Life Cafe Gives One Final Lease to Rent

A party was held Friday night at the Life Cafe in the East Village to celebrate the final weekend of production of Rent after 12 years on Broadway. Throughout most of the show's run, Life has avoided cashing in on its status as a setting for an epic scene in the first act of Rent. But with the play closing this year, the diner has begun selling memorabilia and displaying journals in which fans can memorialize how the play has touched them. The party Friday was held for die hard fans who won an online video contest with appearances made by some former cast members and Julie Larson, sister of Rent's late playwright, Jonathan Larson. The NY Times spoke to one fan there who has seen the show 119 times (in the front row every time), attributes it for his losing 150 pounds and told them, "Some people have religion. I have ‘Rent.’ ”