Format
Hardcover
Price
$29.99
Publication Date
January 13, 2026
ISBN
9781954641488
Page Count
272
Trim Size
6 X 9 inches
Color
10 Black-and-White Photographs
Printed in the United States
Making Rent
Shaping the Music of an American Icon
by Tim Weil
with forewords by Neil Patrick Harris and Jennifer Ashley Tepper
From the music director of Rent comes a thirtieth-anniversary account of how Broadway’s iconic grunge rock show was made and how it would forever reshape musical theater.
Thirty years after Rent, Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking rock musical, opened on Broadway, you would be hard-pressed to find a musical theater fan who doesn’t know at least some of the show’s iconic tunes by heart. “Take Me or Leave Me,” “Light My Candle,” “La Vie Boheme,” and the ubiquitous “Seasons of Love” revolutionized the kind of music heard on the Broadway stage. Much of the impact comes from the show’s musical style, a singular blend of grunge rock, power pop, gospel, and R & B that was brought to life by the show’s onstage band, headed by the legendary music director Tim Weil.
In this affecting memoir, Weil recounts his journey with Rent in full for the first time, from his first day as audition accompanist, through the aftermath of Larson’s death, which left an unfinished show in the hands of its creative team, and Weil’s six years with the Broadway run. The page-turning result, artfully recounted in loving detail, reveals how the music that has shaped generations of new American musicals grew out of Weil and Larson’s intimate partnership. Previously untold stories about some of the show’s most iconic moments, accompanied by behind-the-scenes photos, capture the energy, ingenuity, and passion of Rent’s company and creators while providing a unique level of insight into just how collaborative and innovative a process making Rent was and why it has had such a lasting impact on musical theater.
About the Author
Tim Weil is a music director, composer, arranger, and orchestrator who has worked on more than one hundred productions in New York City and around the world, including Rent, Shrek the Musical, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, and Sally Marr . . . and Her Escorts. His work in film includes Camp and The Marc Pease Experience and he composed songs for the children’s television shows Sheep in the Big City and Bear in the Big Blue House. Tim lives with his wife in North Bergen, New Jersey.
Neil Patrick Harris is a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor, director, and producer who has appeared on Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Assassins, and Proof. He starred as Mark Cohen in the 1997 National Tour of Rent and directed Rent at the Hollywood Bowl in 2010. He lives in New York City.
Jennifer Ashley Tepper is a musical theater historian and the author of Women Writing Musicals and The Untold Stories of Broadway. She conceived The Jonathan Larson Project, an off-Broadway musical showcasing previously unheard works by the late composer, and was the historian consultant on the Jonathan Larson biopic tick, tick… BOOM!. Tepper is the Creative and Programming director at 54 Below. She lives in New York City.
Also from Apollo Publishers:
