Rent

One Song Glory

Light My Candle

Today 4U

Tango: Maureen

Life Support

Out Tonight

Another Day

Will I

Santa Fe

I'll Cover You

La Vie Boheme

I Should Tell You

La Vie Boheme B

Seasons Of Love

Take Me Or Leave Me

Without You

I'll Cover You (Reprise)

What You Own

Finale B

Seasons Of Love (Arif Mardin's Remix)

(The COMPANY bursts into a flurry of movemen. Then everyone except
MARK and ROGER freezes in a group upstage)

MARK
How do you document real life
When real life is getting more
Like fiction each day
Headlines -- bread-lines
Blow my mind
And now this deadline
"Eviction -- or pay"
Rent!

ROGER
How do you write a song
When the chords sound wrong
Though they once sounded right and rare
When the notes are sour
Where is the power
You once had to ignite the air

MARK
And we're hungry and frozen

ROGER
Some life that we've chosen

TOGETHER
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
Last year's rent

MARK
We light candles

ROGER
How do you start a fire
When there's nothing to burn
And it feels like something's stuck in your flue

MARK
How can you generate heat
When you can't feel your feet

BOTH
And they're turning blue!

MARK
You light up a mean blaze

(ROGER grabs one of his own posters)

ROGER
With posters-

(MARK grabs old manuscripts)

MARK
And screenplays

ROGER & MARK
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
Last year's rent

(Lights go down on the loft and go up on JOANNE JEFFERSON, who's
at the pay phone)

JOANNE
(On phone)
Don't screen, Maureen
It's me -- Joanne
Your substitute production manager
Hey hey hey! (Did you eat?)
Don't change the subject Maureen
But darling -- you haven't eaten all day
You won't throw up
You won't throw up
The digital delay ---
Didn't blow up (exactly)
There may have been one teeny tiny spark
You're not calling Mark

COLLINS
How do you stay on your feet
When on every street
It's 'trick or treat'
(And tonight it's 'trick')
'Welcome back to town'
Oh, I should lie down
Everything's brown
And uh -- oh
I feel sick

MARK
(At the window)
Where is he?

COLLINS
Getting dizzy
(He collapses.)

MARK & ROGER
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
How we gonna pay
Last year's rent

(MARK and ROGER stoke the fire. Crosscut to BENNY's Range Rover)

BENNY
(On cellular phone)
Alison baby -- you sound sad
I don't believe those two after everything I've done
Ever since our wedding I'm dirt -- They'll see
I can help them all out in the long run

(Three locales: JOANNE at the pay phone, MARK and ROGER in their
loft, and COLLINS on the ground. The following is sung simultaneously)

BENNY
Forces are gathering
Forces are gathering
Can't turn away
Forces are gathering

COLLINS
Ughhhhh--
Ughhhhh--
Ughhhhh-- I can't think
Ughhhhh--
Ughhhhh--
Ughhhhh-- I need a drink

MARK (reading from a script page)
"The music ignites the night with passionate fire"

JOANNE
Maureen -- I'm not a theatre person

ROGER
"The narration crackles and pops with incendiary wit"

JOANNE
Could never be a theatre person

MARK
Zoom in as they burn the past to the ground

JOANNE (realizing she's been cut off)
Hello?

MARK & ROGER
And feel the heat of the future's glow

JOANNE
Hello?

(The phone rings in the loft. MARK picks it up)

MARK
(On phone)
Hello? Maureen?
--Your equipment won't work?
Okay, all right, I'll go!

MARK & HALF THE COMPANY
How do you leave the past behind
When it keeps finding ways to get to your heart
It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out
Till you're torn apart
Rent!

ROGER & OTHER HALF OF COMPANY
How can you connect in an age
Where strangers, landlords, lovers
Your own blood cells betray

ALL
What binds the fabric together
When the raging, shifting winds of change
Keep ripping away

BENNY
Draw a line in the sand
And then make a stand

ROGER
Use your camera to spar

MARK
Use your guitar

ALL
When they act tough - you call their bluff

MARK & ROGER
We're not gonna pay

MARK & ROGER W/HALF THE COMPANY
We're not gonna pay

MARK & ROGER W/OTHER HALF OF COMPANY
We're not gonna pay

ALL
Last year's rent
This year's rent
Next year's rent
Rent rent rent rent rent
We're not gonna pay rent

ROGER & MARK
'Cause everything is rent

One song
Glory
One song
Before I go
Glory
One song to leave behind
Find one song
One last refrain
Glory
From the pretty boy front man
Who wasted opportunity
One song
He had the world at his feet
Glory
In the eyes of a young girl
A young girl
Find glory
Beyond the cheap colored lights
One song
Before the sun sets
Glory - on another empty life
Time flies - time dies
Glory - One blaze of glory
One blaze of glory - glory
Find
Glory
In a song that rings true
Truth like a blazing fire
An eternal flame
Find
One song
A song about love
Glory
From the soul of a young man
A young man
Find
The one song
Before the virus takes hold
Glory
Like a sunset
One song
To redeem this empty life
Time flies
And then - no need to endure anymore
Time dies
(ROGER is interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. It is MIMI
MARQUEZ, a beautiful stranger from downstairs)
The door

(ROGER crosses to the door)

ROGER
What'd you forget?

