"Light My Candle" from "Rent"

ROGER
What'd you forget?

MIMI

Got a light?

I know you, you're--

You're shivering

It's nothing

They turned off my heat

And I'm just a little weak

On my feet

Would you light

My candle?

What are you staring at?

Nothing

Your hair

In the moonlight

You look familiar

Can you make it?

Just haven't

Eaten much today

At least the room

Stopped spinning, anyway

What?

Nothing

Your smile reminded me of--

I always remind people of--

Who is she?

She died

Her name was April

It's out again

Sorry 'bout your friend

Would you light

My candle?

Well

Yeah

Ow!

Oh, the wax. It's--

Dripping

I like it between my--

Fingers

I figured

Oh, well, good night

It blew out again?

No, I think

That I dropped my stash

I know I've seen you

Out and about

When I used to go out

You're candle's out

I'm illin'

I had it

When I walked in the door

It was pure

Is it on the floor?

The floor?

They say that I have the best ass

Below 14th street

Is it true?

What?

You're staring again

Oh, no

I mean, you do

Have a nice--

I mean--

You look familiar

Like your dead girlfriend?

Only when you smile

But I'm sure I've seen

You somewhere else

Do you go

To the Cat Scratch Club?

That's where I work

I dance

Yes

They used to tie you up

It's a living

I didn't recognize you

Without the handcuffs

We could light

The candle

Oh, won't you light

The candle?

Why don't you forget

That stuff?

You look like you're 16

I'm 19

But I'm old for my age

I'm just born to be bad

I once was born to be bad

I used to shiver like that

I have no heat

I told you

I used to sweat

I got a cold

Uh-huh

I used to be a junkie

But now and then

I like to feel good

Oh, here it--

What's that?

Candy-bar wrapper

We could light

The candle

Oh, what'd you do

With my candle?

That was my last match

Our eyes'll adjust

Thank God for the moon

Maybe it's not the moon

At all

I hear Spike Lee's shootin'

Down the street

Bah humbug

Bah humbug

Cold hands

Yours too

Big

Like my father's

Do you wanna dance?

With you?

No, with my father

I'm Roger

They call me

They call me

Mimi

"What You Own" from "Rent"

MARK
Don't breathe too deep
Don't think all day
Dive into work
Drive the other way
That drip of hurt
That pint of shame
Goes away
Just play the game

You're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're living in America
Leave your conscience at the tone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millennium
You're what you own

ROGER

The filmmaker cannot see

And the songwriter cannot hear

Yet I see Mimi Everywhere

Angel's voice is in my ear

Just tighten those shoulders

Just clench your jaw till you frown

Just don't let go

BOTH

Or you may drown

You're living in America

At the end of the millennium

You're living in America

Where it's like the Twilight Zone

And when you're living in America

At the end of the millennium

You're what you own

So I own not a notion

I escape and ape content

I don't own emotion, I rent

What was it about that night

What was it about that night

Connection in an isolating age

For once, the shadows gave way to light

For once, the shadows gave way to light

For once, I didn't disengage

Angel, I hear you

Mimi, I see you

I hear it

I see it

I see it

I hear it

I see it

I hear it

My film

My song

Alexi? Mark

One song glory

Call me a hypocrite

Mimi

I need to finish my own film

Your eyes

I quit

Dying in America

At the end of the millennium

We're dying in America

To come into our own

And when you're dying in America

At the end of the millennium

You're not alone

I'm not alone

I'm not alone

"La Vie Boheme" from "Rent"

ANGEL
Who died?

BENNY
Our Akita.

ANGEL, ROGER
Evita.

BENNY
You make fun, yet I am the one
Attempting to do some good.
Or do you really want a neighborhood
Where people piss on your stoop every night?
Bohemia, Bohemia's
A fallacy in your head.
This is Calcutta;
Bohemia is dead.

MARK
Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbyes.

COLLINS, ROGER
Dies irae - dies illa, Kyrie eleison.
Yitgadal v'yitadash.

MARK
Here she lies, no one knew her worth.
The late, great daughter of Mother Earth.
On these nights when we
Celebrate the birth
In that little town on Bethlehem.
We raise our glass, you bet your ass to
La vie Boheme.

ALL
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme

MARK
To days of inspiration,
Playing hookey, making
Something out of nothing.
The need to express,
To communicate,
To going against the grain,
Going insane, going mad.
To loving tension, no pension.
To more than one dimension,
To starving for attention,
Hating convention, hating pretension.
Not to mention, of course,
Hating dear old Mom and Dad.
To riding your bike
Midday past the three-piece suits.
To fruits, to no absolutes,
To Absolut, to choice,
To the village voice,
To any passing fad,
To being an us for once, instead of a them!

ALL
La vie Boheme
La vie Boheme

MR. GREY
Ahem.

MAUREEN
Hey mister, she's my sister.

WAITER
So that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad,
Three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter,
And one pasta with meatless balls.

ROGER
Ew.

COLLINS
It tastes the same.

MIMI
If you close your eyes.

WAITER
And thirteen orders of fries.
Is that all here?

ALL
Wine and beer!

