Act I thumb|250px|right|Rent at David Nederlander Theatre in Manhattan, New York City On Christmas Eve in Manhattan's East Village, two roommates—Mark, a filmmaker, and Roger, a rock musician—struggle to stay warm and produce their art ("Tune Up #1"). Mark's mother leaves him a voicemail wishing him a Merry Christmas and trying to comfort him since his ex-girlfriend Maureen dumped him ("Voice Mail #1"). Their friend Tom Collins, a gay anarchist professor of computer-age philosophy at New York University, calls and plans to surprise them at their apartment, but is mugged before entering. At the same time, Mark and Roger's former roommate and friend Benny, who has since become their harsh new landlord, has reneged on an earlier agreement and now demands last year's rent, before shutting down their electrical power ("Tune Up #2"). However, Mark and Roger stubbornly resolve against paying the rent, which they were promised would not be a problem ("Rent"). Meanwhile, Angel, a cross-dressing street drummer (presently out of drag), finds Collins wounded in an alley and tends to him ("You Okay Honey?") - the two are immediately attracted to each other, each learning that the other is HIV positive. It is revealed that Roger also has HIV, which he contracted from his last girlfriend, who died by suicide after learning of her diagnosis, causing Roger to fall into depression. Mark leaves the loft while Roger stays home ("Tune Up #3"), trying to compose on his guitar without success; he wishes desperately to write one last song to be remembered by before he dies ("One Song Glory"). Their neighbor Mimi, an exotic dancer and drug addict, arrives at their apartment asking for help with lighting her candle, flirting with Roger in the process; however, he is clearly hesitant to return her affections ("Light My Candle"). Meanwhile, Joanne, a lawyer and Maureen's girlfriend, receives a voicemail from her parents ("Voice Mail #2").
Act I thumb|250px|right|Rent at David Nederlander Theatre in Manhattan New York City On Christmas Eve in Manhattan's East Village two roommates—Mark a filmmaker and Roger a rock musician—struggle to stay warm and produce their art ("Tune Up #1") Mark's mother leaves him a voicemail wishing him a Merry Christmas and trying to comfort him since his ex-girlfriend Maureen dumped him ("Voice Mail #1") Their friend Tom Collins a gay anarchist professor of computer-age philosophy at New York University calls and plans to surprise them at their apartment but is mugged before entering At the same time Mark and Roger's former roommate and friend Benny who has since become their harsh new landlord has reneged on an earlier agreement and now demands last year's rent before shutting down their electrical power ("Tune Up #2") However Mark and Roger stubbornly resolve against paying the rent which they were promised would not be a problem ("Rent") Meanwhile Angel a cross-dressing street drummer (presently out of drag) finds Collins wounded in an alley and tends to him ("You Okay Honey") - the two are immediately attracted to each other each learning that the other is HIV positive It is revealed that Roger also has HIV which he contracted from his last girlfriend who died by suicide after learning of her diagnosis causing Roger to fall into depression Mark leaves the loft while Roger stays home ("Tune Up #3") trying to compose on his guitar without success; he wishes desperately to write one last song to be remembered by before he dies ("One Song Glory") Their neighbor Mimi an exotic dancer and drug addict arrives at their apartment asking for help with lighting her candle flirting with Roger in the process; however he is clearly hesitant to return her affections ("Light My Candle") Meanwhile Joanne a lawyer and Maureen's girlfriend receives a voicemail from her parents ("Voice Mail #2")