Jonathan Larson

Jonathan David Larson was born on February 4, 1960, in Mount Vernon, New York, to Nanette (née Notarius) and Allan Larson. He grew up in White Plains, New York, where he developed an early interest in music and theatre. Larson attended White Plains High School, where he was involved in acting and music. He later attended Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, on a four-year scholarship as an acting major, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Larson began his career composing music for small student productions and later for larger projects. His early works included Superbia, an unpublished musical, and Tick, Tick… Boom!, an autobiographical musical that explored the challenges of being an artist in New York City.

Larson’s most famous work, Rent, is a rock musical that tells the story of a group of young artists struggling to survive in New York City’s East Village during the HIV/AIDS crisis. The musical is loosely based on Puccini’s opera La Bohème. After several years of development and workshops, Rent premiered Off-Broadway in early 1996. Tragically, Larson died from an aortic dissection the day before the first preview performance. Despite his untimely death, Rent went on to achieve critical and commercial success, transferring to Broadway and winning several awards, including three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Larson’s work has had a lasting impact on musical theatre, particularly in its incorporation of contemporary music styles and its exploration of social issues such as multiculturalism, substance use disorder, and homophobia. Rent was adapted into a film in 2005, and Tick, Tick… Boom! received an Off-Broadway production in 2001 and was later adapted into a film released in 2021.