JRB takes a break

[BillFinn]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 1:41am

Scroll towards the bottom:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/01/23/writer_endured_through_last_five_years/

First Sondheim's Bounce fails. Then JRB moves to Italy. Is Bill Finn next?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 1:52am

I'm glad to hear it for JRB. Maybe in Italy he'll learn how to write music.

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:45am

NOOOOOO!!!!!! HIS ALBUM BETTER FRIGGIN BE OUT THIS YEAR! I'm in JRB denial!

[JakeB]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:54am

You have to ask, can he really afford to take such a gamble on not actively involving himself with writing where it's happening? It's hardly like he's Andrew Lloyd Webber where he can happily not work ever again. I hear he's openly bitter at the fact his shows are not financial winners.. though productions of his shows must bring in good license money.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 12:08pm

I think the problem with JRB is that none of his music is hum-able. The best stories in the world won't work if the audience can't leave the theater humming a song. If they didn't want to hum a song, they would go see a non-musical.

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 12:19pm

Honestly, for now I'll be happy with his new cd when that happens(hopefully soon). I got addicted to his cast albums before I ever saw a show of his. I mean I live in Canada so It's not exactly easy to check something that's new out. If he were to have a new show though, I would come down to NYC for it. Actually I'd probably go all the way to Italy for a new JRB show! While on a first viewing/listening it's not the most hummable stuff, his work his complete genious. I also hope that he releases some more sheet music soon!

[BillFinn]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 1:27pm

I seriously started to tear up when I read this. I hope it's just a break like he says and not early retirement. Maybe he'll divorce Georgia and write "The Next Five Years".

[krisjoseph]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 1:41pm

Gothampc, I simply don't agree with the assertion that his music is not hummable. Songwriters who write 'unhummable tunes' like "Stars and the Moon" don't have people all over the planet performing and recording those songs.

Musical theatre is not about leaving with a tune stuck in your head; it's about experiencing something in the theatre. The full range of human emotion is not expressed in humdrum A-B-A-B song structure and I-IV-V chord progressions. If your desire to experience musical theatre is mutually inclusive of your desire to leave with a song stuck in your head, then I'd like to suggest that the lofty emotional heights of Vegas casino shows may be where you'll find a permanent, pleasant home.

The aim of some forms of musical theatre may be (and should be)to entertain; it cannot be the aim of all... or of all art, for that matter. When we arrive at that sad place, we are stagnant as a culture.

Re: the article and JRB's "failures": I have never understood where this Broadway-centric attitude towards "success" comes from. Not every piece of theatre is best-suited to a New York crowd, in a theatre with 1200 seats. Rosie O'Donnell would do well to take this as a lesson.

In the article, JRB is referring specifically to his success on Broadway -- which is entirely different from his success, in general. He has a dedicated following, and his material is being licensed for production all over the world. Compared to a great many songwriters of his age, he's doing pretty well. He's got 50 years of music left in him: let him take his time.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 2:33pm

Gothampc - What do you mean "not hummable"? The Old Red Hills of Home, Pretty Music and It Don't Make Sense (as well as most of Parade) are very hummable. Not to mention Stars and the Moon and I'm Not Afraid of Anything are two very memorable songs from Song For a New World. I'm not as familiar with The Last Five Years, but I find his music very "hummable" and melodic. Maybe you're confusing him with Michael John LaChiusa? Or perhaps you're just not familiar with Brown's music or haven't given it much of a chance.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 3:01pm

I understand that individual people have different musical tastes - but I cannot understand how anyone can think Jason Robert Brown's melodies are not "hummable". What attracts me to his music - apart from the brilliant lyrics - is the incredible melodies. They are not SIMPLE melodies but they are beautiful nonetheless. Listen to "The Next Ten Minutes", "Stars And The Moon", "Letting You Go", "I'd Give It All For You", "Nobody Needs To Know", "The Old Red Hills of Home", "This Is Not Over Yet"......The list is endless. And "All The Wasted Time" is just about as stunning a melody as you will ever hear.

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 4:57pm

Man... reading this post was so much fun! Every song that is named gets stuck in my head! Listening to All the Wasted Time right now!:) JRB is a genious!

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 6:31pm

I guess I'm just jumping on the bandwagon here but Jason Robert Brown's music is far from unhummable.

"The best stories in the world won't work if the audience can't leave the theater humming a song. If they didn't want to hum a song, they would go see a non-musical."- That is just about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Tell me what exactly you think of Sondheim? Won't work if the audience can't leave the theater humming it...wow what a stupid comment.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 6:53pm

Into the Woods - Into the Woods
A Little Night Music - A Weekend in the Country

The only hummable Sondheim songs I can think of.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 8:03pm

Bob, I was just about to mention Sondheim. Try humming "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd". JRB is a brilliant writer. His music is the wittiest and most intelligent since Sondheim. And many of his tunes are very catchy. He's found a way to infuse fairly modern music into theatre and he does it beautifully.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 9:09pm

I don't agree that Sondheim's songs are not hummable. Again they are not SIMPLE melodies- they go off in unexpected, thrilling directions. But the melodies to almost all Sondheim songs stick in my head far longer than the average musical ditty. And because they are not simple, I want to hear them again and again - as opposed to lots of ALW and other similar composers' songs which are so predictable melodiously that after a few hearings they become boring.

