Members of the final Broadway company of Rent recently joined forces for a passionate version of that Pulitzer Prize-winning musical's anthem, "Seasons of Love."
Watch Adam Kantor, Kyle Post, Telly Leung, Tracy McDowell, Marcus Paul James, and Crystal Monee Hall sing the Jonathan Larson tune in the video above.
The video, filmed to acknowledge Mental Health Awareness month and the COVID Grief Network’s one-year anniversary, also features home videos of people who lost their lives to COVID-19 and the young adults left grieving.
With many drawing parallels between the current pandemic and the AIDS crisis, actor Kantor says, “It's a song that carries all of it. There is grief underneath it all, and even more importantly, celebration of life. It is very cathartic, to be held and acknowledged by community through the ups and downs. I can't think of a song that does that more simply and beautifully than 'Seasons of Love.'”
As part of MTV’s Mental Health Action Day on May 20, CGN will host a digital screening of the video followed by a conversation about the challenges of COVID-19 grief with the Rent cast and CGN members and organizers. Co-hosted with End of Life Collective, those interested can register for the free 7 PM ET event here.
The late Larson's Rent, directed by Michael Greif, opened on Broadway April 29, 1996, following a sold-out, extended limited engagement at Off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The musical ended its Broadway run September 7, 2008, following over 5,000 performances.
