Jason Robert Brown

My editor at Hal Leonard, the estimable Rick Walters, called me in 2010 with the idea that we should do a book-and-CD folio of me playing accompaniments to my own songs, with a male and female edition. I thought it was a fantastic idea, and now it’s finally out in the world! Here’s the great news: If you’ve already got the sheet music, you can purchase the tracks (individually or collectively) on iTunes. And if you don’t have the sheet music, you can get any individual song on SheetMusicDirect.com, or you can order the book-and-CD package from Amazon or atRead More »

I’ve always sort of liked the Drama Desk Awards. Over the years, I’ve appreciated that they really did try to be inclusive of a wide swath of New York theater, not just big-money Broadway shows, and they made interesting choices that no one predicted but that I generally agreed with. (I have won several Drama Desk Awards, so I suppose that partly explains my affection, but let’s not be cynics!) Sure, there were the usual crazy nominations, the standard politicking nonsense, and yes, most of the awards actually did go to Broadway shows even if several off-Broadway ones were nominatedRead More »

Tony Award-winning composer JASON ROBERT BROWN & Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and librettist MARSHA NORMAN will be teaching a Musical Theater Writing Bootcamp, July 18-29, 2012. Open to bookwriters, lyricists and composers. Here’s the information about the class: All students will be assigned partners, or may apply with their current partner. Some classes will be conducted jointly with Jason and Marsha, some separately. We will be creating new work, not working on previously existing pieces. We will also be determining what makes a good subject for a musical, and seeing how structure functions to keep the show moving along. Composers andRead More »

An unbelievable night with Anika, who was even more brilliant than ever, and a fantastic band in the gorgeous Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Sold out with almost 600 people there to sing along and dance in the aisles, which they didn’t do because they were so busy paying attention but totally could have if they wanted to. (Also, we were very fortunate to have Ms. Georgia Stitt and my utterly attention-grabbing six-year-old in the audience, which made it a very special night for me.) ACT ONE Low Morals and High Prices (excerpt from TrumpetRead More »