Thank you, Jonathan Larson.

For nine and a half years, Jonathan Larson worked as a waiter at the Moondance Diner in New York City. His life-long dream was to be a successful musical theatre composer, and he worked tirelessly to make it happen. He won some awards, and the respect/encouragement of Stephen Sondheim, but by 1990, Larson had ZERO shows produced. At almost 30 years old, he couldn't help but feel as if perhaps it just wasn't meant to be. Before calling it quits, he decided to give it one more shot, writing a rock-opera, called RENT. On January 25th, 1996, RENT was headed to Broadway, and things were finally turning around! The night before previews began, Larson came home from rehearsal...and died.

RENT would go on to win 6 Drama Desk, 4 Tony Awards--including Best Original Score and Best Musical--and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It ran on Broadway for over 12 years, and grossed over $280 million. Jonathan Larson may not be here physically, but his legacy will live on forever.

Thank you, Jonathan Larson.