The line will start forming at the Nederlander Theatre long before 2 PM April 27 for the special box office offer of $20 tickets to the April 29, fifth-anniversary performance of Rent, but 2 PM is when sales begin.

Expect diehard Rent-heads to be out in full force, well in advance of the afternoon.

The producers of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway rock opera announced the special offer April 13. The cash-only sales offer is good for every seat in the house, a spokesman said. There is a limit of two per customer. If you previously bought a full- price ticket to the Sunday evening performances, you may inquire at the box office about a partial refund.

There are no phone sales for this performance. The Nederlander Theatre is at 208 West 41st Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

* The special rate continues a commitment from Rent's producers to allow those who may not be able to afford Broadway prices a chance to see the show. When Rent opened in 1996, the producers reserved the best seats in the house — the first two rows — for "rush" seats at $20 a pop. Fans lined up overnight to purchase the tickets, helping to make the policy a success that continues today (the policy was also offered in the national tour and international stagings).

The gritty La Boheme-inspired musical, about artists struggling to have their voices heard in a time of financial temptation and plague, won the Best Musical Tony Award and earned late composer-lyricist librettist Jonathan Larson a posthumous Tony for Best Score. Michael Greif directed. It played a sold out run Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop prior to Broadway. Just before the first performance of the Off-Broadway run, Larson died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm.

Rent is now the 19th longest running show in Broadway history. In August it moves into 18th place, surpassing Oklahoma!

— By Kenneth Jones