The new Incline Theater continues its quest for audiences seeking edgier shows than those presented at its sister theater, the Covedale Center. The Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent is a big, challenging work with strong subject matter — addiction, poverty and AIDS. But it’s also a love story inspired by the passionate artists in Puccini’s 19th-century opera, La Bohème. A community of young creative types struggles to survive on New York City’s Lower East Side while pursuing their artistic dreams. It’s an uphill battle, but the story and the songs (words and music by Jonathan Larson) are powerful.
Through Dec. 20. $23-$26. Warsaw Federal Incline Theater, 801 Matson Place, E. Price Hill, 513-241-6550, cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.
