Rent

• Musical
• PG-13
• By Jonathan Larson 
• Reviewed by Sarah Erani

The following are out of 5

Racial Representation: 5

LGBTQ+ Representation: 5

Disability Representation: 1

Body Size Representation: 0.3

Gender Representation: 4

Socioeconomic Representation: 5

Mental Health Representation: 4

Religious Representation: 2

Own Voice: Somewhat

The show is about a group of friends that include a Latina woman, a black man, and at least one black woman. There’s a bisexual character and a lesbian, as well as a character that does not conform to gender roles and is referred to by both He/him and She/her pronouns. I gave a 0.3 for body representation because there’s nothing specifically about weight, but as a musical, actors with any weight can be cast. There are prominent women. The main characters are squatters. Everyone is dealing with the mental (and physical) ramifications of the AIDS crisis. One of the main characters is said to be Jewish, but really just to use the Scarsdale Jewish community as a punchline.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Larson
• Image