{"id":1969,"date":"2024-09-12T10:36:27","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T14:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adelphi.edu\/giving\/?page_id=1969"},"modified":"2024-09-17T07:29:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T11:29:37","slug":"family-of-jonathan-larson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.adelphi.edu\/giving\/societies\/eighteen-ninety-six-roundtable\/million-dollar-roundtable\/family-of-jonathan-larson\/","title":{"rendered":"The Family of Jonathan Larson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JonathanAs a writer and composer, Larson wanted to change the face of American musical theater. He wrote cabarets about controversial social issues that became the themes of his work: multiculturalism, addiction and homophobia. A generation later, his work continues to influence and inspire artists.<\/p>\n

Born in White Plains, New York, Larson studied theater, acting and music at Adelphi. He graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. As an Adelphi student, he wrote and composed many of the Department of Theatre\u2019s satirical cabarets and significant music and songs for productions.<\/p>\n

Several years into his career, Larson wrote\u00a0Superbia<\/em>, a theatrical spin on George Orwell\u2019s\u00a01984<\/em>. It earned him the Richard Rodgers Production Award and Development Grant, but the rock musical never received a full production, likely inspiring Larson\u2019s next big work\u2014the rock monologue\u00a0tick, tick\u2026 BOOM!<\/em>\u00a0about a man approaching 30 and questioning his career choice in the performing arts. In 2021, Netflix released the film adaptation of\u00a0tick, tick\u2026 BOOM!<\/em>, which was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist and actor.<\/p>\n

In the early 1990s, Larson began composing\u00a0Rent<\/em>, based on the Giacomo Puccini opera\u00a0La boh\u00e8me<\/em>, but set in Manhattan\u2019s East Village. The rock musical tells the story of young artists struggling to make ends meet as poverty, addiction and the AIDS epidemic loom over their community. Tragically, Larson passed away in 1996 at the age of 35 of an aortic aneurysm, the day before its first Off-Broadway performance.\u00a0Rent<\/em>\u00a0went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, three Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, and three Obie Awards\u2014for Outstanding Book, Lyrics and Music. It became the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history, closing in September 2008, 12 years after Larson\u2019s death. It has toured the world and a film version was released in 2005.<\/p>\n