Harper director talks about issues in play “Rent”

The rock musical “Rent,” which has earned a Pulitzer Prize and scored four Tony Awards, is coming to the Harper College stage the next two weekends.

Written by Jonathan Larson, it boasts a diverse score loaded with everything from electric rock and Motown to salsa and reggae. Set in New York City’s East Village in the 1980s, and follows a year in the lives of seven friends, tackling themes of love, intolerance, injustice and hope.

Harper Director Laura Pulio-Colbert answered questions about the play.

Q: What audience do you think this musical speaks to most profoundly? Who will enjoy it most?

A: “Rent” is not a traditional musical. The East Village was the home of many young artists interested in bucking the system. It is a show that forces audience members to think about their own beliefs and behaviors. That said, I recommend it to anyone who is interested in that time period and who welcomes challenges to their own beliefs. It is a contemporary play that resonates with young audiences in particular, but it also includes heavy issues, including homophobia, HIV/AIDS, politics, revolution, sexuality and death. It will certainly challenge the audience.

Q: What were the toughest parts of putting “Rent” together? Any unexpected challenges or roadblocks?

A: In the 1980s, my husband’s cousins, with whom we are very close, contracted HIV through blood transfusions. They were and are hemophiliacs, and were infected through contaminated blood. One of them passed away in the late ’80s, and another became critically ill during the rehearsal process for “Rent.” Needless to say, the pain of watching loved ones suffer through this devastation is hard to leave at the door, particularly when AIDS is a prominent undercurrent in the musical you’re directing. But it’s also a blessing to direct this play in our cousins’ honor. In a sense, “Rent” lives on to ease the pain of all those impacted by the HIV/AIDS crisis, which is still very much alive today.

The other thing that has thrown me for a bit of a loop is the overall size and scope of this play. It is a good two-and-a-half hours of music. All music, and very little dialogue. I have directed rock opera in the past, but this process has been much more complicated. I added lots of cast members to the show, as well, and navigating nearly 30 bodies onstage can get tricky.

Q: “Rent” is set 20 years ago, and tackles issues of injustice and intolerance. How far do you think we’ve come in terms of battling injustice and intolerance in the last two decades? Why do you believe “Rent’s” message will still resonate with audiences today?

A: Much has changed for HIV/AIDS patients in the last 20 years. If you were diagnosed with HIV in 1980 and you were 20 years old, you would most probably have been given fewer than two years to live. Today, the same diagnosis will give you much more time, so that life expectancy piece is a dramatic change. It’s hard, especially for young people, to remember the degree of intolerance and ignorance that went hand-in-hand with this diagnosis back in the 1980s. Few young people today even know who (AIDS victim) Ryan White was, and certainly don’t realize he was just one of many children alienated as a result of an illness they had nothing to do with contracting.

I see similarities today in terms of the intolerance and bullying of the LGBT community. We have young people killing themselves because they are being tortured by peers, and in some cases the parents of their peers. “Rent” is about accepting who you are and seeing the goodness in each and every human being, and that’s a lesson that will never grow outdated. It also is about appreciating the gifts we have been given — as well as appreciating every day that we have to appreciate them.