![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,3642,2429,700,2429/0-0-0/14ff12b1-d132-4027-90b9-2edfafd3f07c/1/1/Jordan+Barrow+as+Benny%2C+Matt+Rodin+as+Roger%2C+Zachary+Noah+Piser+as+Mark%2C+and+Leana+Rae+Concepcion+as+Joanne+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Jeremy+Daniel.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585554~hmac=4924e2c529547271ce4b16a33b4741ae9f3f11c8888872c25d1bfee56acc7aa3)
'Zi Alikhan’s rendition immediately distinguishes itself...its tonal balance of the vibrant and the moribund is undeniable. What is gone from that era cannot be recaptured, making Alikhan’s Rent a memorial to a bygone era...this Rent is as much elegy as it is musical.- The Brooklyn Rail
rent
by jonathan larson
paper mill playhouse, millburn, nj
2023
photos by evan zimmerman
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,3642,2429,700,2429/0-0-0/f3f0c30a-aa61-489d-9fdf-ad2df1cbbba4/1/1/Alisa+Melendez+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Evan+Zimmerman.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585554~hmac=4924e2c529547271ce4b16a33b4741ae9f3f11c8888872c25d1bfee56acc7aa3)
choreography: steph paul
md: amanda morton
scenic: chika shimizu
video: nick hussong and jamie godwin
costumes: rodrigo muñoz
lights: cha see
sound: matt kraus
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,2429,3642,700,3642/0-0-0/9b59b282-00d4-47b8-a3b9-41fbe73db6a2/1/1/Matt+Rodin+as+Roger+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Evan+Zimmerman.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585554~hmac=f0b5aba01089c832cacd50b38c8a5d4f032f457969ab8af678671fc955c15d03)
source list:
'the gentrification of the mind' by sarah schulman
wolfgang tillmans
karen finley
hoda afshar's 'behold'
hofesh shechter
'it's a sin'
'how to write an autobiographical novel' by alexander chee
'gay bar' by jeremy atherton lin
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,3642,2429,700,2429/0-0-0/a4a7f118-63d4-495c-8834-95868a1078b3/1/1/Terence+Johnson+as+Collins+and+Zachary+Noah+Piser+as+Mark+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Evan+Zimmerman.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585554~hmac=4924e2c529547271ce4b16a33b4741ae9f3f11c8888872c25d1bfee56acc7aa3)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,3642,2429,700,2429/0-0-0/ec43ce90-c7b3-49be-8a7e-c89614a4c9d9/1/1/Olivia+Lux+as+Angel+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Jeremy+Daniel.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585554~hmac=4924e2c529547271ce4b16a33b4741ae9f3f11c8888872c25d1bfee56acc7aa3)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,3642,2429,700,2429/0-0-0/5c44b346-012c-47d2-915b-6d86d591bb7b/1/1/Zachary+Noah+Piser+as+Mark+and+Terrance+Johnson+as+Collins+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Jeremy+Daniel.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585555~hmac=082f39eb928f09dc07b8bf71d6ee9cc0399e61268a007e480e02278829048dae)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,3642,2429,700,2429/0-0-0/0cad048b-dcca-4eb4-909c-1fce46a8e3cf/1/1/Leana+Rae+Concepcion+as+Joanne+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Evan+Zimmerman.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585555~hmac=082f39eb928f09dc07b8bf71d6ee9cc0399e61268a007e480e02278829048dae)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/1c197bfc-e459-4886-96f9-4c0c30f1f08d/0/0/0/0,0,2429,3642,700,3642/0-0-0/ae581f5c-0bfc-45ac-a1f1-4c6b44a34ca0/1/1/Mackenzie+Meadows+as+Maureen+and+ensemble+in+Rent%2C+directed+by+Zi+Alikhan%2C+photographed+by+Evan+Zimmerman.jpg?fjkss=exp=2040585555~hmac=64261f597f375ac75e08686ad9c19bb999b08656433606dea65458cb3cd45ab9)