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Larson's inspiration for Rent's content came from several different sources. Many of the characters and plot elements are drawn directly from Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème, the world premiere of which was in 1896—100 years before Rent's premiere.[8] La bohème was also about the lives of poor young artists. Tuberculosis, the plague of Puccini's opera, is replaced by AIDS in Rent; 1800s Paris is replaced by New York's East Village in the late 1980s. The names and identities of Rent's characters also heavily reflect Puccini's original characters, though they are not all direct adaptations. For example, Joanne in Rent is an amalgamation of both Marcello and Alcindoro in Bohème:

Character in La bohème Character in Rent (musical)

Mimi, a seamstress with tuberculosis : Mimi Márquez, an exotic dancer with HIV

Rodolfo, a poet : Roger Davis, a musician who is HIV positive

Marcello, a painter : Mark Cohen, a filmmaker

Musetta, a singer : Maureen Johnson, a lesbian performance artist

Schaunard, a musician : Angel Dumott Schunard, a gay drag queen percussionist with AIDS

Colline, a philosopher : Tom Collins, a gay philosophy professor and anarchist with AIDS

Alcindoro, a state councilor : Joanne Jefferson, a lawyer, who is a lesbian (Also partially based on Marcello)

Benoit, a landlord : Benjamin 'Benny' Coffin III, the local landlord and a former roommate of Roger, Mark, Collins, and Maureen

Other examples of parallels between Larson's and Puccini's work include Larson's song "Light My Candle", which is nearly identical to the first scene between Mimi and Rodolfo in La bohème, "Musetta's Waltz", a melody taken directly from Puccini's opera, and "Goodbye Love", a long, painful piece that reflects a confrontation and parting between characters in both Puccini's and Larson's work.[11] The song "Quando M'en Vo' Soletta" from La bohème is also referenced in the first verse of "Take Me or Leave Me," when Maureen describes the way people stare when she walks in the street. "Musetta's Waltz" is also directly referred to in the scene where the characters are celebrating their bohemian life. Mark says, "Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song..." Roger plays a quick piece, and Mark states, "...that doesn't remind us of 'Musetta's Waltz'."

La Boheme Characters

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RE:

How would you compare "Rent" to "La bohème"?

These are two really great plays. If any of you've have seen either, or both, how would you compare and contrast them to each other?

rent was inspireds by la boheme and it is its own original and creative play