(MIMI enters, holding a candle and looking for a match; her electricity is
down, too)

MIMI
Got a light?

ROGER
I know you? You're
You're shivering

MIMI
It's nothing
They turned off my heat
And I'm just a little
Weak on my feet
Would you light my candle?
What are you staring at?

ROGER
Nothing
Your hair in the moonlight
You look familiar
(He lights her candle. MIMI starts to leave, but stumbles)
Can you make it?

MIMI
Just haven't eaten much today
At least the room stopped spinning
Anyway, What?

ROGER
Nothing
Your smile reminded me of

MIMI
I always remind people of who is she?

ROGER
She died, Her name was April

(MIMI discreetly blows out the candle)

MIMI
It's out again
Sorry about your friend
Would you light my candle?

(ROGER lights the candle. They linger, awkwardly)

ROGER
Well-

MIMI
Yeah. Ow!

ROGER
Oh, the wax it's --

MIMI
Dripping! I like it -- between my --

ROGER
Fingers. I figured...
Oh, well. Goodnight
(MIMI exits. ROGER heads back toward his guitar on the table. There is
another knock, which he answers)
It blew out again?

MIMI
No - I think that I dropped my stash

ROGER
I know I've seen you out and about
When I used to go out
Your candle's out

MIMI
I'm illin'
I had it when I walked in the door
It was pure
Is it on the floor?

ROGER
The floor?

(MIMI gets down on all fours and starts searching the floor for her stash.
She lookss back at ROGER, who is staring at her again)

MIMI
They say I have the best ass below 14th street
Is it true?

ROGER
What?

MIMI
You're staring again

ROGER
Oh no
I mean you do - have a nice-
I mean , You look familiar

MIMI
Like your dead girlfriend?

ROGER
Only when you smile
But I'm sure I've seen you somewhere else

MIMI
Do you go to the Cat Scratch Club?
That's where I work - I dance - help me look

ROGER
Yes!
They used to tie you up-

MIMI
It's a living

(MIMI douses the flame again)

ROGER
I didn't recognize you
Without the handcuffs

MIMI
We could light the candle
Oh won't you light the candle?

(ROGER lights it again.)

ROGER
Why don't you forget that stuff
You look like you're sixteen

MIMI
I'm nineteen but I'm old for my age
I'm just born to be bad

ROGER
I once was born to be bad
I used to shiver like that

MIMI
I have no heat - I told you

ROGER
I used to sweat

MIMI
I got a cold

ROGER
Uh huh
I used to be a junkie

MIMI
But now and then I like to

ROGER
Uh huh

MIMI
Feel good

ROGER
Here it - um

(ROGER stoops and picks up a small object: MIMI's stash)

MIMI
What's that?

ROGER
It's a candy bar wrapper

(ROGER puts it behind his back and into his pocket)

MIMI
We could light the candle

(ROGER discreetly blows out the candle)

MIMI
What'd you do with my candle?

ROGER
That was my last match

MIMI
Our eyes'll adjust, thank God for the moon

ROGER
Maybe it's not the moon at all
I hear Spike Lee's shooting down the street

MIMI
Bah humbug ... Bah humbug

(MIMI places her hand under his, pretending to do it by accident)

ROGER
Cold hands

MIMI
Yours too
Big. Like my father's
You wanna dance?

ROGER
With you?

MIMI
No -- with my father

ROGER
I'm Roger

MIMI
They call me
They call me Mimi

(They come extremely close to a kiss. MIMI reaches into his pocket, nabs
the stash, waves it in front of his face, and makes a sexy exit)

(ANGEL sashays in. He's gorgeously done up in Santa drag, with a fan of
twenty-dollar bills in each hand)

ANGEL
Today for you - tomorrow for me
Today for you - tomorrow for me

COLLINS
And you should hear her beat!

MARK
You earned this on the street?

