The Life and Times of Jonathan Larson will be celebrated in the one-off show ‘Seasons of Love’.
Who is Jonathan Larson you might ask? He is the Broadway composer and genius behind the smash hit musical ‘Rent.’ ‘Rent’ is one of the most successful and award-winning musicals of all time. It tells the story of a group of young men and women seeking out a living in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. These young men and women have lots of real life issues that dominate their lives; poverty, drugs, volatile romances, and HIV
Larson composed Rent while at the same time waiting tables at Manhattan’s famous Moonstruck Diner. On the first day of its off-Broadway 1996 preview, Larson died unexpectedly at the age of 35. It was a shocking blow not just to the people close to him, but also to the actors and the rest of the crew. The show then premiered as planned and went on to critical and commercial success. ‘Rent’ was moved to Broadway in April 1996 after an extreme demand for tickets and excellent reviews. It went on to win four Tony Awards, including three for Larson (Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score). ‘Rent’ went on to become the 10th longest running show on Broadway, closing in June, 2008. Various productions have toured around the world, including three different productions in London. It also went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
It’s not just the story that is poignant and timely for its time, it’s the music that’s most memorable and emotional in telling the story of these young people struggling to survive. Songs such as Seasons of Love, One Song Glory, Light My Candle and Santa Fe all convey the emotion and heartbreak and feelings these young people have and share.
And for only night only, on Monday, January 25th, at London’s Shaftsbury Theatre, several West End performers will sing songs from the show. Debbie Kurup, Krysten Cummings and Damien Flood, all previous cast members of ‘Rent,’ will perform some of the songs and will reflect on their memories of the show. Anton Stephans from the last series of the X Factor will also star in the tribute.
The concert will also include music from some of Larson’s earlier works, ‘Superbia’ and ‘tick, tick… BOOM!.’
For tickets to this one-off show, please visit: www.seasonsoflarson.com
