Editing Rent (musical) (section)

== Reception ==
''Rent'' received several awards including a [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Pulitzer Prize]] and four [[Tony Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/cast-rent-article-1.2478997|title=Where the cast of "Rent" is now|work=NY Daily News|access-date=November 9, 2017|language=en|archive-date=November 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110061756/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/cast-rent-article-1.2478997|url-status=live}}</ref>

Critical reception of ''Rent'' was positive not only for its acting and musical components, but also for its representation of HIV-positive individuals. Many critics praised the portrayal of characters such as Angel and Collins as being happy, with positive outlooks on life, rather than being resigned to death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://prezi.com/rkee5nh4_woa/no-day-but-today-the-critical-reception-of-rent/|title=No Day But Today: The Critical Reception of RENT|website=prezi.com|access-date=May 6, 2016|archive-date=October 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007121213/https://prezi.com/rkee5nh4_woa/no-day-but-today-the-critical-reception-of-rent/|url-status=live}}</ref> While critics and theatre patrons had largely positive reviews of the show, it was criticized for its stereotypically negative portrayal of lesbian characters and the "glamourization" of the East Village in the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121331730861070229|title=Among the 'Rentheads'|last=Hymowitz|first=Kay S.|date=June 13, 2008|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|access-date=May 6, 2016|archive-date=June 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602142611/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121331730861070229|url-status=live}}</ref>

Billy Aronson said, "For the record, although I was ambivalent about Jonathan's ideas for ''Rent'' when we were working together on it, I have come to love the show. And as tragic as it is that he didn't live to see his work become a huge success, I believe he knew it would be. In our last conversation I asked how the show was going and he said, with complete assurance, that it was incredible."<ref name="Aronson"/>