Larson was just 31-years-old when he produced his second show, Tick, Tick… Boom! The semi-autobiographical piece showcased the writer talking about his feelings of rejection after his first piece, Superbia, was denied creation. The show has now been adapted into a Netflix musical of the same name. Just a few years later, in 1993, Larson produced a musical update of La Boheme, titled Rent. On the day before Rent’s preview performance, Larson died.

How did Jonathan Larson die?

Jonathan Larson died after suffering an aortic dissection.

An aortic dissection is described as an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta that forces the layers of the aortic wall apart.

The star’s fatal ailment was thought to have been caused by an undiagnosed Marfan Syndrome.

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Larson died at his home in the early hours of January 25, 1996.

He reportedly complained of suffering chest pains, dizziness and shortness of breath for several days before his death. He was mistakenly diagnosed with flu or stress.

Medical examiners later determined that if Larson’s aortic dissection had been diagnosed and treated he would have lived.

The star was just ten days away from his 36th birthday.

Rent went through three years of collaborative editing and production, so it had never been seen in public before his death.

The day after Larson’s death the first preview performance of Rent went ahead in his honour Off-Broadway.

The writer’s parents gave their blessing to open the show.

Rent’s cast agreed to premiere the show by simply singing through it, rather than acting it.

However, by the time the cast got to their high-energy rendition of La Vie Boheme, they could not stand still anymore and performed the rest of the show as it was intended.

At the end of Rent’s first-ever performance, there was an extremely long standing ovation.

What followed was a long silence in honour of Larson, which was eventually broken by someone shouting: “Thank you, Jonathan Larson.”

Larson was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score – as well as a slew of other awards.

Rent played on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre from April 1996 to September 7, 2008.

The rock show is the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history.

It has also toured throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, China, Singapore, Philippines, Mexico, Germany, Poland, and throughout Europe.

Tick, Tick… Boom! is in cinemas now, and hits Netflix Friday, November 19.