For my money JRB comes close behind Sondheim and William Finn as one the great geniuses of musical theater music.

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 10:24pm

I say that they can't be compared! They've all had very different approaches to their careers! Sondheim was brought up in a very different time than JRB, and William Finn takes forever to release new shows! Jason as well does performing and does albums which Sondheim and Finn never do(exceptions are there eg. Infinite Joy). Personally Jason is my favorite composer.

[tpdc]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 10:48pm

Comedy Tonight, Lovely, Merrily We Roll Along, Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me, Bounce, Good Thing Going, Send In the Clowns, Side by Side by Side, Putting It Together, Company, Everybody Ought to Have a Maid, Unworthy of Your Love, and Sunday (for a start) are all "hummable" Sondheim songs.

[corfriends]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 10:56pm

here's another vote for the AMAZINGNESS of JRB, and to say that his tunes are definately hummable, i couldn't get shiksa goddess, summer in ohio, i can do better than that, stars and the moon, suburaya santa and many more out of my head when i first heard them. the man is a genious and i cant wait for more of his work.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:02pm

If Brown were such a genius, I believe someone said, he would be king of Broadway given the opportunities he has had for his work. Say what you will. The fact remains however that audiences simply don't respond to his work. I'm in that crowd. Give me Rodgers, Lerner & Lowe, Porter, Loesser anyday, to name a few. Sondheim is filled with melodies, even PASSION. Give a listen to Terry Trotter's PASSION IN JAZZ.

There's nothing wrong with a beautiful song, nor with songs crafted to be easy to remember.

Yours for melodies on Broadway!

Bulldog

[corfriends]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:12pm

are you saying that all kings of broadway are genioses? (wrong spelling) in the world we live in now, spectacle creates crowds. that doesn't mean that the show is of high quality. i prefer the less glamorous show, with a much deeper meaning, with songs that touch the heart. Even if these kind of shows don't create a crowd, I prefer them. And also, please try playing the score the The Last 5 Years, and THEN say that JRB is not a genious.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:14pm

What/Whom do you mean when you say "Audiences don't respond to his work? the theater audience or the tourist audience?

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:15pm

Don't get me wrong folks. I'm not saying I dislike Sondheim, but his work has been known to lack melodies. And that in my opinion is NOT a bad thing.

"The fact remains however that audiences simply don't respond to his work"- Okay...Don't respond...hmm...I have never seen a more popular off-Broadway musical than Last Five Years. People I know who would never have buy any cast recording of any musical bought this. Believe me people respond to his work. I have heard several casting agents say that JRB is the most accesable for young people to sing. Sondheim is to mature most of the time, but for some reason young people connect quite easily to Jason Robert's music. I'm still floored that people say his songs have no melody. You can say that you don't like him but that doesn't mean his songs don't have a melody.

BroadwayBulldog- have you seen a production of L5Y? And if so was it the off-Broadway production? If so that was truly crap. I left absolutely loathing the show. Daisy Princes direction was horrific and neither Sherrie or Norbert did the roles justice. But I recently saw a production in Philly that was unbelievably truthful and beautiful. I don't think I will ever see another production like it. Updated On: 1/24/04 at 11:15 PM

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:25pm

I beg to differ, I personally really like Norbert in Last Five Years! As for Sherrie, I like Lauren Kennedy a lot as well though, and I really choose between those two. Either way though I find The Last Five Years to be a very touching piece, one of my favorites!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:37pm

I've listened to L5Y (YIKES! I even bought it!!) I'll even expose myself to it once, too. Bottom line for me: Navel picking neurotics do not a musical make.

Light fluff isn't a must for me either. A musical can have a social point. WEST SIDE STORY is an excellent example of a musical with social conscienciouness. Melodic and lyrical, and gee, it works!

My personal tastes vary. I saw PASSION twice; PACIFIC OVERTURES & SWEENEY TODD thrice but I have little interest in SUNDAY PARK. ASSASSINS just doesn't grab me. This is a guy who walked out of URINETOWN at intermission and disliked immensely HAIRPRAY, too.

I know what I like when I hear it. Brown I don't like. Ditto LaChuisa and Guettel. So let Brown go to Italy. Many more talented but unknown composers are sticking in town developing their talent. They don't have time to pout.

Bulldog

[BillFinn]

Posted: 1/24/04 at 11:46pm

"Many more talented but unknown composers are sticking in town developing their talent"

What for? Original musicals aren't really this year's "pink". Revivals and book/movie musicals are. JRB isn't pouting, just reevaluating his position. It looks like he's expanding to become an author. He may just team up with his new wife and write something. Who knows!