P.S. Jonathan Larson's Bohemian Notes

"Bohemia is dead"

Bohemia: it is a culture, a state of mind, and a place…or at least it was.

Is “Bohemia…dead,” as the landlord in Rent claims? Is Bohemia even possible anymore? The real Bohemia—as its own self-governing realm—crumbled long ago. It was a kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire and survived as part of the Hapsburg empire. Today, Bohemia is subsumed within the Czech Republic.

The idea of a “bohemian” lifestyle comes from mid-nineteenth-century France, when it referred to the Romani people, believed to have come from Bohemia. Almost immediately, the term applied to artists and others living unconventional lifestyles. This is the meaning Puccini uses in his opera La Bohème. And it continues to hold its allure for creatives. A friend once described my Brooklyn apartment as “bohemian”—I couldn’t think of a better compliment.

Jonathan Larson tried to live a life of bohemian ideals. So did his friends, on whom he based Rent. Underneath a definition of “art,” Larson defines a “Bohemian” as an

Artist who disregards conventional standards of behavior—

different from those expected.

Larson Papers, Library of Congress, Box 12, Folder 2

But, could bohemians exist at the end of the millennium? Can they exist today? Rent asks these questions over and over again—no where as clearly as in “La Vie Bohème” — the clear winner of Monday’s poll.

So join me on an exploration of Larson’s thought-provoking notes for “La Vie Bohème.”

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