Seasons of Love: Why Rent Matters

With its groundbreaking score, unabashed romanticism, and scrappy sensibility, Rent was like a firecracker thrown into a hushed theater, turning heads and upending conventions. But if its unexpected success was the stuff of theatrical legend, the story of its making was a bittersweet one, with composer Jonathan Larson, a student of Sondheim's finally making his Off-Broadway debut, tragically dying on the night of the final dress rehearsal.

Even decades later, Rent lives on as a warmly rememb...