MIMI, ANGEL
To hand-crafted beers
Made in local breweries.
To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese.
To leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo,
To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou.

MAUREEN, COLLINS
Emotion, devotion, to causing a commontion.
Creation, vacation.

MARK
Mucho masturbation.

MAUREEN, COLLINS
Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new.

COLLINS
To Sontag.

ANGEL
To Sondheim.

FOUR GIRLS
To anything taboo.

COLLINS, ROGER
Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham, and Cage.

COLLINS
Lenny Bruce.

ROGER
Langston Hughes.

MAUREEN
To the stage.

BOHEMIANS
To Uta, to Buddha, Pablo Neruda, too.

MARK, MIMI
Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow
To blow off Auntie Em.

ALL
La vie Boheme

MR. GREY
Sisters?

MAUREEN, JOANNE
We're close.

ANGEL, COLLINS
Brothers!

MARK, ANGEL, MIMI
Bisexuals, trisexuals, homo sapiens,
Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men,
Pee Wee Herman.
German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein,
Antoniotti, Bertolucci, Kurosawa,
Camina Burana.

ALL
To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy.
Vaclav Havel, The Sex Pistols, 8BC.
To no shame, never playing the fame game.

COLLINS
To marijuana.

ALL
To sodomy, it's between God and me.
To S & M.

BENNY
Waiter, waiter, waiter, waiter!

ALL
La vie Boheme

COLLINS
In honor of the death of Bohemia, an impromptu salon will commence immediately following dinner.
Maureen Johnson, just back from her spectacular one-night engagement at the eleventh street lot, will perform Native American tribal chants backwards through her vocoder, while accompanying herself on the electric cello, which she has never studied.

ROGER
And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability to hold an erection on the high holy days.

MARK
And Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap, will perform her famous lawn chair handcuff dance to the sounds of iced tea being stirred.

BENNY
Your new boyfriend doesn't know about us.

MIMI
There's nothing to know.

BENNY
Don't you think that we should discuss-

MIMI
It was three months ago.

BENNY
He doesn't act like he's with you.

MIMI
We're taking it slow.

BENNY
Where is he now?

MIMI
He's right--Hmm, Where'd he go?

MARK
And Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song . . . that doesn't remind us of "Musetta's Waltz."

COLLINS
Angel Dumott Schunard will model the latest fall fashions from Paris while accompanying herself on the ten-gallon plastic pickle tub.

ANGEL
And Collins will recount his exploits as anarchist, including the tale of the successful reprogramming of the M.I.T. virtual reality equipment to self-destruct, as it broadcasts the words:

ALL
Actual reality. Act up. Fight AIDS.

MIMI
Excuse me, did I do something wrong?
I get invited, then ignored all night long.

ROGER
I've been trying. I'm not lying.
No one's perfect. I've got baggage.

MIMI
Life's too short, babe, time is flying.
I'm looking for baggage that does with mine.

ROGER
I should tell you.

MIMI
I got baggage, too.

ROGER
I should tell you.

ROGER, MIMI
Baggage.

ALL
Wine and beer!

MIMI
AZT break.

ROGER
You?

MIMI
Me. You?

ROGER
Mimi.

"Take Me Or Leave Me" from "Rent"

MAUREEN
Every single day,
I walk down the street
I hear people say 'baby so sweet'
Ever since puberty,
Everybody stares at me
Boys, girls, I can't help it baby
So be kind, and don't lose your mind
Just remember that I'm your baby

Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby,
Or leave me

Take me or leave me

A tiger in a cage
Can never see the sun
This diva needs her stage
Baby,lets have fun.
You are the one I choose
Folks would kill to fill your shoes
You love the lime light too, now baby,
So be mine and don't waste my time cryin'
'Honey bear are you still my, my, my baby?'

Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby or leave me

No way, can I be what I'm not
But hey, don't you want your girl hot?

Oh, don't fight, don't lose your head
'Cause every night who's in your bed?
Who?
Who's in your bed?
Kiss pookie

JOANNE
It won't work
I look before I leap
I love margins and discipline
I make list in my sleep baby
Whats my sin?
Never quit
I follow through
I hate mess but I love you
What do with my improptu baby?
So be wise 'cause this girl satisfies
You got a prize but don't compomise
Your one lucky baby

Take me for what I am

MAUREEN
A control freak

JOANNE
Who I was meant to be

MAUREEN
A snob yet over attentive

JOANNE
And if you give a damn

MAUREEN
A loveable droll geek

JOANNE
Take me baby or leave me

MAUREEN
An anal retentave

BOTH
Thats it

JOANNE
The straw that breaks my back

BOTH
I quit

JOANNE
Unless you take it back

BOTH
Women

MAUREEN
What is it about them?

BOTH
Can't live with them or without them

BOTH
Take me for what i am

JOANNE
Who i was meant to be

MAUREEN
Who i was meant to be
And if you give a damn

JOANNE
And if you give a damn then
Take me baby, or leave me

MAUREEN
Take me baby, take me or leave me

BOTH
Take me baby or leave me

BOTH
Guess i'm leaving, i'm gone!