*ESPECIALLY FOR MUSICAL THEATER / POP CULTURE JUNKIES*

I just watched “Rent” the other night on DVD. I very much enjoyed the film, but something about the opening scene and thematic elements seemed eerily familiar to me…

And then it hit me. It’s “Friends.”

Seriously, think about it — you’ve got a number of friends all living/congregating in NYC lofts, dealing with complex inter-relationships with each other, and even an initial character whose girlfriend/wife left him for another woman…!?

Coincidence???

Who knows — I can’t find anything online about this theory, but I thought it was pretty interesting.

I originally speculated that the creators of “Friends” borrowed some of the concepts from the musical, but the first episode of “Friends” was aired on September 22, 1994 whereas Rent’s first dress rehearsal wasn’t until January 24, 1996, so maybe it’s the other way around…?

Maybe Jonathan Larson was a big fan of the TV show and wanted to bring in some of that Greenwich Village feel to his production… or maybe it’s really just coincidence.

Just seems a bit strange…

If you know anything about this, please leave a comment below!

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