Islanders Rebecca Marowitz and Sydney Thieme are featured in the CORE Theatrics summer production of “Rent the Musical.”

When it premiered in 1996 at the New York Theatre Workshop, Jonathan Larson’s “RENT” fortuitously coincided with the 100th anniversary of La bohéme, the renowned opera upon which “Rent” was based. But while Giacomo Puccini’s 19th century work portrays young Parisian bohemians dealing with landlords, love and tuberculosis. “Rent’s” cast of young disaffected artists and performers, philosophers and junkies, lovers and fighters hunger for love and creative fulfillment in the face of the fast-­approaching 21st American century, with the AIDS epidemic and the class struggle wracking New York City as a backdrop.

Performances of “Rent the Musical” are set for July 26-27 and August 2-4 at the Lake Washington High School Performing Arts Center, 12033 N.E. 80th St., in Kirkland. Tickets may be purchased online at www.coretheatrics.com/rentthemusical.htm. Group rates are available. The show is recommended for ages 16 and up.