SOURCE: "East Village Story," in The New York Times, March 2, 1996, p. A 19.

[In the following review, Rich describes the theatrical and political significance of Rent.]

In an age when almost every showbiz event is predigested and presold by the media long before the public can decide for itself, the truly spontaneous pop-culture phenomenon is almost extinct. Almost but not quite. Two weeks ago, at a 150-seat theater in the East Village, a rock opera called Rent, written and performed by unknowns, came out of nowhere to earn the most ecstatic raves of any American musical in the two decades since A Chorus Line. And now the world is rushing to catch up: Rent will quickly move to Broadway to accommodate the insatiable demand for tickets, even as Hollywood titans fight to bring it to the screen.

Rent is all the critics say it is. There's a moment that...