ANGEL
It was my lucky day today on Avenue A
When a lady in a limousine drove my way
She said, "Dahling be a dear haven't slept in a year
I need your help to make my neighbor's yappy dog disappear"
"This Akita-Evita just won't shut up
I believe if you play non-stop that pup
Will breathe its very last high-strung breath
I'm certain that cur will bark itself to death"
Today for you - tomorrow for me
Today for you - tomorrow for me
We agreed on a fee - A thousand dollar guarantee
Tax-free - and a bonus if I trim her tree
Now who could foretell that it would go so well
But sure as I am here that dog is now in doggy hell
After an hour - Evita - in all her glory
On the window ledge of that 23rd story
Like Thelma & Louise did when they got the blues
Swan dove into the courtyard of the Gracie Mews
Today for you - tomorrow for me
Today for you - tomorrow for me

(ANGEL does a fabulous drum and dance solo)

Then back to the street where I met my sweet
Where he was moaning and groaning on the cold concrete
The nurse took him home for some mercurochrome
And I dressed his wounds and got him back on his feet
Sing it!
Today for you - tomorrow for me
Today for you - tomorrow for me
Today for you - tomorrow for me
Today for you - tomorrow for me

JOANNE
Wait!
She's three hours late
The samples won't delay
But the cable

MARK
There's another way
Say something - anything

JOANNE (into the mike)
Test - one, two three

MARK
Anything but that

JOANNE
This is weird

MARK
It's weird

JOANNE
Very weird

MARK
Fuckin' weird

JOANNE
I'm so mad
That I don't know what to do
Fighting with microphones
Freezing down to my bones
And to top it all off
I'm with you

MARK
Feel like going insane?
Got a fire in your brain?
And you're thinking of drinking gasoline?

JOANNE
As a matter of fact

MARK
Honey, I know this act
It's called the 'Tango Maureen'
The Tango Maureen
It's a dark, dizzy merry-go-round
As she keeps you dangling

JOANNE
You're wrong

MARK
Your heart she is mangling

JOANNE
It's different with me

MARK
And you toss and you turn
'Cause her cold eyes can burn
Yet you yearn and you churn and rebound

JOANNE
I think I know what you mean

BOTH
The Tango Maureen

MARK
Has she ever pouted her lips
And called you 'Pookie'

JOANNE
Never

MARK
Have you ever doubted a kiss or two?

JOANNE
This is spooky
Did you swoon when she walked through the door?

MARK
Every time - so be cautious

JOANNE
Did she moon over other boys?

MARK
More than moon

JOANNE
I'm getting nauseous
(They begin to dance, with MARK leading)

MARK
Where'd you learn to tango?

JOANNE
With the French Ambassador's daughter in her dorm room at Miss Porter's
And you?

MARK
With Nanette Himmelfarb. The Rabbi's daughter at the Scarsdale Jewish
Community Center

(They switch, and JOANNE leads)

It's hard to do this backwards

JOANNE
You should try it in heels!
She cheated

MARK
She cheated

JOANNE
Maureen cheated

MARK
Fuckin' cheated

JOANNE
I'm defeated
I should give up right now

MARK
Gotta look on the bright side
With all of your might

JOANNE
I'd fall for her still anyhow

BOTH
When you're dancing her dance
You don't stand a chance
Her grip of romance
Make you fall

MARK
So you think, 'Might as well'

JOANNE
"Dance a tango to hell"

BOTH
At least I'll have tangoed at all
The Tango Maureen
Gotta dance till your diva is through
You pretend to believe her
Cause in the end you can't leave her
But the end it will come
Still you have to play dumb
Till you're glum and you bum
And turn blue

MARK
Why do we love when she's mean?

JOANNE
And she can be so obscene

MARK
Try the mike

JOANNE
My Maureen (reverb: een, een, een...)

MARK
Patched

JOANNE
Thanks

MARK
You know I feel great now!

JOANNE
I feel lousy
(The pay phone rings. MARK hands it to JOANNE)
Honey, we're... (pause) Pookie?!
You never call me Pookie...
Forget it, we're patched
(She hangs up, looks at MARK)

BOTH
The Tango Maureen

(ANGEL and COLLINS attend an AIDS Life Support group. PAUL, the
support leader, sits on the downstage railing above. GORDON, one of
the members of the group, is standing downstage left, facing the
audience. As the mebers enter, they introduce themselves and form a
semicircle. Note: The names of the support group members should
change every night and should honor actual friends of the compnay who
have died of AIDS)

STEVE
Steve

GORDON
Gordon

ALI
Ali

PAM
Pam

SUE
Sue

ANGEL
Hi, I'm Angel

COLLINS
Tom. Collins

PAUL
I'm Paul. Let's begin

ALL
There's only us
There's only this..

