User:Lvb314/Sandbox6

Act I

The first act of the show takes place on Christmas Eve. The show begins as Mark Cohen, a filmmaker and the narrator of the show, begins shooting an unscripted documentary in his loft. He turns the camera on his roommate and best friend Roger Davis tuning his guitar (Tune Up #1). Roger is a reformed junkie who became a recluse after his girlfriend, April, committed suicide after learning the couple had contracted AIDS. Mark's mother interrupts the filming with a phone call; she reassures Mark about his performance-artist ex-girlfriend Maureen Johnson dumping him for a woman (Voicemail #1).

Roger and Mark's friend Tom Collins arrives at their building but is beaten up and mugged before he can enter. Meanwhile, Roger and Mark receive a call from former friend and roommate, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III. Benny married into a wealthy family and bought Mark and Roger's apartment building as well as the lot next door. He tells them the rent is due, despite his promise to let them live in the apartment for free (Tune Up #2). Mark and Roger decide to rebel against Benny and refuse to pay their rent (Rent).

Meanwhile, Joanne Jefferson, Maureen's new girlfriend, is working to set up for Maureen's performance protesting Benny's plan to develop the lot where many homeless people are currently living. When the sound system blows, Maureen calls Mark against Joanne's wishes, asking him to fix the sound system; Mark agrees to help against his better judgment. Back on the street, Angel Dumott Schunard, a street drummer and drag queen, spots Collins injured and comes to his aid; they leave together to tend to Collins's wounds. They are instantly attracted to one another and quickly discover that they both have AIDS (You Okay Honey?). The two quickly fall deeply in love.

Back at the loft, Mark tries to get Roger out of the apartment before reminding him to take his AZT (Tune Up #3). He attempts to write a great song to make his mark on the world before he dies of AIDS (One Song Glory). Roger is interrupted by a knock on his door. He answers it to find Mimi Márquez, a beautiful stranger asking him for a match to light a candle due to the power failure. Roger thinks he has seen her before and soon realizes that he saw her working as an S&M dancer at The Cat Scratch Club. Roger learns that she is a nineteen-year-old junkie who lives in the apartment downstairs (Light My Candle). There is mutual attraction, but Roger is hesitant to flirt as this is his first romantic situation since his last girlfriend committed suicide.

Joanne's parents call her house, wondering why she is stage managing and reminding her that she has to attend her mother's confirmation hearings (Voice Mail #2). Meanwhile, Collins finally arrives at the lot and introduces Mark and Roger to Angel, who describes how he earned $1,000 from a wealthy woman for forcing her neighbor's noisy dog off a balcony (Today 4 U). Benny arrives with an offer for the roommates: if they convince Maureen to cancel her protest, he will let them live in his new project, a virtual studio and condo project, rent-free (You'll See); however, the two rebuff his offer. After Benny leaves, Angel and Collins invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, a local HIV support group meeting.

Before going to the Life Support meeting, Mark arrives at the lot and meets Joanne. While fixing the sound equipment, Mark tells Joanne of how Maureen flirted and cheated with other men while he dated her (Tango: Maureen). Mark feels better after the exchange, but Joanne becomes suspicious. At a life support meeting the group talks about living with AIDS (Life Support).

Mimi is seen dancing on the fire escape of her loft, and then arrives at Roger's apartment and asks Roger to take her out for the night (Out Tonight). Roger, however, rejects her, telling her he cannot love again, and demands that she leaves (Another Day). However, Roger thinks it over and ends up leaving the loft to go to Maureen's protest. Afterward, focus is set on the Life Support meeting again, as people from the group wonder if they will lose their dignity because they have AIDS (Will I?).

On their way to the show, Collins, Mark and Angel meet a peddler who gets angry with Mark for making a name for himself filming their lives but not really aiding them (On the Street). Collins talks about opening up a restaurant in Santa Fe (Santa Fe). As Mark leaves to go double check that everything is okay for Maureen's show, Collins and Angel confess their love for each other (I'll Cover You). On the protest, Joanne speaks like crazy on the phone, getting everything ready for the protest (We're Okay).

Mark and Roger meet up before the protest. Roger spots Mimi on her way to buy drugs from a dealer. He intercepts her and apologizes, inviting her to come to the protest and dinner with them instead, to which she agrees. Meanwhile, Angel and Collins go for a walk in a street market near the protest, Benny talks to Alison and tells her he could not stop the protest and people from the streets protest for not having a place to spend Christmas (Christmas Bells).

Maureen arrives and begins her performance: A thinly-veiled criticism of Benny through a metaphor involving a cow and a bulldog, culminating in her urging the crowd to "moo" with her (Over The Moon and Over The Moon Playoff). The protest results in a riot that Mark catches on camera. Afterward, the group goes to the Life Café, where they run into Benny and his investor and father-in-law Mr. Grey. Benny criticizes the protest and the group's Bohemian lifestyle, declaring that Bohemia is dead. Mark gets up and delivers a mock eulogy for Bohemia, and all the bohemians in the café rise up and celebrate the death of Bohemia La Vie Boheme, ("the bohemian life"), joyfully paying tribute to everything they love about life while dancing on the tables, driving Mr. Grey and Benny from the café (La Vie Boheme A).

Mimi confronts Roger about ignoring her during dinner. Roger explains that he is trying but he has baggage that she does not know about that is holding him back. Mimi says she has baggage too and is not waiting for someone perfect. She says life is too short to waste time on taking things slow. Then Mimi's beeper goes off, reminding her to take her AZT, and Roger and Mimi each discover that the other is HIV-positive. They talk openly for the first time and despite their uncertainties and fears, they finally take the plunge into starting a relationship (I Should Tell You), sharing a "small, lovely kiss", whilst the group continue to celebrate Bohemia (La Vie Boheme B).

