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Jonathan Larson

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19 views4 pages

Jonathan Larson

jonathan larson paper

Uploaded by

maggiemdullea
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Jonathan Larson was a genius of his time, and an artist who had a short career but one

that is unparalleled by any other composer and writer ever. Jonathan Larson’s most famous work,
rent is renowned as one good the universal favorites of the theatre community: it has so many
different aspects of it that make it great, yet Larson was never ablate see his production go to
Broadway. Larson, unfortunately, passed away just before the broadway debut of rent, at a young
age due to complications with Marfans Syndrome. His passing was devastating for not only the
theatre community, but the queer community as a whole: he was one of the few mainstream
pieces of media that painted people with aids in a positive light, and queer people were either
villainized or ignored during this time.

Larson’s most famous work, Rent, is and will forever be one of the most influential
pieces of theatre of all time. The characters and community that is music created are unparalleled
by any other work; this is due to the incredible music, the lovable multifaceted characters that
everyone can find solace in, as well as lyrics that can change a person’s view of the world. His
showing of queer individuals with aids was one of the most prevalent positive representations
during this era, and it helped with the stigma around these identities. Those who watched the
show could identify with the characters no matter what their identity was, even those who
criticized it. One critic wrote, “Although I couldn’t quite identify with its characters, the fact of
their queerness was implicitly validating and made me feel somehow visible, watching the
show”. While rent is not immune to critique, there is something about it that is so revolutionary
that the parts it gets wrong can be overshadowed by all the good it has done. Jonathan Larson
was a genius of his time, he wrote music that changed the way that broadway was seen, and he
impacted how shows were staged for decades beyond his time; he was truly a mastermind at his
craft
The song Will I utilizes a very simple musical technique, a round, to emphasize the scale
at which the aids epidemic impacted people. Not only the people in the support group but those
who had friends and families, girlfriends and boyfriends, and husbands and wives were effected.
This song is so beautifully written and has such a simple tune, yet it is still known as one of the
most heart-wrenching songs in musical theatre history. This is one of my favorite songs from
Rent (beat only by Take me or Leave Me), and it has had a massive impact on dozens of people I
know personally.
Annotated Bibliography

Sebesta, Judith. “Of Fire, Death, and Desire: Transgression and Carnival in Jonathan Larson’s
Rent.” Contemporary Theatre Review, n.d.

This source goes into the different aspects of Rent that were highly criticized by the public and
refutes many of their points: much of the criticism that was lent during this time was
based in homophobia, transphobia, and fear of Aids, but in truth, many criticisms made
were baseless and did not delve into any of the real issues the show had. It is peer
reviewed and published, thus making it more reliable than just any opinion piece.

Rent. YouTube, 2017. https://youtu.be/CCVJnh1teqk.

This is the 2008 production of Rent’s interpretation of Will I, written by Jonathan Larson.
This production was not the one that Jonathan Larson helped to direct, for he had already
passed away by this time, but it does include collaborations from mammy pf the same
people who helped produce the original production, as well as some of the same actors.

Sammartino, Eleonora. "Challenging “La Vie Bohème”: Community, Subculture, and Queer
Temporality in 0RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2Rent1RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2." European
Journal of American Studies 11, no. 3 (2017). doi:https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.11720. https://
login.ezproxy.uvm.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/challenging-la-
vie-bohème-community-subculture/docview/2407587890/se-2.
This is a peer reviewed article about the temporality of queerness in rent and it gives a
different perspective than is often consumed. There is clear knowledge of the subject and
extensive experience with queerness in media from author Sammartino, and the amount of
background knowledge they have on the topic suggests lots of research went into this piece.

Larson, Jonathan., and Auburn, David. Tick, Tick-- Boom! : The Complete Book and Lyrics /
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson ; Script Consultant, David Auburn. New York:
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books : An Imprint of Hal Leonard, 2009.
Tick, Tick Boom is another autobiographical piece written by Larson, and this is the entire
original book, score, and lyrics. Tick Tick boom gives insight into Larson’s inspirations
and hardships that led him to the creation of Rent. Tick Tick Boom was recently given a
Netflix original movie starring Andrew Garfield, which has brought back some
popularity to the piece.

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