HAVING already left an indelible mark on this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival with two remarkable but very different shows, New York composer Jason Robert Brown once again delivered the goods to bring this year’s event to a rousing finale. Unlike his complete shows Songs for a New World and The Last Five Years, the closingRead More »

Tomorrow at Belmont Park, a horse named Supervisor will line up for the Belmont Stakes. At odds of 50 to 1, he is almost certain to trot home a loser.  Jason Robert Brown knows how he feels.  On Sunday, Mr. Brown’s name will be announced at Radio City Music Hall as one of the 30Read More »

An essay that JRB contributed to the souvenir program of the Kennedy Center Celebration of Stephen Sondheim, June 2002. To be an aspiring writer for the musical theatre is to worship regularly at the Church of Steve.  Some of us wear our affiliation more overtly than others, and some of us are more strict inRead More »

A FUNNY thing happened to the modern musical on its way to the theater: it became serious – boy usually doesn’t get girl anymore – and the endings are not always neat and tidy. Has musical theater changed in any lasting way? Must an audience always leave a show humming?  The creators and directors of twoRead More »

Jason Robert Brown is arguably the best of America’s bright new musical theatre composers. His talents can currently be seen at the Bridewell Theatre, who present the European premiere of his first show, Songs for a New World‚ until 15 September. What was the motivation for writing Songs for a New World? SFANW didn’t startRead More »