Anyone who saw Rent in its original incarnation at the New York Theatre Workshop will no doubt be discomfited to see that it has now become a theatrical brand. Just three years after it closed on Broadway after a twelve-- year run, it has returned in a fresh production at the New World Stages, that subterranean theatrical venue where dead or dying Main Stem shows go to be reborn.

The revival, its producers have freely admitted, is born less of creative than financial reasons. Although some of its technical elements have been rejiggered and a fresh young cast has been assembled, this is essentially the same show that existed before, with original director Michael Greif once again holding the reins.

As a purely commercial venture, it’s likely to succeed. Rent was a touchstone for a certain generation when it premiered in 1996, and a new younger audience seems prepared to embrace it as well. Its milieu of a rundown, drug-ridden East Village has largely been obliterated by gentrification—even at its premiere the work had a nostalgic tinge. By now, its setting is probably as exotic to younger audiences as the 19th century Paris of its inspiration, La Boheme.

This tale of a ragtag group of artists dealing with poverty, drug addiction and AIDS, among other things, was always hampered by its rather unwieldy book and scattershot characterizations. What made it work originally--besides the emotional impact of creator Jonathan Larson’s sudden death the night before the first preview—was the truly exciting rock music score and the pitch-perfect performances by a largely unknown cast, many of whom would go on to stardom.

Larson’s score, performed here as it was before by a five-piece band, is still a powerhouse, but its impact is somewhat lessened by muddy acoustics that often render the lyrics incomprehensible. But it doesn’t seem to matter to its viewers, who lustily cheered when they heard the familiar opening notes of the show’s anthem, “Seasons of Love.”

The young ensemble, competing with the memories of such breakout stars from the original as Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Jesse L. Martin, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Anthony Rapp (most of whose performances were preserved in the ill-fated 2005 film version), certainly bring raw energy to the proceedings. Sadly, they mostly pale in comparison to their predecessors: the exceptions are Adam Chanler-Berat, whose eerie resemblance to Larson (accentuated by a similar haircut), brings an emotional frisson to his turn as the filmmaker Mark; and Annaleigh Ashford, whose giddy exuberance as the performance artist Maureen is an interesting contrast with Menzel’s more acerbic interpretation.

Rent fanatics will notice that the once largely open set design has been replaced by one divided into smaller configurations that more evocatively convey the cramped apartments of the East Village, and that the lighting and choreography are altered, to not much different effect.

It was probably silly to hope that a fresh approach would have been applied to a clearly successful concept. But it’s also a shame that this Rent feels like more of a museum piece than the wonderfully vital revival of Hair that is currently competing for those nostalgia dollars.

New World Stages 340 W.50th St. 212-239-6200. www.telecharge.com.