This past weekend, I went with my wife, my elder daughter, and her boyfriend to see a local production of Rent, the winner of the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical. The show is based on Puccini’s La Bohème, and it tells the story of a group of young adults who live on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, facing life with the threat of HIV/AIDS all around them.

This particular show, part of the young adult theater series of our local, quite excellent Footlite Musicals, was well-done and energetic to the max. The production happened to be directed by the drama coach from my daughter’s high school (but believe me, we ain’t talking High School Musical writ local, here: this was the real deal), and the female romantic lead graduated from that school a year ahead of my daughter. In the chorus were three of her…