Monthly Archives: May 2011
SING AN AMERICAN TUNE
5/18/11I have been so inspired by Paul Simon for my entire creative life, and never more so than now, when he’s got a spectacular new album, So Beautiful or So What, for which he’s been touring around the country with the most incredible band I’ve ever seen onstage in my life. So today, when I was trying out some new things in my studio (I finally upgraded GarageBand after five years), I decided to take a crack at one of Paul’s many masterpieces. It’s an honor to sing a song this beautiful. (This is one take with no fixes.) AmericanRead More »
JRB interview for Downstage Center now online!
5/11/11Downstage Center, a weekly theatrical interview program from the American Theatre Wing, presents Howard Sherman’s in-depth conversation with Jason Robert Brown, now online and downloadable at americantheatrewing.org/downstagecenter/detail/jason_robert_brown. Take a listen!
A LOVE LETTER TO A TERRIBLE SONG
5/10/11Among the many problems particular to musical theatre writers is the occasional need to write a song that the audience thinks is bad. Some moment in the script will call for a delusional hack or an over-the-hill ingenue to burst forth with what they think is a fantastic number, and we are immediately supposed to realize that it’s terrible. The problem is that the moment is not just about the song, it’s also about illuminating the character, and so the writers of the show must be very careful. It can’t just be a bad song; it also has to beRead More »