Jason Robert Brown on How (Not) to Insult Sondheim- Page 7

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/3/12 at 5:01pm

I am clearly not up on my appliance brands because every time I see "Waring Blender" I think, "Are they misspelling 'warring'"?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/3/12 at 5:14pm

That, he got right.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/3/12 at 5:17pm

Smooth as Ricky Paull Goldin!

[jv92]

Posted: 11/3/12 at 7:20pm

But I think Sondheim was an outspoken champion of Tesori's VIOLET some 3 or 4 years later, so it's likely not her her. In any event, who cares? Like all of JRB's blogs, this one is a self-serving piece of garbage.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 2:37am

You'd think that you could think of at least one nice thing to say. I love Passion so maybe I'm biased, but I think even people who dislike it would say that it contains some very beautiful pieces of music. Why not mention something like that?

I'm sure the problem was Brown's age at the time.

I have since come to love the score of PASSION in its own right and have enjoyed the CD (and now, DVD) hundreds of times. But when I first saw the show cold I couldn't help but admire the show's sheer refusal to pander to its audience. I mean even the set was (appropriately) ugly!

I might have avoided the word "ugly", but I certainly could have talked about how much I admired the audacity of the piece and its willingness to be true to its content, however disconcerting.

But I'm now a few decades on the far side of 23...





Updated On: 11/4/12 at 02:37 AM

[binau]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 2:56am

I mean, I'm 21 - and I'm not a composer (although I suppose I am 'musical' - I play the piano etc.) - but even I can see redeeming features in PASSION (e.g. how much character Sondheim develops in "I READ"). I find it strange that he couldn't have found something that he liked, especially considering he is a composer....surely he could at least have appreciated what Sondheim tried to do and talk about it..

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 3:40am

Some are wiser at 21 than others. :)

Of course, Brown is now saying the show was not PASSION; but if it were, one would think the use of polyphonic music alone would have given composers plenty to discuss.

Updated On: 11/4/12 at 03:40 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 9:06am

I wonder why he would say the show was not Passion when clearly it has to have been Passion or his anecdote is exposed as fiction.

And if his anecdote is fiction, why is it better written than any of his musicals? Perhaps he should consider changing genres.

[mikem]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 9:32am

Brown is like the James Frey of Broadway.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 9:57am

From the comments on the blog:

I remember this incident so clearly, if only because you and “Franz” told it to me at the Pump House restaurant in Hackettstown the night of your performance. If memory serves, Sondheim at one point simply left the restaurant leaving you and Franz there. I also seem to remember that “Franz” felt the bulk of the assault on Steve was from you and your “honest critique” while he sat there like a deer in headlights. It is still one of my favorite stories. I’ve actually used this story as an example for what young actors should not do if invited to a performance. Safe to say you both (actually all three) recovered from the incident and done rather well.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 10:18am

This story isn't good enough to warrant becoming Rashomon.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 10:19am

Ha!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 3:41pm

I was 17 when I first heard and fell in love with Passion, so maybe I'm just more developmentally advanced than JRB was.

[dexter3]

Posted: 11/4/12 at 4:49pm

While I think the sentiment that JRB posted about is true (support your colleagues in theater and they work they do by not trashing their show to their face), I find it sad that it's being overshadowed by the fact that he's obviously altered or purposefully left out details in order to paint the situation differently.

[Michael Kras]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 2:34am

As a playwright, director, and actor myself, I feel the most vulnerable right after a performance of my show than any other time. In fact, I actively avoid interaction with my audiences if I can so I don't have to fall victim to the obligatory congratulations. While I appreciate it in the long run, I feel super raw after my work has just been presented and any feedback is awkward and hard for me to take in.

Here are some of the most painful interactions I've dealt with post-show.

General, Meaningless Feedback - Someone approaches me and congratulates me on my show... Then proceeding to say a bunch of things that are literally meaningless. Completely unrelated to how good or bad my show may be. Stuff like "Must be great to see your work on stage!" or "That was so clearly your voice". I don't know how to respond to any of these, and they make me feel terrible because it's obvious that the person is skating around the fact that they didn't like my work.

Straight Up Honesty - I remember having an audience member come up to me after a performance of my play, and cheerily saying "Well that was... okay!" Followed by a moment of awkward silence at which point I just sincerely thanked them for coming. But it was kind of painful to hear. Clearly it's not the harshest thing in the world, but freshly after a performance, it might as well be.

Nothing At All - On the occasions that I bite the bullet and actually do present myself after a performance, sometimes what hurts is when people say nothing at all. They acknowledge that I'm there, and just make brief eye contact with a awkward half smile. There have been times where not a single person has approached me after a show, even when I'm fully available in the lobby. And that really stings.


In short, I don't need to be lied to after a show... But I don't need to be told the god's honest truth either. Fact is, no matter how much you may dislike a show, there's always SOMETHING good to say about it. You don't have to tell me you loved my whole play if you actually didn't, but just hearing one thing that worked for you is enough for me. It makes my work, and me, feel worthwhile.

Thing is, I'm incredibly open to criticism... I value it greatly and I use it for my work. But right after a show, after I've bled for you, is not the right time to bring it up. Maybe a few weeks later, when I'm more open minded and less fragile.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 7:54am

"I LOVED the dog."

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 9:55am

All this time I thought he wanted someone to hurt him too deep, to bring him up short, and that that would give him support for being alive.

And what he really wanted was to have his ass kissed.

Seriously, listening to the man's lyrics all these years, it would never occur to me that he would even want, much less demand, unconditional love of his work from his friends. Kindness, yes. Tact, certainly. But unconditional sycophantic love? No, never.

It would certainly never occur to me that he didn't care what his friends really thought.

(If in fact this was Passion, I would have felt the same way Brown did. At any age.)





Updated On: 5/28/14 at 09:55 AM

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 10:01am

"The Tony-winning composer/lyricist of PARADE, SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, and THE LAST FIVE YEARS is a D-list talent?"

Yes. Yes he is.

Except for maybe "13" which is the only score I really liked consistently at all.

Updated On: 5/28/14 at 10:01 AM

[Steve721]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:44am

The blog entry seems to indicate that Sondheim's show was reviewed by Frank Rich. Frank Rich's tenure as a theater critic at the Times ended in 1993, and the Times' review of Passion was actually written by David Richards.

However, the blog entry also says that JRB was 23 at the time of the disastrous dinner with Sondheim, and JRB turned 24 shortly after Passion opened. So I don't see how the show could be anything other than Passion.

That JRB could think of nothing good to say about Passion is truly astonishing.

[newintown]

Posted: 5/28/14 at 11:53am

It would be good to recall that we are only getting Brown's side of the story, and he is a notorious self-promoter and egoist.