Viva La Vie Bohème! RENT: High School Edition

April 26–27, 2024—The Upper School spring musical RENT: High School Edition wowed audiences during back-to-back shows on Friday and Saturday night in the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater.

Loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème, RENT is set in the East Village of New York City in the early 1990s. A story about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today, the show won a Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Unflinchingly tackling themes such as poverty, AIDS, LGBTQ+ issues, and drug addiction, it was a groundbreaking musical for its time. Decades later, RENT has become a pop-culture phenomenon, with songs that rock and a moving, uplifting story. 

The Winsor production of RENT featured students who have never been in a Winsor theater production alongside stalwart participants in many Winsor shows. Staying true to the era, old televisions were used as part of the set, which displayed eye-catching live-feed video projection on stage. 

In his director’s note, Theater Director Jeremy Johnson recalls sitting outside the Nederlander Theater in New York City all day waiting for $20 rush tickets to see the original production of RENT in the winter of 1997. In preparation for their show, the Winsor cast attended a performance of Without You at the Calderwood Pavilion. A one-man show by one of RENT's original cast members, Without You details Anthony Rapp’s experience working on the original production. The students were able to meet Mr. Rapp after his show and he offered some advice for their production of RENT. “This is a show about community, not about your solo moment. Work together and take care of each other.”

As with all Winsor productions, posters hung around the school advertising upcoming performances. The RENT posters featured a special addition—a QR code to donate and support The Boston Living Center, a local non-profit organization whose mission is to “open the door to hope, recovery, and community for individuals and families facing homelessness, addiction, or other chronic health conditions.” Several members of The BLC visited Winsor and met with the cast of RENT during rehearsal to share their experiences around recovery and living with HIV. Their important work in the Boston community added another layer of connection and purpose as the cast prepared for their first curtain.

“Over twenty-five years later, I still find myself moved and inspired by this story of struggling young artists fighting to live fully even in the face of death,” said Mr. Johnson in his director’s note. Quoting one of the most well-known songs he added, “Although we all experience heartache and loss, our best hope is still to ‘measure your life in love.’ Viva La Vie Bohème!”