It's not a musical. It's a movement.
It's RENT -- the seductive and explosive, sex, drugs and rock-and-roll anomaly of a Broadway show that, after almost six years, still has fanatics dancing the Tango Maureen, jumping over the moon and finding their way to Santa Fe.

I have no shame in confessing that I am one of "those" fans. I am a RENThead.

RENThead-ness stems not just from how often you have seen the play, but from RENT's overwhelming presence in your everyday life.

Here are some tips from a pro to help you slip into your own season of love for RENT:

Trek up to the Big Apple to see RENT at its Broadway home, the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street.

Seeing the touring company of RENT is like reading the Cliffs Notes for Macbeth. You get a sip of the excitement, but you don't feel the buzz of watching seasoned performers belt out their bohemian hearts on the stage where it all started.

RENT is accessible to all theatergoers, not just those with cash to spare. Two hours before each Broadway performance, 34 $20 rush tickets are sold by lottery in front of the Nederlander.

These graciously affordable tickets for the first two rows of the orchestra are much-desired commodities, so expect to shuffle around for hours in a swarming line of fans humorously arguing, "Oh yeah, well I'VE seen RENT 17 more times than you, and I once touched Anthony Rapp's sleeve.

"Rush tickets are also available for touring company performances.

Learn it, love it, live it. Then buy another copy once yours dies from a few too many years of living in your Discman.

The original Broadway cast recording is a double disc that features dialogue excerpts and an insert boasting gaudy pictures and the complete lyrics. If you plan on becoming a true RENThead, don't bother to buy the highlights album, which is a fine introduction, but pitifully lacks some RENT standards like the moo-ving "Over the Moon" and the glorious "Your Eyes."

RENT, like every other commercially successful artwork, features a jaw-dropping array of merchandise.

There are characteristic sell-out items like T-shirts, posters and hats, but other items like scarves, candles, karaoke albums and stuffed cows standout as must-buys.

Do your homework with the aid of some of the Net's hundreds of RENT-centric Web sites.

Start out with the life history of Jonathan Larson and continue with the names and current whereabouts of the original Broadway cast. Move on to the stats on the current B-way cast, and then finish with a study of the touring cast companies.

Take extra time to drool over Manley Pope pictures.

Sure, you could dress up as your favorite RENT character for Halloween, or you could simply let RENT invade your wardrobe as it has undoubtedly infected the rest of your life.

Go for Mark's emo-boy look of a striped sweater and Buddy Holly glasses or Roger's bad-boy attire of skin-tight, plaid pants, combat boots and a Fender guitar. Those who want to show off their curves may gravitate to Maureen's black, vinyl cat suit or Mimi's sprayed-on, metallic-blue hot pants.

By now, you'll be responding to most mundane questions and comments with straight-from-RENT quotes. "How old are you?... I'm 19, but I'm old for my age." "Oh, hi... Oh, hi after seven months?" "What'd you forget?... Got a light?"

"AZT break!" "Wine and beer!" "I'm illin'!" "Kiss, pookie!" And most importantly: "No day but today."