(MARK blusters in noisily)

MARK
Sorry ... Excuse me ... oops

PAUL
And you are?

MARK
Oh - I'm not
I'm just here to
I don't have
I'm here with
Um - Mark
Mark - I'm Mark
Well - this is quite an operation

PAUL
Sit down Mark
We'll continue the affirmation

ALL
Forget regret or life is yours to miss

GORDON
Excuse me Paul - I'm having a problem with this
This credo - My T-cells are low
I regret that news, okay?

PAUL
Alright
But Gordon - How do you feel today?

GORDON
What do you mean?

PAUL
How do you feel today?

GORDON
Okay

PAUL
Is that all?

GORDON
Best I've felt all year

PAUL
Then why choose fear?

GORDON
I'm a New Yorker
Fear's my life
Look - I find some of what you teach suspect
Because I'm used to relying on intellect
But I try to open up to what I don't know

GORDON & ROGER (who sings from his loft)
Because reason says I should have died
Three years ago

ALL
No other road
No other way
No day but today

MIMI
What's the time?
Well it's gotta be close to midnight
My body's talking to me
It says, "Time for danger"
It says "I wanna commit a crime
Wanna be the cause of a fight
Wanna put on a tight skirt and flirt
With a stranger"
I've had a knack from way back
At breaking the rules once I learn the games
Get up - life's too quick
I know someplace sick
Where this chick'll dance in the flames
We don't need any money
I always get in for free
You can get in too
If you get in with me

Let's go out tonight
I have to go out tonight
You wanna play?
Let's run away
We won't be back before it's Christmas day
Take me out tonight (meow)

When I get a wink from the doorman
Do you know how lucky you'll be?
That you're on line with the feline of Avenue B

Let's go out tonight
I have to go out tonight
You wanna prowl
Be my night owl?
Well take my hand we're gonna howl
Out tonight

In the evening I've got to roam
Can't sleep in the city of neon and chrome
Feels too damn much like home
When the Spanish babies cry
So let's find a bar
So dark we forget who we are
And all the scars from the
Nevers and maybes die

Let's go out tonight
Have to go out tonight
You're sweet
Wanna hit the street?
Wanna wail at the moon like a cat in heat?
Just take me out tonight

(MIMI makes her way to ROGER's door and ends the song in front of
him.)

Please take me out tonight
Don't forsake me - out tonight
I'll let you make me - out tonight
Tonight - tonight - tonight

(The loft - MIMI plants a huge kiss on ROGER, who recoils)

ROGER
Who do you think you are?
Barging in on me and my guitar
Little girl hey
The door is that way
You better go you know
The fire's out anyway
Take your powder take your candle
Your sweet whisper
I just can't handle
Well take your hair in the moonlight
Your brown eyes goodbye, goodnight
I should tell you I should tell you
I should tell you I should no!
Another time another place
Our temperature would climb
There'd be a long embrace
We'd do another dance
It'd be another play
Looking for romance?
Come back another day
Another day

MIMI
The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn
There is no future
There is no past
I live this moment as my last
There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
Or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today

ROGER
Excuse me if I'm off track
But if you're so wise
Then tell me why do you need smack?
Take your needle
Take your fancy prayer
And don't forget
Get the moonlight out of your hair
Long ago you might've lit up my heart
But the fire's dead ain't never ever gonna start
Another time another place
The words would only rhyme
We'd be in outer space
It'd be another song
We'd sing another way
You wanna prove me wrong?
Come back another day
Another day

MIMI
There's only yes
Only tonight
We must let go
To know what's right
No other course
No other way
No day but today

(Lights slowly fade up on the Life Support group)

MIMI & OTHERS
I can't control
My destiny
I trust my soul
My only goal is just
To be
There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today

ROGER
Control your temper
She doesn't see
Who says that there's a soul?
Just let me be
Who do you think you are?
Barging in on me and my guitar
Little girl, hey
The door is that way
The fire's out anyway

ALL
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today

ROGER
Take your powder, take your candle
Take your brown eyes, your pretty smile, your silhouette
Another time, another place
Another rhyme, a warm embrace
Another dance, another way
Another chance, another day

(MIMI and the Life Support group members exit. One person, STEVE,
remains at stage right, above)

(Various locations)

STEVE
Will I lose my dignity
Will someone care
Will I wake tomorrow
From this nightmare?

GROUP #1
Will I lose my dignity
Will someone care
Will I wake tomorrow
From this nightmare?

GROUP #2
Will I lose my dignity
Will someone care
Will I wake tomorrow
From this nightmare?

GROUP #3
Will I lose my dignity
Will someone care
Will I wake tomorrow
From this nightmare?

