For my music event, I chose to see the musical "RENT." I had seen this show two times previously and was interested to see it a third time. Each time I saw the production in a different city with different audiences present and different cast members. The content of the show was the same in each city, but the reaction of the audience changed depending on the city. The sexual content of "RENT" made it a very controversial musical and the audience to react differently to it. Also, since I saw the three shows over a period of five years, the audience reaction also changed due to a change in society. The contrasting audience reactions first in Palm Desert, then in Los Angeles, and finally in Thousand Oaks, is due to the sexual content of the musical and the types of people residing in these different areas. .
Jonathan Larson's "RENT" is based on the French "La Bohema." Both shows look at the underprivileged people and the effects of society on these people. "RENT" is set in the streets of New York, whereas "La Bohema" is set in Paris. There are similar characters in both productions, however in "RENT," the characters are also faced with HIV and drug problems as well as being sexually diverse. Over half the main characters in "RENT" are infected with HIV and about the same percentage of the characters are homosexual. The whole show is based around Mark and Roger who are faced with eviction from their apartment because they cannot make the rent. Some of the characters do not have jobs and others spend all their money on drugs. Mimi, the female lead, is an exotic dancer so she can earn drug money. Throughout the show, the characters" pagers go off which is recognized as an "AZT [HIV drug] break." In the opening act, Roger is depressed because his ex-girlfriend committed suicide when she found out she contracted AIDS. This show hits the audience with one problem after another in these peoples" lives.
