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at Into history.com. It's

0:22

the evening of April. Twenty Nine Ninety

0:24

Ninety Six Backstage at the Negro Lander

0:26

Theater in New York City. Twenty four

0:28

year old actor Anthony Rapp strives through

0:30

the warn of dressing rooms of production

0:32

offices that's nestled beneath the theater. Backstage

0:35

crew clear a path for Anthony down

0:37

a narrow hallway, wish him luck. as

0:39

he goes for as they say and

0:41

dieter land break a leg. A voice

0:43

crackles through speakers on the wall. It's

0:46

the stage manager calling for places. All

0:48

actors for the first number must make

0:50

their way to. The Stage It Wants

0:52

To Nights production is about to begin,

0:55

so Anthony picks up the pace. Tonight

0:57

marks a milestone and Anthony show business

0:59

career. He spent more than a decade

1:01

trying to become a star, but so

1:04

far has only acted in a series

1:06

of smaller roles and television, film and

1:08

theatre. Eighteen months ago though, he was

1:10

cast as Mark Cohen, one of the

1:13

lead roles in Rent and Off Broadway

1:15

musical that was then still in development.

1:17

The show finally premiered several weeks ago

1:19

and after wowing audiences, it's transferred. To

1:22

the larger need or lane or

1:24

theater for it's debut in the

1:26

most famous theatre district in the

1:28

world Broadway, Anthony heads up a

1:30

narrow flight of stairs to adore

1:32

March stage. He gently pushes through

1:34

into the cool, still darkness. Beyond

1:36

you can hear the chatter of

1:38

the waiting audience. A dresser adjusts

1:40

Anthony scarf, making sure that his

1:42

costume is just right. The dresser

1:44

than offers a silent doms up

1:46

leaves Anthony to find his position

1:48

next to a cast mates for

1:50

the opening number. In the

1:52

darkness, he shares a quick smile with

1:55

the other actors. This is the moment

1:57

they've all been waiting for. The audience

1:59

grows quiet. the lights in the theater dim, Anthony

2:02

takes one long final breath and

2:05

takes his first step on stage. The

2:11

Broadway debut of Rent will win critical

2:13

acclaim for its story of race, queerness,

2:15

and perseverance in the face of strife.

2:18

It's a triumph for its creator,

2:20

35-year-old Jonathan Larson. But

2:22

Jonathan will not witness his musical success.

2:25

His unexpected death on the eve of

2:27

his show's debut will cast a poignant

2:30

shadow over Rent, even as it becomes

2:32

a modern classic, after its first spectacular

2:34

performance on Broadway on April 29, 1996.

2:42

History Daily is sponsored by Audible. They

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and airship. I'm Lindsey Graham and

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this is History Name. History

5:02

is made every day. On this

5:04

podcast every day, we tell the true stories of

5:06

the people and events that shaped our world. Today

5:09

is April 29th, 1996. Rock musical Rent

5:13

debuts on Broadway. It's

5:19

a sweltering summer's day in 1989 in Greenwich Village, New

5:22

York, seven years before Rent's first

5:24

Broadway performance. 29-year-old composer Jonathan Larson

5:26

takes a sip of cheap lemonade

5:28

and suns himself in a folding

5:30

chair on the roof of his

5:32

apartment building. Next to

5:35

Jonathan, playwright Billy Aronson fans himself with

5:37

the newspaper. There's not much

5:39

that can be done to beat the searing

5:41

heat, but their conversation serves as a distraction.

5:44

The pair talk about their shared passion

5:46

theater. Jonathan complains about the

5:48

lack of interest producers have shown in

5:50

a futuristic musical he's written, loosely based

5:53

on George Orwell's 1984. With

5:55

That show stuck in development, Jonathan's itching for

5:57

a new project to sink his teeth into.

6:00

One. That he hopes will finally make it to the

6:02

stage. Billie. Groans and Understanding

6:04

says that he's actually tinkering with a

6:07

new idea himself and adaptation of Poo

6:09

Chinese opera La Boh. The

6:11

original story follows a group of creators

6:13

living in Paris struggling to find meaning

6:15

in a world that's ambivalent to their

6:17

point. It's. A Predicament: A feels

6:19

familiar to both billion Jonathan as young

6:22

artists and Billie explains that he's considering

6:24

real, imagining the story with the streets

6:26

of modern New York City replacing Paris.

