Alphabet City
Alphabet City is a neighborhood in the East Village of Manhattan. It is bounded by Houston Street to the south, 14th Street to the north, and extends roughly from Avenue A to the East River. It is the only section of the city with single letter street names. The history of this area is varied and storied, but it is mainly known for being part of many arts and activist movements. The ‘50s saw it become home to the Beatniks, the ‘60s hippies, yippies, and other countercultralists. The ‘70s transformed it with rapid gentrification, and the ‘80s and ‘90s saw a period of divestment leading to the state in which Rent finds it. Artists Walter Robinson and Carlo McCormick described the area as “a unique blend of poverty, punk rock, drugs, arson, Hell’s Angels, winos, prostitutes and dilapidated housing that adds up to an adventurous avant-garde setting of considerable cachet.”
This mix of communities, which included a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural tapestry, gave birth to artistic movements like the Neo-Expressionists, The Nuyorican Poets, and the Neo-Conceptionalists. These movements, while artistic, were fueled by personal politics and resistance to oppressive systems — especially ones which ostracized the poor, the ill, and members of the LGBTQ+ communities. Writer Naomi Tonooka describes it:
“Its politics was liberal and volatile; the neighborhood gave rise to ‘the most aggressive anti-gentrification and anti-homeless resistance, the most concentrated squatters’ movement of the period, as well as a significant part of the AIDS and ACT UP activism responsible for the most imaginative city-wide protests of the decade.’”
The neighborhood’s representation in Rent was met with mixed reviews. One journalist from the Village Voice wrote “[a]s a self-identified representative of the sort of struggling, East Village- dwelling artist the show portrays, I assure my peers and neighbors that Rent does not sell us out.” However, The New York Times reviewer said, “I live around the corner from the real thing, and what I see and hear on the streets has an edge that the earnest practitioners of Rent can’t quite summon.”
More about Rent:
AIDS, Arts, & Activism
Learn about the history of the AIDS epidemic, including the cultural responses that exist to this day.
La Bohéme to Rent: Legacies
Rent is loosely based on the opera La Bohème, composed by Giacomo Puccini. Learn more about the story of La Bohéme and its connection to Rent.
Thank You, Jonathan Larson: 25 Years of Rent
More than 25 years after Jonathan Larson's death and the original cast's first preview performance of Rent, both of which occurred on January 25, 1996, the world still has Jonathan to thank for his contributions to the living canon of musical theater.
From the Director: Chip Miller
How do you measure a year? Director Chip Miller on the timeless and inspiring messages of Rent.
Reviews of Rent
"With a story based on Puccini's 19th-century opera La Bohème, Rent tells the story of angsty young adults struggling to pay their rent and worrying about a cyber arts studio coming to their impoverished neighborhood." -Deseret News
Current & Upcoming
Art Exhibit: ¡Soy Yo! by Mika Martinez
¡Soy Yo!, is a multi-media project, created by Mika Martinez, that examines and celebrates Latinx identity featuring more than 50 portraits of the Hispanic/Latino community in Portland.
Piano Bar with Courtney Freed and David Saffert
Join us for this monthly event with local songstress Courtney Freed and Portland-based pianist David Saffert as they host a good old-fashioned PIANO BAR.
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Nassim
From Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour (creator of the Off-Broadway smash hit White Rabbit, Red Rabbit) comes an audacious new theatrical experiment, presented in collaboration with Boom Arts. Each night, a new, unrehearsed local performer joins the playwright on stage, while the script waits, unseen, in a sealed box... Touchingly autobiographical yet powerfully universal, NASSIM is a striking theatrical demonstration of how language can both divide and unite us.
Art Exhibit: Garam Garam Chai by Yusra Siddiqui
Portland Center Stage will host Garam Garam Chai, an art exhibit by Portland-based multidisciplinary artist Yusra Siddiqui, featuring a series of hand-sewn teabag printmaking pieces that serve as a contemplation of the communal tea times shared between Desi and British culture.
Coriolanus
Shakespeare’s tragedy about the war hero Coriolanus and the fight between the elite and the deprived masses will be fueled by a dynamic female and non-binary ensemble with a muscular, movement-focused staging.
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
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