Before all the Tony Awards . . .

Before the Pulitzer Prize . . .

Before hundreds of fans began lining up daily at the Nederlander Theater on 41st Street to enter the raffle for tickets . . .

‘RENT’ Time: 7:30 p.m. Date: Tuesday through Thursday Place: Eisenhower Auditorium Tickets: $36 and $26 for general audience, $31 and $23 for students, $21 and $13 for Penn State University Park students, and $26 and $20 for children 12 and younger For tickets or information, contact the Arts Ticket Center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 814-863-0255 or visit www.cpa.psu.edu.

Before anyone knew of Mimi's candle or the Tango: Maureen . . .

There was a man with a vision. He never saw it come to life.

Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, lyrics and music to RENT, died on the evening of his show's final dress rehearsal. He was 35 years old. The irony of his death is realized in the story of RENT.

Today, nearly six years later, Larson's show sits proudly on Broadway and tours the world, with a loyal following and a timeless message.

Tuesday through Thursday, it comes to Penn State.

The touring company of RENT will bring three performances to Eisenhower Auditorium. Bridget Mohammed, 23, who plays Joanne, says she is excited to perform in a venue smaller than some that she's seen on tour.

"It's so important to see the show!" she says from her hotel room Tuesday morning. "We work so hard to get RENT's message to the people."

Inspired by Puccini's opera La Boheme, RENT's message is as modern as its score and storyline. The main characters are Mark and Roger, who share an industrial loft in New York City's East Village. Mark is struggling to find his identity through filmmaking, Roger, through songwriting.

Their struggles extend to their love lives -- Roger's girlfriend committed suicide just after discovering they both have AIDS. Mark's girlfriend, Maureen, just dumped him for another woman, Joanne.

We also meet Mark and Roger's friend and old roommate, Collins (full name: Tom Collins), and Collins' newfound love, Angel. Both Collins and Angel have AIDS. Then, there's Benny, who also used to live with Mark and Roger, but is now their landlord. Benny used to date Mimi, an exotic dancer who gets involved with Roger.

"All of us fall in love," Mohammed says. "I have been in love before and in the kind of relationship where a guy has just driven me crazy. You love them, but you just can't control yourself when you're around them. Love makes you stupid."

It helps that Mohammed has had such an experience, because this is just the kind of relationship Joanne and Maureen have in RENT.

Such an examination of relationships may be one reason why RENT has garnered such a passionate following.

"It's reality," Mohammed says of the show. RENT's associate costume designer Lisa Zinni, 32, who earned her master's in costume design from Penn State, agrees. She has come inside Bloomingdale's from the bustle of New York City to chat via cell phone about the production she's worked on since 1996.

Zinni calls RENT "a combination of fun and sensitivity. It's like the spirit of youth -- having all these problems, but not letting them get the best of you."

In fact, the RENT name is often accompanied by a tagline of some of its famous lyrics -- "no day but today." The show's spirit of living meets the spirit of its setting -- New York City.

Mohammed was born in Queens and grew up on the Upper East Side, where she says she "went to the park with my dog a lot," and she has since moved to Chelsea. But musical theater was not a big part of this Manhattanite's upbringing.

Instead, Mohammed was an avid tennis player until spinal surgery slowed her down. "It halted everything," she says. "But afterward I used to sit up in my room and just sing. It opened up a totally new door for me. I went from tennis player to singer. To actress."

Joanne is Mohammed's first stage role, and she is overjoyed with her work on the tour.

"I'm still having trouble believing I'm a part of all this," she says.

Larson set out to update musical theater with a show that puts a modern spin on the genre. The rock 'n' roll sound of his score has thrilled audiences since RENT premiered in 1996. But the modern feel of the music does not distract from what's behind it.

"The music is touching," Mohammed says. "It's just so real. There's a lot of feeling behind each word." Still, she is impressed by what sets RENT apart. "The music is unlike a lot of the musicals out there. There's an edge to it."

The music isn't the only one.

"What's cool about her," Zinni says of Mohammed, "is she's very friendly and very sweet, but she has an edge to her. It translates so well to the stage. Her energy and spunk as a person is doubled when she's on stage."

The RENT touring company currently runs about seven shows per week, Mohammed says, sometimes more. But performing never gets old, and neither does the show itself.

"It's always different, and that's something to look forward to," she says. "When I'm not on stage I'm singing the lyrics backstage."

Zinni's backstage influence on this particular RENT tour is crucial, as she is in charge of every piece of costuming the audience sees. People don't realize the work that goes into outfitting cast after cast of RENT actors, she says.

"People look at RENT and think the characters are wearing just street clothes," she says. "But so much work goes into making it look like just street clothes."

"Not everyone can pull off the signature blue pants!" Zinni jokes of the body type an actress must have to play Mimi, who wears the famed pants. The expensive blue fabric is ordered from Italy each time a new actress takes on Mimi's role.

The sum of RENT's story, music, look and message is a production that has changed Broadway and musical theater. And in a world post-Sept. 11, there is even more to appreciate.

"It's no day but today. Everyone is kind of in a slump right now. People need to smile, so they are depending on us in a new way," Mohammed says.

Zinni says Penn State is fortunate to have the tour come through. "I'm so happy that the joy of RENT and everything that it stands for gets to come to Happy Valley."

But at every show, on every tour, there is always the reminder of Jonathan Larson.

"We pray before each performance," Mohammed says. "We pray for him, we talk to him. Everything is a celebration for him. You never know when it's your last day on earth. It's just ironic that his play is about that. You have to live each day to the fullest."

No day but today.