Online Editor's Note: The print version of this story mistakenly listed the last performance of "Rent" as being in October. This online version has been corrected to fix the error.

It is impossible to predict what people will react to. Many books and movies either get awful reviews or people are never aware of them.

You have to be brave to put yourself out there and create something from scratch. When you think about the millions of works of art created, the thought of being remembered can seem almost impossible. But if the world is lucky, you set out and do it anyway.

Jonathan Larson was 29 when he started creating a Broadway show based on the opera “La Boheme.” He wrote the music and put together a storyline that was destined to break down barriers and define a generation.

In 1996, after seven years of work , his story was ready to open in an off-Broadway workshop. The cast and crew put the show together on practically nothing; the costumes were sometimes just what the actors had worn to the dress rehearsal.

They had no money and no reputation — and tragedy struck the day before opening.

Larson, the inspiration behind the production, died of an aneurysm. The opening was delayed to present a show for his family and friends. Despite the cast and crew’s sadness, the show, called “Rent,” had to go on.

The workshop opened to rave reviews and was repeatedly extended until the performers were finally offered a spot on the main theater street that is Broadway — in a dilapidated theater called the Nederlander .

The show ran on Broadway for over a decade. Finally, a few months ago, it was announced that “Rent’s” last performace would be in June. There was outcry at the news: Ticket sales skyrocketed, fans petitioned and started signing the walls outside the theater begging “Rent” to continue. As a result, the show’s run was extended so that the curtain will fall in September.

Before Larson started writing melodies to “Rent’s” “One Song Glory,” Trey Ellett was preparing himself for the show’s title role.

After growing up in Roanoke and graduating from Patrick Henry High School, the actor, now 37, would find himself starring on Broadway as one of “Rent’s” main characters. His first night on Broadway was also his 30th birthday.

“I guess I first caught the 'bug’ when I did a show of 'Peter Pan’ at Mill Mountain Theatre ,” he said. “I had already been in a show at James Madison [Middle School], but this was the first time I had been around real actors.”

As he thinks about his first roles in theater, he laughs and hesitates, trying to make sure he remembers everything correctly. All he can really remember is that after watching the union actors, he knew that was what he wanted to do.

“I just thought they were so cool. I said to myself, 'Well, this is how it’s going to be.’”

Many times, actors and actresses talk about how they lucked out, got that one great role and just like that, they were famous.

This was not the case with Ellett.

“New York was,” he pauses, searching for a polite word. “Well, New York was hard. I didn’t get very many jobs. Then one day, I was looking through the newspaper and I saw a picture of Anthony Rapp , who was the original Mark in 'Rent,’ and I just knew. I saw that picture and I knew that Mark Cohen was the role I was meant to play.”

After that, Ellett just kept trying. For a year, he auditioned for several different people at several different companies, and every time, they told him, “No.”

His persistence paid off. He was cast as Mark in the national touring production of “Rent” for two years. That role led him to his wish: playing Mark Cohen on Broadway for two years starting in May 2000.

It might be an understatement to say that Mark is the least controversial character in “Rent.” He is the only character who doesn’t have a direct message to send through illness or sexuality, but his character may be the one who teaches theater goers the most. He is the normal one, the one who, after all the chips have fallen, might be the only one still standing to pick up the pieces. He was real, and many people related to him.

“He was perfect for me,” Ellett said . “I have a very specific look, somewhere between leading man and goofy best friend. Mark had that, too.”

When it opened on Broadway in 1996, “Rent” pushed the envelope. Four of the show’s main characters are homosexual, and four other central characters have AIDS. Prior to that time , the AIDS epidemic was not as spoken of as often as it is today. Ellett feels the musical’s honesty drew people to it.

“Once the curtain goes down and the lights go off, all bets are off,” Ellett said. “You can’t escape truth like that.”

“Rent” may have been shocking to some who saw it, but many also listened. The play exposed many issues that society couldn’t hide from anymore.

For 12 years, the show educated the world on the true condition of Alphabet City, and perhaps opened doors to new ways of thought. Who’s to say that we would have “Will and Grace” or “Spring Awakening,” if it weren’t for “Rent”? Without it , would we have as much AIDS awareness?

Because of “Rent,” there are cast members out after every Broadway show collecting money for an organization called Broadway Cares, which provides relief for people with HIV and AIDS.

For some, “Rent” was a revolution. The show might be ending, but for some, it will never truly be over.

“You can’t explain it,” Ellett said when asked about the show’s ever-expanding fan base. “It’s a really beautiful thing. Something about the show spoke to people, and kept bringing them back.

“I can’t describe how I felt when I heard that 'Rent’ was being extended,” he said. “I guess I wasn’t really surprised. The play means too much to people to have it end that abruptly.”

For some, the play’s spirit won’t die just because the curtain goes down. In a way, it can’t. To some degree “Rent” has become more than the music, more than a show, or even more than the message. It’s an entire generation.