6:29

The. Local Neighborhood of Greenwich Village is

6:31

an epicenter of counterculture. Struggling.

6:33

Artists wanna be poets and cultural

6:35

outcasts have all card community for

6:37

themselves here. In other words,

6:40

is the perfect modern equivalent to

6:42

puccini. Paris. Hearing the pitch

6:44

Jonathan as transfixed and immediately wants to

6:46

turn it into a musical which Jonathan

6:48

Seals could shine a spotlight on the

6:50

colorful lives of people like himself. So.

6:53

Soon Jonathan and Billie agree on a name

6:56

for the new show, Rent. It's partly a

6:58

reference to the stress of dealing with New

7:00

York's extortionate housing costs. For Jonathan also like

7:02

the more dramatic meaning of the word to

7:05

be Torn Apart. Jonathan. Envisions

7:07

the people in the play as

7:09

being split between different ideas, feelings

7:11

and pass rent asunder. Billion.

7:13

Jonathan worked out a basic outline of

7:16

a plot and Billie says about writing

7:18

lyrics. Jonathan scores slowly. a few songs

7:20

start to form. I should tell You,

7:22

a love song about jumping into the

7:25

unknown against one's better judgment and Santa

7:27

Fe, a pop song fantasizing about leaving

7:29

the difficult New York life behind for

7:32

something similar. Model Jonathan

7:34

and Billie are close friends. A

7:36

fine, collaborating a struggle. Each

7:38

of them has their own idea for why

7:40

that is. Jonathan claims that when they demo

7:43

new songs, the response to Believe lyrics isn't

7:45

as positive as reaction to Johnson Score. My

7:47

Billie simply says it's a matter of creative

7:49

differences. He prefers a more a service and

7:52

witty top While Jonathan wants to approach the

7:54

themes and the play in a more sincere

7:56

and passionate way. Regardless,

7:58

Of the reasons the do. Eventually agreed

8:00

to amicably separate billie gifts for

8:02

creative control of the project to

8:04

just as a show gratitude Jonathan

8:06

promises to credit doing for the

8:08

original idea of show if it

8:11

ever debuts. So. Now on

8:13

his own, Jonathan continues working on rent

8:15

weaving in more of his own struggles

8:17

as a creative. But. As he

8:19

writes, he has to deal with numerous tragedies

8:21

in his personals. Deaths.

8:23

From Hiv and Aids are common in this

8:25

part of New York. Aids was

8:27

first identified in the United States only seven

8:30

years ago. But. Since then it

8:32

has spread across the country and

8:34

hitting neighborhoods like Jonathan's especially hard. People.

8:37

Suffering from the disease must cope not only with

8:39

a frightening illness, but with a society that has

8:41

turned it's back on the. Many

8:43

Americans seem indifferent to the growing death toll,

8:46

view the Aids epidemic as a problem that

8:48

doesn't affect them. Jonathan.

8:50

Has sickened by that attitude during the

8:52

process of working out his new musical.

8:54

Three of Jonathan's friends die due to

8:56

complications with Hiv and Aids. After

8:59

these desks he approached the Jonathan

9:01

is taking with rant feals increasingly

9:03

self centered and shallow. He

9:05

decides that the story should not focus on

9:08

his own struggles as a composer and playwright

9:10

and instead we should focus on the lives

9:12

of people like as recently deceased friends. So.

9:15

Between funerals, Jonathan rewrites the

9:17

story. Slowly. But

9:19

surely over the course of the next year

9:21

Jonathan will find to rent into a full

9:23

script with a catalogue assaults All he will

9:25

need to do that is find someone to

9:27

take a chance on him and somewhere to

9:30

give rent a home. History

9:35

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the fall of 1992 in East Village,

