SOURCE: "Tragedy and Art," in The New Leader, Vol. LXXIX, No. 3, June 3-17, 1996, pp. 22-3.

[In the following review, Kanfer faults Rent on the basis of its form, characters, and the theater building, suggesting that the play is "only a mainstream entertainment disguised as avant garde art."]

Plot A: An earnest polymath—playwright, composer and lyricist—struggles for recognition. He writes a musical and takes it to producer after producer, hoping for a showcase somewhere, anywhere. After many disappointments he finally attracts the attention of a director and a vigorous little theater group. They get him a production at a 150-seat Off-Broadway house. Actors are chosen, rehearsals begin, new lines and songs are added under pressure. During rehearsals the writer complains of chest pain. Emergency room physicians assure him that it's just a case of food poisoning and send him home. Less than 24 hours before the first preview...