| First song in the first act of Jonathan Larson's 1995 musical RENT. As the lights come up, we 're treated to the sight of a very spartan set - representing a Manhattan loft. Two men are visible, MARK COHEN, an aspiring filmmaker, and ROGER DAVIS, a musician. Roger is attempting to tune his guitar throughout this piece, making for a very repetitious, almost monotonous, atonal background while Mark films him and recites his own lines in singsong. Roger's replies, spoken rather than sung, give the first hint at the disparity between their dreams and their reality.
The lyrics have been removed due to copyright restrictions.
As he films, Mark mentions that Roger was a junkie - which led to a few other complications we learn about later. He asks Roger to "Tell the folks at home what you're doing, Roger ...", to which Roger replies that he's writing "one great song" - his dream, a single piece of evocative music to be remembered by. Right now, however, he's got a bit of writer's block, but fortunately for Roger, the phone rings. They screen the call, which leads to the next piece.
RENT - Voice Mail #1 >> | 
