michael griefs rent

The Ironies of True Success January 21. The time is around 6:45
pm. Writer, composer Jonathan Larson was sitting in the very last few
rows listening as cast he had chosen for his "about to be" Broadway
musical, "Rent" went through one of the final dress rehearsals in The New
York Theater Workshop. He and the Director of "Rent"Michael Grief
began to sing one of the songs form the show when Larson began to feel
a pain in his chest. The pain worsened. Larson (being the compulsive
worrier and hypochondriac close friends and relatives knew him as)
turned to an actor and said,"You better call 911. Think I'm having a heart
attack." Lagon was rushed to the Emergency Room of New York's
Cabrini Medical Center. There, doctors gave him an ECG which showed
evidence of no heart problems or anything else for that matter. Symptoms
included pale and clammy skin shortness of breath. Larson's best friend,
Jonathan Burkhart noted, "You've breath as hard as he was breathing."
After a few more test were done, Larson was Diagnosed with food
poisoning. the doctor then proceeded to pump his stomach and send him
home with a prescription for Toradol, a potent painkiller, in hand.
January 22. Morning. Jonathan Larson telephones Cabrini Medical to
query the results of the tests taken the previous evening for food
poisoning. The employee on the other end of the line claimed no results
could be found but tried to assure Larson that if any thing serious had
been found he would have been notified immediately. The rest of the day,
Larson spent being nursed by Eddie Rosenstine. Evening. Brian
Carmody found his roommate in bed, short of breath and mumbling in a
low voice. The only food he could seemingly stomach was Jell-O and
some tapioca pudding. January 23. Afternoon. Jonathan called his
father in Albuquerque complaining of chest and lower back pains and a
small degree temperature. His father felt it was nothing serious.
Evenening. His condition worsens. The chest pains are again
excruciating. He decides to return to the hospital. Carmody again a
member of the staff says the hospital could not attain the records form

Larson's visit two days earlier. Instead, he is taken by way of cab to St.
Vincent's, a closer hospital. When he arrived, Larson rated his pain as
being seven out of a possible 10. A nurse classified his case as "urgent".
After some examination, he was told this was no more than a virus
(due to flu-like symptoms) and it would pass. January 25. It has
been a long, hard, nerve-racking day for Larson. He has just returned to
his downtown Manhattan apartment on Greenwich Avenue from the final
dress rehearsal before the preview of his On-Broadway musical "Rent".
Perhaps he was trying to relax with some nice, hot tea, or perhaps it was
just to heat up some remedy he had picked up from a stage hand in
passing through the cloud of hectic activity which consumed him that day.
Larson collapsed there, in front of the stove that day, dead, and was later
discovered by Mr. Carmody. Dead. After six years of obsessive toil and
obscurity, dead. One night before his life's dream was to be born into
reality. Dead. Before he could witness the utter awe of the sold out
audience to the opening night preview! Dead. Before he could see with
his eyes what he had watched in his head a million times already.
And what was the final cause of death you might ask? Was it a deadly
infection of ecoli? Possibly a rare virus ? Or mabey a combination of the
two. Like a virus introduced to him through food poisoning. The answer is
no. An undeniable no at that. The actual cause of death, aortic aneurysm
(a foot long tear in his aorta). New York State Health Commissioner
stated that it could have been treated with` a surgery which had a survival
rate of 80%. Ironies like these plagued and enchanted Larson's life,
almost as if they were part of a great big story the outcome of which, if
one could have only read it, could have been easily guessed.