In the short term, however, “Rent: School Edition” appears to be something of a cultural litmus test, with supporters and opponents of the play using its words and themes to battle. The New York producers of “Rent,” who receive some royalties from the school edition, said they hoped it would become a new, revenue-generating staple of the high school musical landscape, as well as a teaching tool that augments sex education and draws teenagers to acting and theater with a more modern production than, say, “The Music Man.” The 2008-9 school year is the first in which the school edition of “Rent” which was approved by the estate of Jonathan Larson, the “Rent” creator who died in 1996 has been available to high schools. In “Rent,” that song accompanies the death of Angel, a gay drag queen with AIDS in the high school version, his death unfolds in an earlier song. The main changes are the deletion of some profane dialogue and lyrics as well as a song, “Contact,” that is sexually explicit. None of these aspects have been altered for the high school version. positive some are drug addicts some are in recovery. “Rent,” which ran on Broadway for more than 12 years and in 1996 won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award, is based loosely on Puccini’s opera “La Bohème.” It centers on a group of artists, straight and gay, living in the East Village. At least three of the planned high school productions, in California, Texas and West Virginia, have been canceled after administrators or parents raised objections about the show’s morality, its portrayals of homosexuality and theft, and its frank discussions of drug use and H.I.V., according to administrators, teachers and parents involved in those cases.

Too provocative, in the view of some high school officials and parents. Theater directors and students at more than 40 high schools across the country have selected a new show for their big springtime musical this year: “Rent: School Edition,” a modified version of the hit Broadway musical that, while toned down a bit, remains provocative by traditional drama club standards.

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