Rent is a musical based on the opera La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in New York City's East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City. The musical was first performed off-Broadway in 1996 and then moved to Broadway in 1997, where it won several Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.