Jonathan Larson

Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals Rent and Tick, Tick... Boom!, which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, substance use disorder, and homophobia. Larson had worked on both musicals throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s. After several years of workshopping, Rent began an off-Broadway run in early 1996, though Larson died from an aortic dissection the day before its first preview performance.