A guide to all the songs from 'RENT'

Jonathan Larson's much-loved rock score includes "Seasons of Love", "One Song Glory", and "Light My Fire".

Summary

• Jonathan Larson's masterpiece returns to the West End this autumn
• The show won the 1996 Tony Award for Best Original Score
• The score is perhaps best known for '"Seasons of Love"
• Other hits include "One Song Glory"; "Out Tonight" and "Tango Maureen"

“The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation,” observes Mark, protagonist of RENT. And Jonathan Larson certainly created a juggernaut when he penned the score for RENT (which won the Tony Award for Best Score in 1996). The ‘90s hit is due to be revived in the West End this autumn, with the score showcased in all its glory.

Based on Puccini’s La bohème, this is the la vie bohème for the Y2K generation – and the younger generations are sure to find it just as thrilling. Read on for our guide to the songs – it's much more than a “One Song Glory!”

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“Tune Up #1”

It’s Christmas Eve in a chilly apartment in the East Village and filmmaker Mark and musician Roger are trying to work on their art when Mark’s mother leaves a message. She’s sorry to hear that Mark’s performance artist girlfriend Maureen has dumped him (for a woman) – but there are plenty more fish in the sea!

“Tune Up #2”

Roger is trying to write one great song. Their friend Collins, an academic, arrives at their apartment but is mugged before he can come in. Benny, who used to live with Mark, Roger, Maureen, and Collins and is now their landlord, demands their rent. The power blows.

“Rent”

Mark and Roger rally against being beholden to paying the rent. “How can you generate heat / When you can't feel your feet?” It’s the show’s first big group number, in which the ensemble comes to the conclusion: “We’re not gonna pay rent” (“’Cause everything is rent”).

“You Okay Honey?”

Angel, a street percussionist and drag queen, lives up to her name when she assists Collins, who is injured in alley, and invites him to a “Life Support” meeting. They soon learn that both are HIV-positive.

Tune Up #3

Roger is also HIV-positive, having contracted the disease from his late girlfriend who died by suicide when she learned about her diagnosis. Mark heads out to Maureen’s show — an avant-garde performance art protest against Benny's eviction of local homeless people — while Roger stays home.

“One Song Glory”

Roger’s ambition is to write “One song / Glory / One song Before I go / Glory / One song to leave behind”. He wasted opportunities when he had the chance and wants to redeem himself and leave a legacy. He is interrupted by a knock on the door from Mimi, their downstairs neighbour.

“Light My Fire”

Roger and Mimi are instantly attracted to each other. Her power has been cut off and she needs a light for her candle. They’ve briefly encountered each other before at the Cat Scratch Club where Mimi works. She flirts and is clearly keen to stay, but he is more hesitant.

“Voice Mail #2”

Maureen’s new girlfriend Joanne, a lawyer, receives a voicemail from her parents about their busy schedules and her mother’s confirmation hearing as a judge.

“Today 4 U”

Collins and Angel arrive at the apartment to take Roger out – Angel has received an unexpected windfall, involving a dog.

“You’ll See”

Mark scolds Benny for his unfeeling attitude towards the homeless. What has happened to his former friend? Benny tells Mark that he can stay for free if he can get Maureen to cancel her protest. Mark refuses.

“Tango: Maureen”

Joanne is acting as stage manager for Maureen’s show and everything is in chaos. Mark is initially wary of her, but they bond over their shared experiences of Maureen’s flakiness and other infuriating habits. Being with her is like “a dark, dizzy, merry go round”.

“Life Support”

Mark accompanies Collins and Angel to a Life Support meeting for people with HIV and AIDS. Writer Jonathan Larson visited many such meetings when working on the show and the phrase “No day but today” is memorialised for the first time in this understated, chant-like number.

“Out Tonight”

It’s past midnight and Mimi is determined to have some fun, preferably with Roger. This is her statement of intent, as “One Song Glory” is Roger’s.

“Another Day”

Roger isn’t impressed with Mimi’s advances and tells her to come back another day. Mimi informs him, “There is no future / There is no past / I live this moment as my last”. Still, he prefers to be left alone with his guitar.

“Will I?”

The members of the Life Support group contemplate the likelihood of losing their dignity as the disease takes hold. Will anyone care? Roger heads out to join the others.

“On the Street”

Mark attempts to film a homeless woman who is being interrogated by cops – he's on her side, but how is she supposed to know that? This perhaps has even greater prescience in the age of smartphones than it did in the ‘90s.

