Rent is a popular Broadway musical written by Jonathan Larson. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create 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 the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It has since become one of the longest running musicals in Broadway history.