DU’s Upcoming Production of Rent Still Relevant to Transcending Universal Challenges

DU’s Department of Theatre will present the beloved, Tony-Award-winning musical Rent by Jonathan Larson from Feb. 23-25 and March 2-5. The play captures the story of friends in Manhattan’s East Village in the late 1980s and early 1990s who are struggling to build the lives of their dreams. Pennilessness, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, social tension and political unrest, among other hardships, challenge the group physically and emotionally. Learning to face their problems head-on, they make personal self-discoveries and learn what really matters most in life.

While Larson wrote and created Rent in the mid 1990s and, in many ways, it reflects a specific moment in time and place, Assistant Professor and Rent Director Ashley Hamilton pointed out that it continues to resonate with audiences today. 

“I find its themes still relevant to our current moment and in many ways, timeless,” she said. “Rent plunges us into an exploration of an epidemic, class, poverty, community, friendship, art as healer, addiction, illness, gentrification, queerness, sexuality and healing. All of these are part of the human experience.” 

Purchase Rent tickets here