Nicole Snelson was 19 and just getting started in theater when "Rent" hit Broadway.

She said she was instantly a fan.

"I was right in that age pocket of the people who were speaking," said Snelson, talking on a cell phone from Palm Beach, Fla., as she made her way to a matinee.

"It really just speaks to everyone. It transcends - people losing people, people choosing love above other things in their lives.

"It was the first show in a while with music that I'd actually listen to."

Seven years later, Snelson is singing "Rent" author Jonathan Larson's music in one of the last shows he wrote, "tick, tick