Playwright Jonathan Larson updates Puccini's La bohème as an emotionally exhilarating sex, drugs, and rock opera set in '90s Manhattan's East Village. Larson propels this exciting young cast's entanglements forward with sparkly interwoven lyrics ("Rent"), and then pins them to a moment with pure pop perfection ("Seasons of Love"). Comedy gets equal time with Rent’s tragedies: Larson nails bohemian pretension in the performance-art parody "Over the Moon" and unexpectedly finds humor in this life-affirming work's funeral-set finale.