The second act of the musical "Rent" opens with a question sung by the cast: "How do you measure a year in the life?"

It's a question that haunts the entire musical, as its characters look, in various ways, for answers. What is precious? What does it mean to be mortal? How do you measure "525,600 minutes... In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee."

Company Carolina's co-producers, Stephanie Waaser and Sarah Sheppard, in collaboration with director Jordi Coats, will bring Jonathan Larson's award-winning Broadway musical to Forest Theater on the UNC campus this weekend and next.

Company Carolina is a campus theater company entirely run by students and unaffiliated with any department.

Last spring, Coats began searching for a show for the company's fall production. Larson's rock musical, whose characters deal with issues including homelessness, AIDS and drug use, did not spring immediately to mind.

"Before I started working on 'Rent' I was not a big fan," said Coats, a dramatic arts and women's studies double-major.

But in spending some time with Larson's musical, Coats felt a connection to the cast of characters, who are flawed but deeply human, and relatable to a college audience.

"'Rent' is about us," Coats said. "By 'us' I mean, this is our generation, or perhaps the generation just before us... This show seemed more relevant now than any other time I've looked at it."

Sitting down with her actors to do character work two months before rehearsals began, Coats asked them what they related to in the show.

"Everyone noted how the characters in the show make up a pseudo-family," Coast said. "Essentially they are friends taking care of each other."

During two months of rehearsals, the cast of 18 undergraduates have come to do the same.

"I had hoped that by doing a show that has such a strong focus on love and community, my cast would bond tighter than any I've ever worked with," Coats said. "And that is exactly what happened."

"Rent" unapologetically dives into the undertow of poverty, life, death, AIDS, love, despair, sexuality, homelessness and friendship. Regardless of which of those issues have touched the lives of the cast and crew of Company Carolina, Wasser said the musical's themes are universal.

"Who hasn't had loss, known love and struggled to find where they socially fit in?" said Wasser, a biology major who is passionate about dramatic arts.

The musical's socially charged subjects might make it a tough sell in some places. But Coats said UNC is the perfect location for the show.

"In my hometown this would be a problem," said Coats, who comes from eastern North Carolina. "But not at a liberal arts school and definitely not at UNC."

Choosing a controversial and well known musical is a part of the company's plan to reinvent itself.

"We've been in a slump for four to five years," said Sheppard, a journalism and political science major. "Our goal is for 'Rent' to put us back on the map, and let people know about this small student theater organization that is the only one at Carolina based on a professional theater model."

Staging a nighttime production outdoors during November is a bit of a risk. But the company is confident that what happens on the stage will be compelling enough to make audiences glad they came, regardless of what the weather may do.

"You can't move a show once you have the lights, instruments and props set up," Sheppard said. "Company Carolina has done many shows outside before, and in my experience the commitment of the cast members is what matters most. If they can go out and deal with the weather, the show will be fine."

The economic crisis has added a new level of relevance to the story, Coats said.

"The economic standing of the characters -- some homeless, others jobless -- is like the economic standing of our country," she said. "I think people will connect to that."

"Rent" touches upon themes the cast and company have found personal, whether it's a lesbian relationship on the rocks, a transvestite street drummer dying of AIDS or a group of young anarchists creating a family based on love. There is story here for everyone who's open to the message -- because how do you really measure a life?