KEENE, N.H. – (MyKeeneNow) It’s the season of love in Keene.

The Keene Lions Club is set to perform its second annual summer production, the classic rock musical, “Rent.” The sold-out show opens for three performances this Thursday, July 11, through Saturday, July 13 at Keene State College’s Redfern Arts Center. The Lions Club has hosted a large-scale annual musical in the winter since 1952.

Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play centered around a group of young artists struggling to live and work in Manhattan’s Lower East side under the shadow of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, debuted in 1996.

They navigate love, loss, addiction, and redemption, all while struggling to pay their bills and survive the bohemian life that they’ve carved out for themselves.

The show features an ensemble cast, focusing on the interweaving lives and stories of a group of friends rather than on a select individual.

“It’s very relationship-oriented,” says Natalia Chiume, who plays Mimi – a romantic lead whom she said “tries hard to live in the present moment” as she is HIV-positive at only 19.

“You get to see the dynamic between all these different characters and the care between these people” said Chiume, adding that being able to tell the stories of relationships as they authentically are and can be is “the coolest thing we get to do.”

Another main couple in the show’s narrative is between Joanne (Sally Regentine) and Maureen (Sarah Flower).

“Joanne is really interesting because she lies just a smidgen outside of the action. She’s an observer more than anything,” said Regentine. Joanna is a lawyer who loves life but finds herself in a state of constant anxiety”as she waits for things to go wrong, especially when it comes to her relationship with serial cheater, Maureen.

Flower said Maureen is the wild child of the group. “(She’s a) free spirit who lacks inhibition and carries joy with her throughout the entire show in a way most of the other characters don’t,” she said.

One of the most popular tunes from the show is this couple’s emotionally charged duet, “Take Me or Leave Me,” which takes place in the second act.

While Maureen may be the wild child, Angel (Noah Carmel) is the heart of the show, said Flower. Angel is an HIV-positive homeless drag queen who, despite her unfortunate circumstances encourages all the other characters in the show to live their authentic selves.

“It’s her goal at all times to bring love and positivity to the people around her,” said Carmel.

Cast members noted the community within this show is the most important part, and they feel lucky to have found a similarly tight-knit community within the Lions Club to bring this show to life in the most authentic way possible.

“Local theater is one of the most important things I’ve ever been a part of” says Chiume.

Carmel adds to this point: “There’s something really special about having a local community production of this show, because that’s what it’s really about. It’s about community.”

As “Rent” celebrates its 28th year on stages around the world, it’s not hard to understand why this show is so special and what has kept it in people’s hearts for so long.

“So much of it is timeless – the good and the bad,” Flower said. “It’s about finding joy in the little moments of everyday life and finding connection with anyone you pass on the street. It’s about finding the human in all of us.”