The first act of the show takes place on Christmas Eve. The show begins as Mark Cohen, a filmmaker and the narrator of the show, begins shooting an unscripted documentary in his loft. He turns the camera on his roommate and best friend Roger Davis. Roger is a songwriter and former drug adict whose girlfriend commited suicide upon discovering that they had AIDS. Mark's mother interrupts the filming with a phone call; she reassures Mark about his performance-artist girlfriend Maureen Johnson dumping him for a woman.
Roger and Mark's friend Tom Collins arrives at their building but is beaten up and mugged before he can enter. Meanwhile, Roger and Mark receive a call from former friend and roommate, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III. Benny married into a wealthy family and bought Mark and Roger's apartment building as well as the lot next door. He tells them the rent is due, despite his promise to let them live in the apartment for free. Mark and Roger decide to rebel against Benny and refuse to pay their rent. Rent is a story that we can all relate to, it is one of the longer running musicals, and has been extremely successful on both coasts. Rent Tickets are a must purchase.
