Viva La Vie Boheme!

In 1998, I was "living in America, at the end of the millennium." As a high school junior, I was unassuming, overwhelmed, and certainly "dying" to "come into my own," when my best friend introduced me to RENT (just one more in the litany of reasons I'm indebted to you, Jen). I distinctly remember sitting in the balcony section of the Orange County theater, excited about the production and yet completely unprepared for the effect this play would have on my life. Mark mused, "why are entire years strewn on the cutting room floor of memory, while single frames of one magic night forever flicker in close-up on the 3-D Imax of my mind?" and my somewhat lonely and disconnected self silently screamed, "YES! You get it!" I yearned to emulate Mimi's passion for life and fierce desire to live in the present. I sympathized with Roger's confusion and self-pity. I scorned Benny's inability to empathize with the "starving artists," yet simultaneously envied their ability to follow a dream so whole-heartedly. I mourned the loss of Jonathan Larson's tremendous talent, and vowed to see this play again and again. Sure enough, I was sitting in the same seat two nights later for another viewing, this time with my mom. I spent the rest of high school plastering my bedroom with RENT quotes and memorizing every nuance in the soundtrack. The first thing to grace my bare dorm room wall was a giant RENT poster. "No Day But Today" became my motto for freshman year in college and eventually the motto for the UCLA swim team, displayed proudly across the back of our t-shirts.

I saw RENT again last night, this time complete with the original Broadway Mark and Roger (Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal). I haven't seen it live for years, and yet it still resonates as much as it did the first time I saw it 10 years ago. There are too many incredible messages to be named; Larson's capacity to mix humor, passion, and heartfelt emotion is unparalleled. Essentially, his key message is this: Life is gritty. Opportunity doesn't come easy, and death is real and imminent. It's easy to let self-doubt, frustration, rejection, and pity overtake a life. However, above all this one must remember the connection, potential, and energy that is music, the necessity of close friends, and the overwhelming power of Love.

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss..."