GROUP #4
Will I lose my dignity
Will someone care
Will I wake tomorrow
From this nightmare?

(ROGER puts on his jacket and exits the loft)

(The Street)

ANGEL
New York City

MARK
Uh huh

ANGEL
Center of the universe

COLLINS
Sing it girl-

ANGEL
Times are shitty
But I'm pretty sure they can't get worse

MARK
I hear you

ANGEL
It's a comfort to know
When you're singing the hit-the-road blues
That anywhere else you could possibly go
After New York would be a pleasure cruise

COLLINS
Now you're talking
Well, I'm thwarted by a metaphysic puzzle
And I'm sick of grading papers that I know
And I'm shouting in my sleep, I need a muzzle
All this misery pays no salary, so
Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe
Oh sunny Santa Fe would be nice
Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe
And leave this to the roaches and mice

COLLINS
Oh-oh

ALL
Oh

ANGEL
You teach?

COLLINS
I teach , Computer Age Philosophy
But my students would rather watch TV

ANGEL
America

ALL
America

COLLINS
You're a sensitive aesthete
Brush the sauce onto the meat
You could make the menu sparkle with rhyme
You could drum a gentle drum
I could seat guests as they come
Chatting not about Heidegger, but wine
(with HOMELESS PEOPLE in the shadows)
Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe
Our labors would reap financial gains

ALL
Gains, gains, gains

COLLINS
We'll open up a restaurant in Santa Fe
And save from devastation our brains

HOMELESS
Save our brains

ALL
We'll pack up all our junk and fly so far away
Devote ourselves to projects that sell
We'll open up a restaurant in Santa Fe
Forget this cold Bohemian hell
Oh

ALL
Oh

COLLINS
Do you know the way to Santa Fe?
You know, tumbleweeds...prairie dogs...
Yeah

ANGEL
Darling... we're everything!

Live in my house
I'll be your shelter
Just pay me back
With one thousand kisses
Be my lover I'll cover you

COLLINS
Open your door
I'll be your tenant
Don't got much baggage
To lay at your feet
But sweet kisses I've got to spare
I'll be there- I'll cover you

BOTH
I think they meant it
When they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are, my love,
On life be my life

(They do a short dance)

Just slip me on
I'll be your tenant
Wherever whatever I'll be your coat

ANGEL
You'll be my king
And I'll be your castle

COLLINS
No you'll be my queen
And I'll be your moat

BOTH
I think they meant it
When they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are, my love,
On life all my life

I've longed to discover
Something as true as this is

COLLINS
So with a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you

ANGEL
If you're cold
And you're lonely
You've got one nickel only
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you

COLLINS
When you're worn out
And tired
When your heart has expired

BOTH
Oh lover I'll cover you
Oh lover I'll cover you

(The BOHEMIANS immediately begin to enact a mock funeral, with
MARK delivering the "eulogy")

MARK
Dearly beloved we gather here to say our goodbyes

COLLINS & ROGER
Dies irae dies illa
Kyrie eleison
Yitgadal v' yitkadash, etc.

MARK
Here she lies
No one knew her worth
The late great daughter of mother earth
On this night when we celebrate the birth
In that little town of Bethlehem
We raise our glass- you bet your ass to-
(MAUREEN flashes hers)
La vie Boheme

ALL
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme

MARK
To days of inspiration
Playing hookie, making something out of nothing
The need to express
To communicate,
To going against the grain,
Going insane
Going mad

To loving tension, no pension
To more than one dimension,
To starving for attention,
Hating convention, hating pretension
Not to mention of course,
Hating dear old mom and dad

To riding your bike,
Midday past the three- piece suits
To fruits to no absolutes
To Absolute- to choice
To the Village Voice
To any passing fad
To being an us-for once-, instead of a them -

ALL
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme

(JOANNE enters)

MAUREEN
Is the equipment in a pyramid?

JOANNE
It is, Maureen

MAUREEN
The mixer doesn't have a case
Don't give me that face

(MAUREEN smacks JOANNE's ass as she exits. MR. GREY reacts)

MR. GREY
Ahhemm

MAUREEN
Hey Mister- she's my sister

RESTAURANT MAN
So that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad
Three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter
And one pasta with meatless balls

A BOY
Ugh

COLLINS
It tastes the same

MIMI
If you close your eyes

RESTAURANT MAN
And thirteen orders of fries
Is that it here?

ALL
Wine and beer!

