Jason Robert Brown

I arrived at the Library of Congress building at 11 am for a video interview (which will become part of the permanent collection), and Mark Eden Horowitz, the chief archivist in charge of the Musical Theatre collections, had laid out some treasures from the archives. Here was a sketch from West Side Story in Bernstein’s own hand, with some bizarre unused lyrics about a bullfight; here was Hammerstein’s drafts of “My Favorite Things,” showing the evolution of the song over several days of scribbles on a legal pad; here was a manuscript of Beethoven’s – Beethoven! – with crossouts, coffeeRead More »

I woke up on November 9 as though into some dystopian thriller. I stared at the headline in the New York Times and felt woozy, like my drink had been spiked. There was a way that Election Night was supposed to go, and then there was the nightmare that ensued. Like many other New Yorkers, I was virtually catatonic, mute with rage and confusion and deep sadness. While I pondered my breakfast with total disinterest, I remembered that I had agreed to be Kristin Chenoweth’s guest that night at her Broadway concert, A Love Letter To Broadway. Nothing seemed moreRead More »

HOPE Music and lyric by Jason Robert Brown Sheet music available on SheetMusicDirect.com. I come to sing a song about hope. I’m not inspired much right now, but even so, I came out here to sing a song. So here I go. I guess I think That if I tinker long enough, one might appear. And look! It’s here. One verse is done. The work’s begun. I come to sing a song about hope. In spite of everything ridiculous and sad, Though I’m beyond belief depressed, confused and mad, Well – I got dressed. I underestimated how much that wouldRead More »

Because everything else notwithstanding, this is the reason I must vote for the Democratic party. I will remember their names and I will sing them to a safer place. I’m sorry if I mispronounced anything. Twenty-Six Names Charlotte Bacon, 6 Daniel Barden, 7 Olivia Engel, 6 Josephine Gay, 7 Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6 Dylan Hockley, 6 Madeleine F. Hsu, 6 Catherine V. Hubbard, 6 Chase Kowalski, 7 Jesse Lewis, 6 James Mattioli, 6 Grace McDonnell, 7 Emilie Parker, 6 Jack Pinto, 6 Noah Pozner, 6 Caroline Previdi, 6 Jessica Rekos, 6 Avielle Richman, 6 Benjamin Wheeler, 6 Allison N. Wyatt,Read More »

One of the unexpected blessings of having written The Bridges of Madison County is my relationship to the theater community of Des Moines. I’ve met folks at all of the local theater companies, and thanks to Jeff Chelesvig and the gang at Des Moines Performing Arts, I’ve been able to make a lot of great music – conducting the Des Moines Symphony at Yankee Doodle Pops with 100,000 people in the crowd; leading the pit orchestra for two glorious weeks when Bridges opened its national tour at the Civic Center; and now three concerts in the beautiful Temple Theater. EveryRead More »