Jeff Potter, Anthony Jackson, Daniel A. Weiss, Ira Siegel, Kenny Brescia, Steve Skinner, Adam Pascal, Aiko Nakasone, Anthony Rapp - Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)

Into Broadway's creative vacuum of revivals, movie adaptations, and Hollywood star vehicles comes Rent, the story of squatters, junkies, performance artists, struggling musicians, drag queens, aspiring filmmakers, and HIV-positives (and you thought Miss Saigon's helicopter landing was cool). Undoubtedly among the defining pop cultural events of 1996, Rent has already won four Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. More importantly, it threatens to bring substance back to the Great White Way.

Transposing Puccini's 100-year-old opera La Bohème into modern day Bohemia (19th-century Paris's Left Bank becomes late-20th-century New York's East Village where the scourge of tuberculosis becomes the plague of AIDS) Rent celebrates life among the young, sick, and unconventional. While Broadway shows are hardly the place for authentic portrayals of the latest marginalized hipsters, composer Jonathan Larson (who died at age 36, days before his musical opened) managed to sculpt vivid characters and scenes that bring Avenue A as close as it will ever come to 42nd Street. And by telling a socially relevant story of living without the guarantee of a future (renting, that is), Larson does his own little bit to define an X'ed generation. At worst, Rent is the Hair of the '90s.

For the majority of us who won't be seeing Rent anytime soon, the Original Cast Recording is more than just an after-show souvenir. Well-packaged with a complete libretto, the two-CD set is a worthwhile album separate of live performance. Full of songs that are funny and catchy, inspiring and touching, smart and hip and not overly sentimental, Rent mixes showtune pop with elements of rock, R&B, dance, gospel, and tango to make one of the best albums of the year--certainly the best rock opera in decades. La vie bohème, indeed. --Roni Sarig Amazon.com

Rent: The original cast recording

I received the cd in a timely matter, however there are a few songs I can not listen to because of bad scratches on the cd. November 16, 2008

Rent Original Broadway Cast Recording

Rent is an important production, because it puts a face to the AIDS crisis and this was especially new when the production first came to Broadway. The music to Rent is wonderful and spans the breadth of the pop/rock genre. The Broadway soundtrack is as crisp of a recording as the motion picture soundtrack, but overall is a much better version. The Broadway version includes a number of humorous phone calls, additional songs and it seems have more feeling to them. All of the songs on the Rent soundtrack are great, but my favorites by far are Rent and La Vie Boheme. Both take a satirical approach to contemporary culture that is refreshing and needed when discussing the issue of "social outcasts". You can't go wrong with this recording of the Rent soundtrack. May 31, 2008

RENT is THE must-have CD for theater buffs

Rent launched the careers of Daphne Rubin Vega, Anthony Rapp, Taye Diggs, and (perhaps most popularly) Jesse L. Martin, of Law & Order fame. Sure he's a tough cop, but when you hear him sing "I'll Cover You" you realize exactly why it is that so many actors and actresses say their first love is the theater. Martin is so much more than some cog in Dick Wolf's Law and Order machine. He has a voice that can bowl you over.

The movie didn't bowl audiences over. (We won't blame that on the replacement of Vega with Rosario Dawson *cough* Idiots! *cough*) Seasons of Love, and Stevie Wonder, how can you go wrong there?

Especially when one takes the time to read the story of Jonathan Larson, as told by brilliant writer David Lipsky. "525,600 minutes--how do you measure a year in the life?" Larson was a man so in love with his craft that he basically worked himself to death in order to leave the world this beautiful, amazing legacy of song, of love, of heart. It is a MUST-HAVE CD! February 24, 2008

No Day But Today!

Announced today, June 1st will be the final show for this production. I have to tell you, this show, even after 12 years, still hits home and is as entertaining as ever. This album is amazing, but on stage it's mesmerizing. If you haven't seen it, make a trip to NY just to see. You can get great seats as the theater is small and even nose bleeds are good seats. I just brought my 29 year old friend and her 22 year old sister to see it last Sat (1/10/2008) and they fell in love with it.

Seriously, don't miss it! There is no day but today people!
January 16, 2008

A Wonderful Piece of Musical Theatre

Wow. What a wonderfully unique show! The score is brilliant and the cast is equally brilliant. This musical stands out from the rest of them. It's gritty and edgy and it's not filled with cheesy dance numbers and special effects. It's real! People can relate to it. The plot itself is beautiful, but the music blows my mind! It's without a doubt my favorite musical. I've seen it 4 times now...twice on tour and twice on Broadway. If you only know the movie, you're missing out. This album brings so much more then the movie. It's actually the reason I changed my plans and decided to go into theatre. It's definatly a must-have for any musical fan out there! It is different from, it takes risks, but the effect is glorious. I'm still dazzled by it and I must have listened to it at least 100 times by now. December 5, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...