MIMI & ANGEL
To hand-crafted beers made in local breweries
To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese
To leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo
To huevos rancheros and Maya Angelou

MAUREEN & COLLINS
Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion
Creation, vacation

MARK
Mucho masturbation

MAUREEN & COLLINS
Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new

COLLINS
To Sontag

ANGEL
To Sondheim

FOUR PEOPLE
To anything taboo

COLLINS & ROGER
Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham and Cage

COLLINS
Lenny Bruce

ROGER
Langston Hughes

MAUREEN
To the stage

PERSON #1
To Uta

PERSON #2
To Buddha

PERSON #3
Pablo Neruda, too

MARK & MIMI
Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow
To blow off Auntie Em

ALL
La vie Boheme

(JOANNE returns)

MAUREEN
And wipe the speakers off before you pack

JOANNE
Yes, Maureen

MAUREEN
Well - hurry back

(MAUREEN and JOANNE kiss)

MR. GREY
Sisters?

MAUREEN
We're close

(ANGEL jumps on top of COLLINS, who's on the table. They kiss)

ANGEL, COLLINS, MAUREEN, MARK, MR. GREY
Brothers!

MARK, ANGEL, MIMI & THREE OTHERS
Bisexuals, trisexuals, homo sapiens,
Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men, Pee Wee Herman
German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein
Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa
Carmina Burana

ALL
To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy
Vaclav Havel - The Sex Pistols, 8BC,
To no shame - never playing the Fame Game

COLLINS
To marijuana

ALL
To sodomy,
It's between God and me
To S & M

(MR. GREY walks out)

BENNY
Waiter...Waiter...Waiter

ALL
La vie Boheme

COLLINS
In honor of the death of Bohemia an impromptu salon will commence
immediately following dinner
Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap, will perform her famous lawn
chair-handcuff dance to the sounds of iced tea being stirred

ROGER
Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability to hold an
erection on high holy days

(ROGER picks up an electric guitar and starts to tune it)

MARK
Maureen Johnson, back from her spectacular one-night engagement at the
eleventh street lot,
Will sing native american tribal chants backwards through her vocoder,
While accompanying herself on the electric cello
Which she has never studied

(At this point, JOANNE has entered and seen MAUREEN playfully kiss
MARK. JOANNE exits. BENNY pulls MIMI aside)

BENNY
Your new boyfriend doesn't know about us?

MIMI
There's nothing to know

BENNY
Don't you think that we should discuss-

MIMI
It was three months ago

BENNY
He doesn't act like he's with you

MIMI
We're taking it slow

BENNY
Where is he now?

MIMI
He's right - hmm

BENNY
Uh huh

MIMI
Where'd he go?

MARK
Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song
(ROGER picks up a guitar and plays Musetta's Theme)
That doesn't remind us of "Musetta's Waltz"

COLLINS
Angel Dumott Schunard will now model the latest fall fashions from Paris
While accompanying herself on the 10 gallon plastic pickle tub

ANGEL
And Collins will recount his exploits as an anarchist
Including the successful reprogramming of the M.I.T. virtual reality equipment
To self-destruct, as it broadcast the words:

ALL
"Actual reality -- Act Up -- Fight AIDS"

BENNY
Check!

(BENNY exits. Lights on MIMI and ROGER)

MIMI
Excuse me did I do something wrong?
I get invited then ignored all night long

ROGER
I've been trying I'm not lying
No one's perfect I've got baggage

MIMI
Life's too short, babe, time is flying
I'm looking for baggage that goes with mine

ROGER
I should tell, you-

MIMI
I've got baggage too

ROGER
I should tell you

MIMI
I got baggage, too

ROGER
I should tell you

BOTH
Baggage - wine

OTHERS
And beer!

(Several beepers sound. Each turns off his or her beeper)

MIMI
AZT break

(MIMI, ROGER, ANGEL, and COLLINS take pills)

ROGER
You?

MIMI
Me , You?

ROGER
Mimi

(They hold hands and stare into each other's eyes lovingly. The rest of the
company freezes)

ROGER
I should tell you I'm disaster
I forget how to begin it

MIMI
Let's just make this part go faster
I have yet to be in it
I should tell you

ROGER
I should tell you

MIMI
I should tell you

ROGER
I should tell you

MIMI
I should tell I blew the candle out
Just to get back in

ROGER
I'd forgotten how to smile
Until your candle burned my skin

MIMI
I should tell you

ROGER
I should tell you

MIMI
I should tell you

BOTH
I should tell
Well, here we go
Now we-

MIMI
Oh no

ROGER
I know this something is
Here goes

MIMI
Here goes

ROGER
Guess so
It's starting to
Who knows?

