The Family of Jonathan Larson ’82

As a writer and composer, Larson wanted to change the face of American musical theater. He wrote cabarets about controversial social issues that became the themes of his work: multiculturalism, addiction and homophobia. A generation later, his work continues to influence and inspire artists.

Born in White Plains, New York, Larson studied theater, acting and music at Adelphi. He graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. As an Adelphi student, he wrote and composed many of the Department of Theatre’s satirical cabarets and significant music and songs for productions.

Several years into his career, Larson wrote Superbia, a theatrical spin on George Orwell’s 1984. It earned him the Richard Rodgers Production Award and Development Grant, but the rock musical never received a full production, likely inspiring Larson’s next big work—the rock monologue tick, tick… BOOM! about a man approaching 30 and questioning his career choice in the performing arts. In 2021, Netflix released the film adaptation of tick, tick… BOOM!, which was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist and actor.

In the early 1990s, Larson began composing Rent, based on the Giacomo Puccini opera La bohème, but set in Manhattan’s East Village. The rock musical tells the story of young artists struggling to make ends meet as poverty, addiction and the AIDS epidemic loom over their community. Tragically, Larson passed away in 1996 at the age of 35 of an aortic aneurysm, the day before its first Off-Broadway performance. Rent went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, three Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, and three Obie Awards—for Outstanding Book, Lyrics and Music. It became the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history, closing in September 2008, 12 years after Larson’s death. It has toured the world and a film version was released in 2005.

His parents, the late Nanette and Allan Larson, stayed connected to Adelphi through enduring friendships with their son’s professors and former classmates. In August 2022, his sister, Julie Larson McCollum, as trustee of the Larson Family Trust, honored her parents’ wishes and created the Jonathan Larson Scholarship Endowment at Adelphi with a $1 million gift, which was matched dollar for dollar by the University. The $2 million Jonathan Larson Scholarship Endowment supports annual scholarships for students who study theater at Adelphi.

Since 2015, the University has celebrated the next generation of musical theater creators with the Larson Legacy Concert Series featuring performances by recipients of Jonathan Larson Grants from the American Theatre Wing.