5-8 & 16-31 Aug 7.45pm Spotlites @ The Merchants' Hall

RENT first appeared on the theatrical scene in 1994. Jonathan Larson's moving and revolutionary rock version of Puccini's opera La Bohéme portrays a group of impoverished artists, addicts and lovers maintaining a precarious existence in the Bohemian Alphabet City of Lower East Side New York under the ever-present shadow of AIDS.

Jonathan Larson focused on composing RENT in the early 1990s. While working as a waiter at the Moondance Diner he wrote hundreds of songs, but only forty-two made it into the final incarnation of the show. By 1994 the New York Theatre Workshop had picked up the show, and performed it in their annual schedule. Over the next two years Larson staged more workshop productions of the show, before producers agreed to stage it off-Broadway, where it received critical acclaim and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Following its off-Broadway success, producers decided to take the show to Broadway, where it won the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical, and awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, Jonathan never saw the success of his musical creation. He gave his first interview about RENT on January 24th, 1994, the day before the off-Broadway premiere. He was found dead in his apartment the following day, having died alone, of an aortic aneurysm. This only added further poignancy to what was already an extremely relevant and hard-hitting show.

RENT's compelling message has lost none of its original potency. Going beyond the standard frivolity of much of its genre, it portrays the reality of what it was truly like to live under the shadow of AIDS. It brought an ethnically diverse cast and hitherto controversial topics to what was a traditionally conservative medium, going a long way to increasing the popularity of the musical in the younger generation. Its impact was to change Broadway for ever.

Larson's masterpiece was one of the ten longest running Broadway shows, winning over fifteen diffeRENT awards. The success of the show led to several national tours and foreign productions, and in 2005, it was also adapted into a hit motion picture that has brought the message of this remarkable and revolutionary show to an even wider audience.

Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group was formed in 1962 by Edinburgh University students to promote and perform the operettas of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Since its inception EUSOG has expanded beyond this original aim and enchanted Edinburgh audiences with innovative performances of Savoy Opera and musicals alike. This year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe sees the society enthusiastically preserving its reputation for diversity as we present Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance and Jonathan Larson's RENT. Despite the fact that all of EUSOG's shows are produced and directed by amateurs, our productions are consistently hailed with critical acclaim thanks to the efforts of our talented and aspiring membership. Savoyards frequently continue their passion for musical theatre after University; recent alumni include a West End director and a conductor of the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Both RENT and The Pirates of Penzance follow a string of EUSOG Fringe successes. Last year's HMS Pinafore was a sell out success and raised £1500 for charity, whilst our production of Company earned five star reviews, and in 2007 Guilds, an original piece of work written by two society members, won great acclaim and has since been requested for performance by other UK theatre groups. Savoy's continuing aim is to produce high quality performances for the benefit and enjoyment of our members and audiences, and so we are delighted to add Simon Burrow and Nina Logue to our list of young and gifted Directors. Their shared vision for the highly celebrated musical RENT is powerful and dynamic and their dedication and passion utterly infectious; qualities that are clearly reflected in the production. The cast, too, demonstrate a remarkable magnetism and competence, ensuring that we are unquestionably proud to present RENT for the Festival Fringe 2009.

EUSOG Website: www.eusog.org