MIMI
Who knows

BOTH
Who knows where
Who goes there
Who knows
Here goes

Trusting desire starting to learn
Walking through fire without a burn
Clinging a shoulder, a leap begins
Stinging and older, asleep on pins
So here we go
Now we

ROGER
Oh no

MIMI
I know

ROGER
Oh no

BOTH
Who knows where who goes there
Here goes here goes
Here goes here goes
Here goes here goes

(ROGER and MIMI exit. JOANNE reenters, obviously steamed)

MAUREEN
Are we packed?

JOANNE
Yes and by next week
I want you to be

MAUREEN
Pookie?

JOANNE
And you should see
They've padlocked your building
And they're rioting on Avenue B
Benny called the cops

MAUREEN
That fuck

JOANNE
They don't know what they're doing
The cops are sweeping the lot
But no one's leaving
They're just sitting there, mooing!

ALL
Yeah!!!
(Pandemonium erupts in the restaurant)
To dance

A GIRL
No way to make a living, masochism, pain, perfection
Muscle spasms, chiropractors, short careers, eating disorders

ALL
Film

MARK
Adventure, tedium, no family, boring locations,
Dark rooms, perfect faces, egos, money, Hollywood and sleaze

ALL
Music

ANGEL
Food of love, emotion, mathematics, isolation,
Rhythm, feeling, power, harmony, and heavy competition

ALL
Anarchy

COLLINS & MAUREEN
Revolution, justice, screaming for solutions,
Forcing changes, risk, and danger
Making noise and making pleas

ALL
To faggots, lezzies, dykes, cross dressers too

MAUREEN
To me

MARK
To me

COLLINS & ANGEL
To me

ALL
To you, and you and you, you and you
To people living with, living with, living with
Not dying from disease
Let he among us without sin
Be the first to condemn
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme

MARK
Anyone out of the mainstream
Is anyone in the mainstream?
Anyone alivewith a sex drive

OTHERS
La vie boheme
La vie boheme
La vie boheme

MARK
Tear down the wall
Aren't we all?
The opposite of war isn't peace
It's creation

ALL
La vie Boheme

MARK
The riot continues. The Christmas tree goes up in flames. The snow dances.
Oblivious, Mimi and Roger share a small, lovely kiss

ALL
Viva la vie Boheme

Act II

(The COMPANY enters from all directions and forms a line across the
front of the stage)

COMPANY
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure - measure a year?

In daylights - In sunsets
In midnights - In cups of coffee
In inches - In miles
In laughter - In strife

In Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?

How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love

Seasons of love
Seasons of love

SOLOIST #1
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?

SOLOIST #2
In truths that she learned
Or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died

ALL
It's time now - to sing out
Tho' the story never ends
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends

Remember the love
Remember the love
Remember the love
Measure in love

SOLOIST #1
Measure, measure your life in love

Seasons of love
Seasons of love

MAUREEN
That's what this is about!? There will always be women in rubber, flirting with
me... Gimme a break

Every single day
I walk down the street
I hear people say,
"Baby's so sweet"
Ever since puberty
Everybody stares at me
Boys - girls
I can't can't help it baby
So be kind
Don't lose your mind
Just remember that I'm your baby

Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby or leave me
Take me baby or leave me

A tiger in a cage
Can never see the sun
This diva needs her stage
Baby - let's have fun!
You are the one I choose
Folks'd kill to fill your shoes
You love the limelight too, baby
So be mine
Or don't waste my time
Cryin' -- "Honeybear -- are you still my baby?"

Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby or leave me

No way can I be what I'm not
But hey don't you want your girl hot!
Don't fight don't lose your head
Cause every night who's in your bed?
Who's in your bed, baby?
(Pouts in JOANNE's direction)
Kiss, Pookie

JOANNE
It won't work
I look before I leap
I love margins and discipline
I make lists in my sleep
Baby what's my sin?
Never quit I follow through
I hate mess but I love you
What to do
With my impromptu baby?
So be wise
This girl satisfies
You've got a prize
But don't compromise
You're one lucky baby
Take me for what I am

MAUREEN
A control freak

JOANNE
Who I was meant to be

MAUREEN
A snob yet over-attentive

JOANNE
And if you give a damn

MAUREEN
A lovable, droll geek

JOANNE
Take me baby or leave me

MAUREEN
And anal retentive

BOTH
That's it!

JOANNE
The straw that breaks my back

BOTH
I quit

JOANNE
Unless you take it back

BOTH
Women

MAUREEN
What is it about them?