11:49

New York, two years after Jonathan Larson

11:51

and Billy Aronson came up with a

11:53

concept for rent. Jonathan cycles

11:55

down the street glancing around at the goings-on

11:57

in the neighborhood. It's a peaceful day with

11:59

young people. people lounging outside cafes

12:01

and apartment buildings smoking cigarettes. But

12:04

soon, Jonathan spots a small hive of activity

12:06

in the otherwise quiet streets. Builders

12:09

are hard at work outside the New York Theatre

12:11

Workshop, a small venue in the very neighborhood in

12:13

which rent is set. Suddenly, Jonathan

12:16

realizes that the perfect home for his

12:18

musical is right under his nose. Walking

12:21

inside, he spots a friend who works in the

12:23

theatre. Jonathan tells him about the

12:25

new show he's been working on and how the

12:27

New York Theatre Workshop would be the ideal place

12:29

for it to premiere. All it

12:31

takes is a single read-through of the script

12:33

for the theatre's artistic director to agree, and

12:35

Jonathan's vision has taken a step closer to

12:37

the stage. With

12:41

a venue secure, Jonathan's next challenge is to

12:43

find a cast. Over the

12:45

following weeks, he selects a group of talented

12:47

young actors, many of whom live in the

12:49

same East Village streets that rent portrays. As

12:52

rehearsals begin, Jonathan continues to tinker

12:54

with the script, adding, rewriting, and

12:57

removing songs as he goes. But

12:59

this constant change slows down production. Still,

13:02

with each passing day, the musical inches closer

13:05

and closer to its final form. But

13:07

in the midst of this exciting chapter of

13:10

his life, Jonathan's health declines. The

13:12

first warning sign occurs when he collapses in

13:14

the middle of rehearsal. After

13:16

he recovers, Jonathan laughs off the episode. He

13:19

thinks it's ironic that he fainted while the

13:21

cast was singing the phrase, Dying in America,

13:23

from his song, What You Own. But

13:26

despite playing down his collapse, Jonathan

13:28

undergoes medical tests. They

13:30

offer no definitive diagnosis. Determined

13:33

to see his play through to the end, Jonathan

13:35

returns to rehearsals. But it doesn't take

13:37

long for his ailments to get in the way again. In

13:40

January 1996, only

13:42

a few days before opening night, Jonathan

13:44

complains of chest pains. But

13:47

a further raft of tests in the emergency

13:49

room still prove inconclusive. Then

13:51

on January 24, Jonathan returns to

13:53

the set to watch the final dress rehearsal.

13:56

He's clearly tired, but nothing could keep him away

13:58

from the theater at all. Such a crucial

14:00

stage. The. Rehearsal goes well. The

14:03

cast and crew leave the venue excited

14:05

for the next a performance. Stir.

14:07

Seven years of planning, Rent is finally

14:09

ready to set the stage. With.

14:12

Jonathan does not live to see. On

14:15

returning home from the dress rehearsal,

14:17

Jonathan collapses. His roommate blinds

14:19

and dead in the kitchen a few hours

14:21

later. Subsequent. Investigations will

14:23

reveal a Jonathan suffered an

14:25

aortic dissection, possibly the result

14:27

of an undiagnosed genetic disorder.

14:30

One. By one the cast and crew of

14:32

Rent Here The Terrible that was. Shocked

14:35

and dreaming a meet at the New York

14:37

Theater Workshop to decide what to do. Rent

14:39

is set to premiere that evening. Jonathan's

14:41

parents have flown to New York for

14:43

performance. So. After discussing at

14:46

among themselves as decides to continue

14:48

with the premier dedicated to Jonathan's

14:50

members. In. Front of an

14:52

emotional audience of friends and family. The Cost

14:54

Of Rent performs the show as a table

14:57

read with our costumes are set decoration. At

14:59

least that's how it starts. But. As

15:02

they go through the script the actress

15:04

find that can help with stand up

15:06

move around bringing Jonathan's writing to loss.

15:08

Or act to the table read scrapped.

15:10

The cast returns to the stage after

15:13

the interval, in full costumes, performing the

15:15

show as it was intended. At.

15:17

The end of the premier, the audience

15:19

erupts into tears. Tears streamed down many

15:21

people's faces. Jonathan's. Absences most

15:23

keenly felt during the curtain call when

15:25

the show's creator would usually take the

15:27

applause at a premier. But. A

15:30

single audience member breaks attention, crying

15:32

L St you, Chalmers and Larson

15:34

as the applause fades. After.

