Jason Robert Brown

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the American College Theater Festival, and I was honored to be asked to be the keynote entertainer at the Kennedy Center (in the same theater where I conducted the tour of The Bridges of Madison County). I knew I needed to bring along some major firepower for an event like this, so I asked my glorious Tony Award-winning friend Lindsay Mendez if she would come and sing some songs with me and the band. There is no performer in the world who communicates more directly and generously than Lindsay, and she can sing literallyRead More »

There is truly nothing more thrilling more me than stepping on to the stage of a historic theater and getting to add my own music to all the glorious sounds that preceded me. As I’ve now done for the past several years, I got to spend spring break in London, working with some incredible musicians and singers, and this time I was honored to present my show at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, a magical building that’s been hosting legends of the British theatre world since 1821. Any trip to London is an opportunity to sing with the sensational Rachel Tucker,Read More »

A wonderful return to St. Louis after four years, to play at the beautiful Grandel in front of an amazing audience (including Broadway legend and STL native Ken Page!) – and featuring a great opening act courtesy of the St. Louis Cabaret Conference, three sensational young singers: Haley Driver, Isaac Williams and London Kimble (with Carol Schmidt killing it on the keys). Thanks to Colin O’Brien and Tim Schall for putting together a great night. I can’t wait to come back again soon! (Also, big ups to M. J. Pack for telling me to go to Fountain on Locus forRead More »

Here’s how it works: At about four in the afternoon on a relentlessly rainy late winter day, your doorbell rings and you open the front door so your dog can jump on whoever has just arrived, which means your overeager goldendoodle is now clambering all over one of the First Ladies of the American Musical Theatre, the glamorous, glorious, glowing Lillias White, who has come to your apartment so she can learn (among other things) the song you wrote for her nine years ago that she’s never even heard until now. And there you are with one of the greatestRead More »

What do you do when a last-minute schedule change means your featured guest star suddenly cancels her appearance? If you’re me, you take to Twitter, ask your followers who they would be most excited to see, and end up with three stupendous stars on the rise who bring so much joy and warmth to the stage that it felt like Valentine’s Day came three days early. The ebullient Bonnie Milligan, fresh from her starring role in last summer’s Go-Go’s extravaganza Head Over Heels, gave us miles of sassiness and her glorious belt, and then transformed (with the help of ourRead More »