The toilet was in its own room, and the floorboards were so rotten that certain boards you stepped on, like pieces of wood, would come out. 'There was no heat except from the oven, and the shower was in the kitchen, and the floors were all f*cked up. 'We literally had one extension cord that snaked all the way through the apartment,' he continues. He takes his time to think back to the 80s, when he met his best friend (and future roommate) Jonathan Larson, an artist who yearned to change the landscape of Broadway.

'Our apartment is what you see in Rent,' Jonathan Burkhart remembers. 25, 1996, and how Rent paved way for a new era on Broadway. The key players in the musical's creation remember the days leading up to Jan. Rent is also the musical that contains the song 'Seasons of Love,' which is quickly becoming a standard.Twenty years have gone by since Jonathan Larson died and his musical, the groundbreaking rock opera Rent, lived on. Particularly noticeable moments in the soundtrack are the songs 'Take Me or Leave Me,' a powerful duet between the two lesbian lovers (one of the many '90s updates) and 'One Song Glory,' a solo rock ballad sung by Adam Pascal as the lead character Roger, most likely the strongest song on its own taken out of the context of the play. Still, many of the songs are infectious, and the musical as a whole is very uplifting and hopeful. Mostly, though, what is noticeably missing is the spark of energy provided by the interaction between an exuberant cast and an adoring audience. This could stem from the fact that Jonathan Larson died tragically the evening before the first off-Broadway performance. The lyrics, however, when placed under close scrutiny, rely far too much on clichés, and they have a noticeable sense of incompletion.

The music, an eclectic jumble of pop ballads, gospel, dance, and anthems, holds up well through repeated listens. While the musical itself is highly acclaimed and lauded, having acquired numerous Tonys and Obies, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama, this Dreamworks recording lacks much of what makes the live performances so endearing. An optimistic modernization of Puccini's opera La bohème, Jonathan Larson's Rent was revered by the theater community as the revitalizing hope for the Great White Way.

Rent by Jonathan Larson