larson, the creator of RENT,? wrote this musical? based on his own life story. He was chasing his own dream of producing a musical in poverty. It took him five years to write script and compose music for this musical all by himself. However, he died suddenly a day before the firs rehearsal of RENT.