fter more than 100 years in "development," you could say that Rent is due.

   In fact, the inspiration for Rent began in 1896, when Puccini wrote his operatic masterpiece La Bohème. A century later, young playwright Jonathan Larson completed his interpretation, a rock musical, about a group of struggling artists in New York City's East Village, coping with poverty, heartache and AIDS in the space of a year, or "525,600 minutes" as they sing in the memorable "Seasons Of Love."

  Tragically, the night before the musical's opening preview off-Broadway, Larson, just 35 years old, died suddenly of an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm. The young cast was shattered but the show went on, and has since become one of the longest-running plays in Broadway history.

  The idea of staging a movie version of Rent has been years in the making. But it was the success of Chicago that helped speed up the process.

  Despite early talk of casting pop stars Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, director Chris Columbus (Harry Potter) made the unusual decision to hire almost the entire original Broadway cast for the movie. "These actors embody something that is both rare and tragic," said Columbus. "They experienced Jonathan Larson's death just hours before the show's first preview. The complex emotions and intense feelings that resulted from this sad event helped fuel their performances for almost two years."

  Fans (RENTheads) and the cast alike applauded Columbus' decision. "The only way I would have said no was if I felt the film version was going to be some sort of bastardization of what we had done before. Within two minutes of talking with Chris, I knew that I had nothing to worry about," said Anthony Rapp (Road Trip) who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production.

  Newcomers to the cast are Rosario Dawson (Sin City) as Mimi Marquez and Broadway actress Tracie Thoms as Joanne Jefferson.

  For many of the cast members, Rent has proven to be a major career springboard. Jesse L. Martin (Tom Collins) and Taye Diggs (landlord Benny Coffin) have parlayed their stint onstage into television and film careers. Martin is best known for his role as Detective Ed Green on Law & Order, while Diggs played the bandleader in Chicago and landed his own TV series, Kevin Hill.

  As for Larson's family, they believe Rent's message of love and community is more relevant than ever. "We're excited that a wider audience and a new generation will have the opportunity to experience it."

- Tom Jokic