“I’ll Cover You”

Collins and Angel admit their feelings for each other. This romantic number flips the capitalist, transactional nature of the society that the characters inhabit on its head.

“We’re Okay”

Joanne has her hands full with various phone calls while preparing for Maureen’s show. Everything’s fine!

“Christmas Bells”

The homeless community, street vendors, and police officers prepare for the protest. This number imitates a soundscape on a busy New York street and presents Christmas, with its traditions and materialism, as a protest.

“Over the Moon”

We’ve heard a lot about the larger-than-life Maureen and now we finally meet her properly. Her allegorical performance piece is based on the nursery rhyme “Hey Didddle Diddle” (“The Cow Jumped Over the Moon”). Her style could be considered avant garde. The audience joins in with the moo-ing.

“La Vie Bohème”

The gang gather at The Life Cafe in Alphabet City. Benny declares bohemia dead. However, Mark leads a lively paen to “la vie bohème” and their favourite countercultural icons.

“I Should Tell You”

Roger and Mimi disclose that each is HIV-positive. They tentatively agree to try to make a relationship work.

“La Vie Bohème B”

The building where Mark and Roger live has been padlocked and riots are breaking out nearby. Vive la revolution and la vie bohème! Roger and Mimi share their first kiss. Interval.

“Seasons of Love”

It’s New Year’s Eve, a week later. How do you measure a year? In “In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee / In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?” If you’re being technical, it’s 525,600 minutes. But, really, the best metric is love. This number has become the show’s chief anthem.

“Happy New Year”

The gang attempt to get back into Mark and Roger's apartment from which they have been locked out. Technically, they’re squatters.

“Voicemail #3”

Mark’s footage of the riot has made the news and he is offered a job with a tabloid news agency.

“Happy New Year B”

Everyone is excited about the developments. Ex-friend Benny turns up and reveals that he and Mimi were previously in a relationship. Mimi and Roger argue and she heads to her drug dealer for a fix.

“Take Me Or Leave Me”

Maureen enjoys all the attention she attracts – after all, “a diva needs her stage” – but tries to assure Joanne that she’s devoted to her. The Type A Joanne, however, is frustrated by her girlfriend’s chaotic energy. They bicker and break up.

“Seasons of Love B”

Spring has arrived. Roger and Mimi are still together but their relationship is strained due to her drug addiction and Roger’s jealousy of Benny.

“Without You”

Angel is very ill and is being cared for by Roger. Mimi and Roger wistfully reflect on their own fragile grasp of life.

“Voice Mail #4”

It’s Labor Day (the first Monday in September) and Buzzline continues to attempt to headhunt Mark.

“Contact”

The various couples’ sex lives are explored through an interpretive dance. As the number comes to a climax, Angel dies in Collins’s arms.

“I’ll Cover You” (Reprise)

The friends share their memories of Angel at his funeral. The distraught Collins has the last word.

“Halloween”

Mark contemplates the possibility of being the only survivor. He reluctantly takes the corporate job.

“Goodbye Love”

Roger is leaving for Santa Fe and he and Mimi quarrel, as do Maureen and Joanne. Collins scolds his friends for arguing at Angel’s funeral. Mark tries to persuade Roger to stay but he’s too frightened of Mimi’s decline. Roger in turn admonishes Mark for being overly preoccupied with his work. Benny pays for Mimi to go to rehab. The found family is breaking up.

“What You Own”

Mark and Roger both have artistic breakthroughs by not overthinking and trusting their instincts. After all, they’re living (and dying) in America at the end of the millennium. Roger’s song is inspired by Mimi and Mark’s film by Angel’s memory.

“Voice Mail #5”

Various parents are concerned about their offspring’s whereabouts.

“Finale”

It’s Christmas Eve again. Roger has written his song and Mark has made his film. Collins has rewired an ATM that gives away free money to anyone with the code “Angel” – but real change has to be institutional. Maureen and Joanne arrive with Mimi, who has been living on the streets and is now at death's door. She tells Roger that she loves him.

“Your Eyes”

Roger performs the song that he wrote for Mimi, expressing the full depths of his feelings. She appears to die in his arms.

“Finale B”

Miraculously, Mimi returns to the land of the living after experiencing a vision of Angel. The friends reaffirm their vow to seize “No day but today”.

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Photo credit: the cast of RENT. (Courtesy of production)