Jason Robert Brown

Since the dawn of time, Man has told tales of horror and devastation. Perhaps they serve as a warning. Perhaps they draw a community together. Or maybe people just have a collective need to scream in terror. I know this: these stories are borne of our deepest fears, our most devastating shames and humiliations. This is my story. It is all true. Horribly true. In order to tell this story, I have to hide someone’s identity. He was my best friend back then. I myself have shown a surprising willingness over the years to demonstrate and recount my own stupidity,Read More »

There is a notation in my work diary for June 15, 1999: “Duet Project (Untitled) – first song ‘Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You’” which marked the beginning of my work on what would become The Last Five Years. “Still Hurting” was written on July 7 of that year, according to my notes, and it must have been somewhere around there when I called Jessica Molaskey and asked her to come over and sing through some stuff with me. Jessica had appeared in the original cast of Songs for a New World and then joined Parade, becoming both oneRead More »

I first met Dan Sklar in 1992 when he was an intern at the Goodspeed Opera House and I was there orchestrating “John and Jen.” Both of our lives have changed considerably in the past twenty years; Dan is now the new cantor at Temple Israel in Westport, and he invited me up to do a Friday night concert and meet his congregation. The weirdest part was Dan asking me to sit in with him for the Shabbat service. I grew up in a Conservative shul, where playing instruments was forbidden and the entire service was spoken in Hebrew. Dan’sRead More »

A lovely early autumn night in Santa Rosa, with the amazingly talented kids from the Roustabout Theatre Apprentice Program finishing the evening. Any night I get to sing with Amy Ryder is a good night by me. Thanks to Clark Lewis Jr. and Bill Davis and the whole Roustabout family for having us back; it is always a joy to come up north and sing with you all. It All Fades Away I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You Long Long Road And I Will Follow (Amy Ryder) One More Thing Than I Can Handle (Amy Ryder) AnotherRead More »