Jonathan Larson’s RENT is a groundbreaking rock musical that pulses with life, urgency, and heart. Set against the gritty backdrop of New York City’s East Village during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the show captures the spirit of a generation of artists and dreamers who are striving to create a life defined by love, community, and authenticity — even as they grapple with poverty, addiction, and the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic.

Inspired by Puccini’s opera La Bohème, Larson’s modern retelling transforms the classic into a fiercely contemporary musical that speaks to timeless human struggles. The story follows a year in the life of a group of young friends and artists trying to live honestly and creatively while facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. Mark, a filmmaker documenting their lives, and his roommate Roger, a struggling musician with a past marked by tragedy, anchor the ensemble. Their friends — Mimi, a vivacious dancer battling addiction; Tom Collins, a kind-hearted professor; Angel, a radiant drag performer with a generous soul; Maureen, a performance artist with a flair for drama; and Joanne, a brilliant and grounded attorney — form a chosen family bound by love and loyalty.

Merrily We Roll Along

The authors of the landmark Company reunite to turn the traditional showbiz musical on its head in this thrilling and compelling Broadway fable about friendship, compromise and the high price of success. Stephen Sondheim and George Furth expertly blend the excitement and energy of a backstage musical with a poignant and emotional contemporary story about the importance of staying true to one's ideals.

Merrily We Roll Along begins in the present and moves backwards, tracing the lives of wealthy, jaded composer, Franklin Shepard, and his two estranged friends through each milestone of their personal and professional lives (good and bad). The show ends with a touch of rueful irony, as the three best friends at the start of their careers face a bright future: young, talented and enthusiastic about the worlds waiting to be conquered.

Here is Rydell High’s senior class of 1959: duck-tailed, hot-rodding “Burger Palace Boys’ and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking “Pink Ladies” in bobby sox and pedal pushers, evoking the look and sound of the 1950s in this rollicking musical.

Head “greaser” Danny Zuko and new (good) girl Sandy Dumbrowski try to relive the high romance of their “Summer Nights” as the rest of the gang sings and dances its way through classic songs. The show features “Greased Lightnin’,” “You're the One That I Want,” and “Hopelessly Devoted,” that recall music of Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Elvis Presley that became the soundtrack of a generation. An eight-year run on Broadway and two subsequent revivals, along with innumerable school and community productions, place Grease among the world’s most popular musicals.