BOTH
Can't live
With them
Or without them!
Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby or leave me
Take me baby
Or leave me
Guess I'm leavin'
I'm gone

(They both sit)

(ROGER exits. MIMI pulls out a just-purchased stash and angrily flings it
across the room. As she sings the following, a stylized "musical beds" is
choreographed around her; during the bridge of the song, COLLINS
carries ANGEL from the hospital bed and ROGER takes his place. By the
end of the song, MAUREEN and JOANNE are reunited, as are ROGER
and MIMI. COLLINS and ANGEL have lain down together, where
ANGEL dies)

MIMI
Without you
The ground thaws
The rain falls
The grass grows

Without you
The seeds root
The flowers bloom
The children play

The stars gleam
The poets dream
The eagles fly
Without you

The earth turns
The sun burns
But I die
Without you

Without you
The breeze warms
The girl smiles
The cloud moves

Without you
The tides change
The boys run
The oceans crash

The crowds roar
The days soar
The babies cry
Without you

The moon glows
The river flows
But I die
Without you

ROGER
The world revives

MIMI
Colors renew

BOTH
But I know blue
Only blue
Lonely blue
Within me, blue
Without you

MIMI
Without you
The hand gropes
The ear hears
The pulse beats

ROGER
Without you
The eyes gaze
The legs walk
The lungs breathe

BOTH
The mind churns
The heart yearns
The tears dry
Without you

Life goes on
But I'm gone
Cause I die

ROGER
Without you

MIMI
Without you

ROGER
Without you

BOTH
Without you

COLLINS
Live in my house
I'll be your shelter
Just pay me back
With one thousand kisses
Be my lover
And I'll cover you
Open your door I'll be your tenant
Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet
But sweet kisses I've got to spare
I'll be there I'll cover you
I think they meant it
When they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you were, my love, on life
All my life
I've longed to discover
Something as true
As this is

(The following is sung simultaneously.)

JOANNE & SOLOIST
So with a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you with a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you with a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you iwht a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you

COLLINS
If you're cold and you're lonely
You've got one nickel only
When you're worn out and tired
When your heart has expired

COMPANY
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred measure a year
Oh lover I'll cover you
Oh lover I'll cover you

COLLINS & COMPANY
Oh lover
I'll cover you
Oh lover

COLLINS
I'll cover you

COMPANY
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand seasons of love

COLLINS
I'll cover you

MARK
"Hi, Mark Cohen for Buzzline...Back to you Alexi. Coming up, vampire
welfare queens who are compulsive bowlers."
Oh God, what am I doing?

Don't breathe too deep
Don't think all day
Dive into work
Drive the other way
That drip of hurt
That pint of shame
Goes away
Just play the game
You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Leave your conscience at the tone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own

(Lights up on ROGER)

ROGER
The filmmaker cannot see

MARK
And the songwriter cannot hear

ROGER
Yet I see Mimi everywhere

MARK
Angel's voice is in my ear

ROGER
Just tighten those shoulders

MARK
Just clench your jaw till you frown

ROGER
Just don't let go

BOTH
Or you may drown

You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Where it's like the Twilight Zone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own
So I own not a notion
I escape and ape content
I don't own emotion - I rent

MARK
What was it about that night

ROGER
What was it about that night

BOTH
Connection- in an isolating age

MARK
For once the shadows gave way to light

ROGER
For once the shadows gave way to light

BOTH
For once I didn't disengage

(MARK goes to the pay phone and dials)

MARK
Angel I hear you I hear it
I see it I see it
My film!

ROGER
Mimi I see you I see it
I hear it- I hear it
My song

MARK (on the phone)
Alexi--Mark
Call me a hypocrite
I need to finish my own film
I quit

ROGER
One song glory
Mimi
Your eyes

BOTH
Dying in America
At the end of the millennium
We're dying in America
To come into our own

And when you're dying in America
At the end of the millennium
You're not alone
I'm not alone
I'm not alone

(Blackout)

MARK
There is no future there is no past

ROGER
Thank God this moment's not the last

MIMI & ROGER
There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret or life is yours to miss

ALL
No other road no other way
No day but today

(As the finale grows, the entire COMPANY makes its way on stage)

WOMEN
I can't control
My destiny
I trust my soul
My only goal is just to be

MEN
Will I lose my dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I wake tomorrow
From this nightmare?

(MARK's film resumes, along with two more films projecting on the back
wall, "Scenes from RENT...")

WOMEN
Without you
The hand gropes
The ear hears
The pulse beats
Life goes on
But I'm gone
'Cause I die
Without you
I die without you
I die without you
I die without you

MEN
There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today
No day but today

ALL
No day but today

Instrumental

The Best Of Rent
Rent (2005 Movie Soundtrack) Disc1
Rent (2005 Movie Soundtrack) Disc2
Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast) Disc1
Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast) Disc2