Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Theatrical Illness: Tuberculosis And Hiv As Presented By "La Boheme" And "Rent", Jessica Downing

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

Note: In lieu of an abstract, this is the article's first paragraph.

"The musical Rent made its Broadway debut on January 25, 1996, a century after the opening performance of the opera, La Boheme. This correlation was a coincidence, though Rent draws significantly on the story of La Boheme, to the extent that a New York Times reviewer deemed it a "contemporary answer to Puccini's 'Boheme."' Each of these productions presents the troubles and tragedies of the bohemian lifestyle in a specific time and place-La Boheme in Paris during the 1830s and Rent in New York City during 1989. Disease, …