TheHourlyRage
New York City.
Centre of the universe. Where dreams are created just as easily- well, for the most part- as they are destroyed. The city of love. The city that never sleeps.
New York City- epicentre of the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
Cut to 1989, down in the East Village- home of junkies, punks, queers, thugs, "self-righteous" artists, and love-struck amateur filmmaker Michael (Mikey, he insists) Cohen. His roommate, Frank Iero- struggling musician and former addict- finds himself HIV-positive when his girlfriend leaves him a suicide note before slitting her wrists in the bathtub reading, "We've got AIDS."
The third member of their group, Ray Toro- their former roommate and HIV-positive computer genius- meets and finds love with drag-queen and street-performer Victor (Vic) Vincent Fuentes, a fellow HIV-positive comrade.
Split-screen to Mikey's former lover, Lindsey Ballato- free-spirit, freelance artist, and newfound, self-proclaimed lesbian- and her girlfriend, Hayley. Lindsey's girlfriend, Hayley Williams, is a Harvard educated public-interest lawyer who manages Lindsey's work and would do anything to keep her happy- even if it means sacrificing her sanity for Lindsey's unrelenting absurdity and unforgiving immaturity.
Pan to Bob Bryar- former member of Frank, Mikey, and Ray's trio, former anarchist, and former punk- who is now the group's landlord after marrying rich-girl Courtney Love on the basis of making some cash, and is the polar opposite of everything the group stands for.
Cheat to 19-year-old Gerard ("They call me Gee") Way- HIV-positive heroin addict, transvestite, and S&M dancer at the Cat Scratch Club, who has eyes for one man only: Frank Iero.
For 525,600 minutes, Mikey struggles to capture a year in the life of the Bohemian group- a year filled with love, loss, heartbreak, and most notably, AIDS.
(NOTE: Entire plot based on the 1996 Tony Award-winning musical Rent, by Jonathan Larson.)