15:36

The success of this emotional first performance

15:38

Ranch will become a runaway hit at

15:40

the New Your Seat or workshops and

15:42

quickly prove itself worthy of a larger

15:44

state. And once it opens at

15:47

the Neither Lander Cedar on Broadway, three months

15:49

later, rants will reach even greater. It

15:52

will become a worldwide sensation, making overnight

15:54

stars out of it's cast and it

15:56

will ensure that the memory of the

15:58

shows found her. Jonathan Martin. Remain

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18:14

It's June 2, 1996

18:16

at the Majestic Theater in New York, six

18:18

months after Jonathan Larson's death. To

18:21

loud applause, British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber

18:23

walks on stage holding an envelope and

18:25

takes his place in front of a

18:27

podium. This is the

18:29

Tony Awards, a ceremony recognizing the

18:31

best of Broadway theater. Andrew

18:33

is here to present the evening's most

18:36

coveted prize, Best Musical. He

18:38

pauses, opens the envelope, looks out

18:40

at the audience, and then announces the

18:42

name of the winner, Lent. The

18:44

room explodes in cheers. Four

18:47

producers jump out of their seats and hug each

18:49

other before rushing to the stage. Taking

18:52

turns, they thank the show's director,

18:54

the company, the audience, and finally,

18:56

the man more responsible than anyone

18:58

else for the musical's success, the

19:00

much-missed writer and composer Jonathan Larson.

19:04

Rent had ten nominations at this ceremony,

19:06

and the award for Best Musical is

19:08

its fourth win. But although there

19:10

are no more trophies to be handed out at

19:12

this year's Tony's, Rent has more honors to come.

19:15

Over the course of the next few

19:17

months, it wins the Pulitzer Prize for

19:19

Drama, six different Theater Desk Awards, and

19:21

two Theater World Awards. The

19:24

accolades ensure that Rent sells out night

19:26

after night for years. In 2006,

19:28

ten years after

19:30

Rent's debut, the original Broadway cast

19:32

reunites for a benefit performance. Together,

19:35

they help raise over two million dollars

19:37

for good causes close to Jonathan Larson's

19:40

art, the local performing arts industry, and

19:42

HIV and AIDS charities. The

19:45

final performance of Rent on Broadway comes in

19:47

2008. By then, the show

19:49

has been performed to more than 5,000 audiences

19:52

and grossed over 280 million dollars.

19:54

But the musical's legacy extends far beyond the

19:57

money it made or the crowds it entertained.

20:00

Rent shown a spotlight on an often

20:02

discriminated against community, and through the unforgettable

20:04

words and music of Jonathan Larson, it

20:06

has changed hearts and minds from the

20:08

moment it debuted on Broadway, April 29,

20:10

1996. Next,

20:19

on History Daily, April 30, 1963,

20:22

a boycott protesting a

20:24

bus to police clearing policies draws

20:26

national attention to racial discrimination in

20:28

the United Kingdom. Thanks

20:36

for listening to History Daily. But

20:38

did you know that you can

20:40

listen ad-free in the Wondery or

20:42

Amazon Music app, or for even

20:44

more history content, including the entire

20:46

History Daily archive and other fantastic

20:48

history podcasts, go to intohistory.com. From

20:54

Noiser and Airship, this is History

20:56

Daily. Posted, edited, and executive produced

20:58

by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio

21:01

editing by Molly Bonham. Sound design

21:03

by Molly B. Music by Tron. This

21:05

episode is written and researched by Georgia Hampton,

21:08

and edited by Scott Reeves. Managing

21:10

producer Emily Levy. In fact,

21:12

the producers are William Simpson for Airship and

21:15

Pascal Hughes for Noiser. What

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Elephant, was told by everyone, including her

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own mother, that the name sounded like

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a dive bar. I'm Guy Roz, and

21:41

on my show How I Built This,

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I talk to founders behind the world's

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biggest companies to learn the real stories

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of how they built them. In each

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episode, you'll hear entrepreneurs share moments of

21:52

doubt and failure, and talk about how

21:54

they were able to overcome them on

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their way to the top. How I

21:58

Built This is like a masterclass in

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innovation and creativity. and the people who've

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done it all. Follow How I Built

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This wherever you get your podcasts. You

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can listen to How I Built This

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early and ad-free right now on Wondery

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Plus. For more deep dive and daily

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business content, listen to Wondery, the destination

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for business podcasts with shows like How

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I Built This, Business Wars, and many

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more, Wondery means business.