Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes… How do you measure a year? Measure in love… No day but today.

This statement is the simple fact that so many know but so few recognize. And this is what the creator of the Tony-award winning musical “Rent”, Jonathan Larson, wishes to convey. “Rent” is the tale of a group of friends living in New York, struggling just to survive. The story is so touching and close to home that it has turned this “La Boheme” inspired show into a worldwide smash.

First, a look at the basics of the musical. Every show is no greater than the meaning behind its characters and the unwritten words that are never spoken, but ring true in the minds and hearts of each audience member. Our basic lineup: Mark Cohen is a filmmaker living with his roommate and best friend, Roger Davis. Roger is a musician who can never seem to make his words fit with his music, until he finds inspiration. Mimi Marquez, a dancer at the Cat Scratch Club, comes into his life like a whirlwind, steals his heart, and then isn’t sure of what to do with it. Early on in the plot, Roger and Mark’s old roommate Tom Collins calls from the street, with ideas of what to do for the evening. Benjamin Coffin, their landlord and ex-roommate soon comes in and turns the tables on the evening, spawning a protest of burning their past-literally. Collins meets Angel, a transvestite, and soon falls in love. We’re also introduced to Maureen Johnson, Mark’s ex-girlfriend and a struggling actress, and her new girlfriend Joanne Jefferson.

This is just a basic setup for what is to come in this show. Many of you may be thinking “What is there to see? We see this kind of stuff of the street and in the news every day.” This is the exact point that makes most “Rent” fans fall in love with the show. It can be so true to life at times that people will literally sit and compare people in their own lives to characters from the show. From the beginning of the show, when we hear that a large portion of our cast is dying with AIDS to the end when we’re sure that we’ve lost Mimi, the audience is glued to their seats, their eyes transfixed on the stage in front of them. And even after the finale, they’re still entranced by what has happened. Many will look at their watches and think, “Was that really two and a half hours?” Some may say that this story is cliche, that things like this don't happen every day... But the magic behind the story is more than proof that those skeptics are wrong.