Act II

Cast of Rent performing "Seasons of Love" at Broadway on Broadway, 2005.

The act opens with the entire cast lined up at the front of the stage singing "Seasons of Love" - a song which contemplates how to measure a year in a life. The second act takes place over the course of the year following the first act, beginning on New Years Eve.

Mimi, Mark, and Roger attempt to break into their building, which has been padlocked by Benny in response to Maureen's protest. Mimi and Roger are happy and say their past week together has been great. Mimi optimistically makes a New Year's resolution to give up her vices and go back to school. Joanne and Maureen also decide to try a relationship again (Happy New Year A) . Collins and Angel arrive bearing a blowtorch. As the others work on the door, Mark, Joanne and Maureen climb the fire escape into the loft and find a message from Alexi Darling on the answering machine, as Buzzline, a tabloid newsmagazine wants to hire Mark as a director after having seen his footage of the riot (Voice Mail #3).

The others finally break through the door just as Benny arrives. He says he is there to call a truce and offer Mark and Roger a key, but the group does not trust him. He reveals that Mimi came to talk to him and that he and Mimi used to date. He suggests that Mimi came onto him. This revelation upsets Roger and he briefly rebuffs Mimi before Angel settles everyone down. Roger and Mimi both apologize, but Mimi remains upset. The group leaves except for Mimi, who turns to the drug dealer for a fix (Happy New Year B).

On Valentine's Day, Maureen and Joanne have a fight while rehearsing for a new protest. They give each other ultimatums to take each other as they are or leave (Take Me Or Leave Me). Joanne is not able to accept Maureen's flirtatious and non-committal ways and Maureen cannot take Joanne's controlling behavior so they break up. The company sings a reprise of "Seasons of Love", as time passes and seasons change (Seasons of Love B). By spring, Roger and Mimi's relationship becomes strained and Angel's health deteriorates. Roger has been living with Mimi in her apartment for two months and he keeps talking about selling his guitar and moving out of town. Mimi comes home late again after secretly buying drugs, causing Roger to believe that she is cheating on him with Benny. Roger jealously storms out, Mimi stops him and tries to tell him the truth, that she is not cheating and that she is still using drugs, but can't get the words out, and Roger leaves her (Without You). Collins continues nursing Angel who is very sick as AIDS begins to overtake him. Mark continues to receive calls from Buzzline (Voice Mail #4). Eventually, Roger and Mimi, and Joanne and Maureen reconcile.

They then break up just as quickly. They are frustrated in their relationships, because they cannot trust and fully commit to one another (Contact). At the same time, Angel dies and Collins is heartbroken (I'll Cover You [Reprise]). Mark expresses his fear of being the only one left surviving when the rest of his friends die of AIDS (Halloween). He finally accepts the job offer from Buzzline. Roger reveals that he is leaving New York for Santa Fe, which sparks an argument about commitment between him and Mimi, and Maureen and Joanne. Collins arrives and admonishes the entire group for fighting on the day of Angel's funeral and that the "family" is breaking up. Maureen and Joanne realize their fighting is petty and they reconcile. Mimi tries to go to Roger, but he turns away from her.

As Roger prepares to leave the city, he gets into a fight with Mark. Mark accuses Roger of running away because he is afraid of watching Mimi die and asks Roger how he could let Mimi go. Roger accuses Mark of hiding in his work. When Roger leaves the apartment, he finds that Mimi, who has come to say goodbye, has heard everything (Goodbye Love). She bids Roger a tearful goodbye saying she just came to tell her love goodbye and does not blame him for leaving. He is confused, but quickly leaves before reconsidering. Mark suggests that Mimi enroll in a clinic and Benny suggests rehab, which he offers to pay for. Instead, Mimi runs away. Collins is then ejected from the church as he is unable to pay for Angel's funeral. Benny tells the pastor that he will take care of the bill. Benny reveals that he has known all along that Angel killed his dog and holds no hard feelings, for he claims he has always hated the dog. He, Collins and Mark reconcile to go get drunk.

In Santa Fe, Roger cannot forget Mimi; back in New York, Mark is working for Buzzline. They both have an artistic epiphany, as Roger finally finds his song in Mimi and Mark finds his film in Angel's memory. Roger returns to New York just in time for Christmas and Mark quits Buzzline to work on his own film (What You Own).

Worried about their children not answering their calls, the cast's parents leave several messages on their phones (Voice Mail #5). Roger is ecstatic about finding his song but is worried because he cannot find Mimi. On Christmas Eve, Mark is preparing to screen his finished documentary when Collins arrives and gives Mark and Roger money. He tells them that he has rewired the ATM at the food emporium at his school to dispense money to anyone who enters the code: A-N-G-E-L. Suddenly, Maureen and Joanne arrive carrying Mimi who is sick and delirious. Roger realizes Mimi is seriously ill and might not have much longer. They finally clear up their misunderstandings as Mimi grows weaker. She begins to fade but not before telling Roger that she loves him (Finale A). Roger tells her to hold on as he plays her the song he wrote for her. As he finishes, Roger finally tells Mimi that he has always loved her (Your Eyes). Mimi goes limp and Roger cries out in grief. Then, suddenly, Mimi gasps and awakens, her fever breaking. She says that she was heading into a warm, white light and that Angel was there, and he told her "Turn around girlfriend, and listen to that boy's song." Roger thanks God that this is not his last moment with Mimi. As Mark screens his documentary, the cast begins to sing the Life Support message of the fleetingness of life and reaffirm that there is "no day but today" (Finale B).