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The theme of the play RENT, by Jonathan Larson, was "carpe diem" which is Latin for " seize the day." The play consisted of many characters who where dealing with many troubles and hardships and needed to decide on how they would handle the problems and still be together as friends and even some as lovers. The characters of Roger and Mark, two roommates, had to decide how they were going to pay the rent. Roger had to decide how he was going to be the person he wished to be while worrying about how much time he had left while he lived with AIDS. Mimi, the upstairs tenant had to learn how to cope with her drug addiction and also with her lover for Roger but also dealing with her former lover Benny. The play said a lot about problems and people and how they handle them. Throughout the play the characters struggle with taking their chances while they have them or possibly regretting it forever.
The theme of the play is universal. Everyone in life has problems whether they seem big or small. The characters of the play deal with real life issues such as money, love, success, and drugs. The problems are universal in everyone's life. Whether the viewer is ninety or maybe just ten they can relate to dealing with problems and choosing when and how to deal with them before it is too late.
The play RENT is musical theater. Musical theater includes any dramatic entertainment of which music and lyrics form an integral and necessary part. The play was all song and has a wonderful soundtrack. It is an opera to rock music where the choreography was set up unbelievable with a remarkable setting. The play expressed so much emotion through the songs that helped along the play as it moved through settings and tones. The play had many conflicts throughout the story.
Mark and Roger, two of the main characters, are having trouble dealing with paying the rent. Roger is a songwriter who feels he will never be able to write something meaningful before he dies as he has AIDS. Roger is having trouble with his ex-girlfriend, Maureen, who is now a lesbian and them working together to save the building, where Mark and Roger live, and also the lot next to it where many homeless live from being changed into a cyber-studio. Their old roommate, Benny, now owns the building and is the one who is threatening to turn it into a studio.
Mark and Roger and Maureen try to band together and save the building. They also get help from their other ex-roommate Collins who is kicked out of school and is trying to have a relationship with a transsexual, Angel. Angel tries to teach them a lot about doing what they can while they can do it because they might not ever have another chance and they learn this the best when he dies. The main conflict of the play is that they try to save the building yet keep true to who they are. The play has many sub-conflicts with all the characters being involved which makes this play the great one it is. The play in some form has a protagonist and also an antagonist.
The play can be viewed, as Benny is the antagonist for trying to change the building into a cyber-studio. The protagonist would be all of the characters for trying to stop him. Also life could be considered the antagonist for the problems they are suffering and their friendship could be the protagonist, as they need each other to struggle through them. The final climax of the play is when they stage the protest by sitting in the apartment and save the building. Finally they resolve their issues of being friends and stop trying to hurt each other. Mimi, who had denied her love for Mark and chose Benny, almost died and her and Mark confessed their love for one another and she didn't die.
Roger got a job as a filmmaker and did work he loved while also getting paid for what he loves. Collins decided to go to New York University and continue his education. Maureen and Roger made up as friends and she continued her relationship with her lover. The play is episodic. We learn a lot of what has already happened from the beginning and also what the characters say.
The play covered over a year. It was broken up into several different scenes along with the songs. It ranged over a section of the city and several different areas of New York. Had several main characters and also other characters as well. It had several different action scenes where the actors broke out into a dance and song with a lot of action. The scenes where juxtaposed with everything happening in different time spans.
The play had several different types of characters. Bibliography:
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