Jason Robert Brown Questions

#1

Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 10:12am

Hello!

Two questions about Jason Robert Brown:

1) Does anyone know if anyone has done a revue of his work recently? If so, could you tell me what company it was and what the show was called?

2) Does anyone know how to get in touch with Mr. Brown? Is there a mailing address to which letters can be sent that he will actually read?

Many thanks.
E

#2

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 2:29pm

What do you mean "revue". Like a concert? Recording? SFANW?
As far as contacting him, good luck. You could try to mail something to him via his representation...

#3

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 3:50pm

Lauren Kennedy released a CD of his songs. I'm not sure if this helps at all.

#4

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 5:05pm

Lauren's Cd is amazing...it's got a song that was cut from the last five years and also 2 songs that he wrote FOR her. and then also some different arrangements of his other stuff... pretty awesome...She should've stuck with the show instead of letting smokey-mcgee (Sherie Rene Scott) sing the part!

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"Love is stupid and it bleeds, it satisfies my needs, I think it's wonderful..." ~Bill Finn is God!

#5

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 6:10pm

I agree. I really need to buy her CD. My friend has it and played it for me one day and it was amazing.

#6

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 6:21pm

it's a great cd...i got it a week ago and its been on loop since.

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AKA Idina Pashmina

Type_A_Tiff: There's nothing hard about her. Broadway_star_tomorrow: Yeah. Her arteries.

#7

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/20/05 at 6:21pm

smokey-mcgee?

#8

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 10:11am

Get ahold of a copy of "The Inaudible Jason Robert Brown" in you can, it's the best. Almost all unknown/cut songs. Dig around friends of friends, you should be able to find it.

#9

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 10:13am

The Last Five Years made me a big fan of Sherie Renee Scott.

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"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive. "Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot." "No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one." Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.

#10

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 10:15am

Just listened to the samples on Amazon, she's good, but the guy who sang Give It All For You butchered it.

#11

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 10:58am

BroadwayBound, the guy who 'butchers' "I'd Give it All for You" on Lauren Kennedy's CD is JRB

To be honest, I don't really like Sherie Rene Scott. She's grown on me since I started listening to the CD (I hated her at first), but I still find her voice grating. I'm not sure what it is about her voice, but I don't enjoy her like other people do.

Lauren's CD is fantastic. I got it a couple weeks ago, and I love it. I listen to it all the time. I wish I could have heard/seen her in The Last Five Years. I'm sure she did great things with it.

#12

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 11:01am

I first heard Sherie on Tommy, and didn't care much for her back then. But listening to Last Five Years, not only do I find her voice nice, I also realize what a challenging role it is for an actress to go from hurt, angry, confused to happy. She went emotionally backwards, with not only her acting, but her voice. I admire her for that. I can't wait to see her in DRS.

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"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive. "Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot." "No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one." Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.

#13

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 11:15am

The thing that struck me when I played Man 2 in SFANW, is how many liberties Brooks Ashmanskas took with the music in She Cries. Granted, I know it's a hard song, but come on. There ARE rhythms. Still, he has a quality to his voice that's very likable and unique. Anyone see him in Producers?
Sherie's voice has grown on me. Most of the time, I still skip to Norbert's songs, but I still like Sherie's performances on The Last Five Years CD.

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Word. Word, indeed.

#14

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 11:49am

B.B.- saw Brooks in Producers around Christmas. I'd never seen him perform before, but just listening to him on SFANW, I was pleasantly surprised at how comedic his performance was.

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What's pink and green and flies all over?

#15

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/21/05 at 12:48pm

I met the man himself at his weekend show in the Westend late last year....he was at the piano and he had plucked some great people from the westend to perform the songs, and best of all...
a girl came with him from his new show '13'.....she was amazing! probally the best act!

He also sang the cut song about the irish girl which was meant to be in The Last Five Years....

was an amazing night......sorry no help to you, just thought id mention lol!

#16

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 1:44am

I actually think "the guy" on who sings I'd Give It All For You with Sherie Rene Scott is quite incredible. I feel like Jason Robert Brown gives the song an interesting perspective... while TECHNICALLY, vocally, he's no Brooks Ashmanskas, I found his interpretation fascinating. I LOVE it when songwriters sing their own stuff... esp. JRB, Craig Carnelia, William Finn, etc...

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[title of show] on Broadway. it's time. believe.

#17

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 3:04am

Yeah, JRB has a great voice, it's a little country, but beautiful. He is great on Lauren' CD, and YES I called Sherie "Smoky McGee" because it's REALLY starting to show in her voice...She smokes tooo much. Anyway, William Finn is my favorite, his voice is scratchy and amazing...Anyway, I'm a little drunk right now, so I should stop putting messages on here. That's my 2 cents!

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"Love is stupid and it bleeds, it satisfies my needs, I think it's wonderful..." ~Bill Finn is God!

#18

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 4:48am

divacathe, there are no songs cut from The Last Five Years on her album. One song, "Letting You Go," led Brown to write L5Y, but it was never in the show. The only song that was cut was "I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You" which was eventually replaced with "Shiksa Goddess."

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#19

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 2:32pm

jwaa-- i was at the concert too, one of the best experiences of my life

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"Contentment it seems merely happens, It appears Accompanied by no bravos and no tears" "The world is good you said Enjoy it's highs you said The summer flies you said So make a parade Of every moment Now throw away your hate And focus on what's great instead" ~William Finn

#20

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 2:54pm

Lauren's CD is fine, but not spectacular. Her "I Can Do Better Than That" left me so cold that I had to run to my collection, rip out the "L5Y" OBC, and lesson to Sherie's spellbinding original version.

#21

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 3:31pm

bjive, thanks...i knew it had something to do with L5Y! Thanks!

also, i don't like her rendition of I can do better than that either. It is REALLY cold, but then again, I don't like Sherie Rene Scott singing it either...hmmm....maybe Sutton or Shoshana should sing it!

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"Love is stupid and it bleeds, it satisfies my needs, I think it's wonderful..." ~Bill Finn is God!

#22

re: Jason Robert Brown Questions

Posted: 1/22/05 at 9:07pm

Last year I saw JRB and Lauren Kennedy perform "The Last Five Years" at Cooper Union as a concert production. Although Jason is not a great singer, it was fabulous to hear him perform his own work, one that he obviously has an attachment to. Lauren Kennedy just about blew me away. The reason she did not go on to perform the show in NYC is that she was already committed to something else, so they got Sherie. You could tell that Lauren and Jason were really close and had a special connection, which made me wonder . . . but it was an amazing experience.

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Some people analyze every detail/ Some people stall when they can't see the trail/ Some people freeze out of fear that they'll fail/ But I keep rollin' on/ Some people can't get success with their art/ Some people never feel love in their heart/ Some people can't tell the two things apart/ But I keep rollin' on