The opening line to Jason Robert Brown bio is BOLD!!!!!!

Jason Robert Brown (Music & Lyrics) has written the scores for some of the most influential musicals of the past thirty years, beginning with Songs for a New World (1995), and continuing with Parade (Tony Award for Best Score, 1999), The Last Five Years (Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Lyrics, 2002), 13 (2008), The Bridges of Madison County (Tony Award for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, 2014), Honeymoon In Vegas (2015), and last season's Mr. Saturday Night (lyrics by Amanda Green). Both The Last Five Years and 13 have been adapted into films. Jason tours the world as a singer and pianist, and his songs, including "Hope," "Someone To Fall Back On," and "All Things In Time," have been recorded by hundreds of artists including Ariana Grande, Shoshana Bean, Betty Buckley, Jennifer Nettles, Brandi Carlile, Billy Porter, and Audra McDonald. His latest musical, The Connector, directed by his longtime collaborator Daisy Prince, opens Off-Broadway next year.

Too much or healthy ego? 

Seems relatively tame to me on the scale of bold or braggadocious self-assessments.

I think 'influential' is hard for me to justify because I genuinely don't know who he has influenced (cf. Oscar Hammerstein, who influenced Sondheim - or Sondheim, who influenced Jonathan Larson among others, or Jonathan Larson, who influenced Lin Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt among others).

However, if we are talking pure quality of output I do think "Parade" and "Bridges" are absolutely top-tier scores that would make anyone including Sondheim envious. And so even if I don't really understand the hype behind others such as "The Last Five Years', Jason Robert Brown has earned his place for me. 

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Keep in mind also that his bio may have been written by a PARADE publicist, not by him directly. Bigger things to get worked up about. It’s not like he’s actively lying, like the AIN’T NO MO language."

I have no doubt he wrote it himself. Jason Robert Brown's biggest fan is Jason Robert Brown.

Technically, the first line doesn't say JRB is/was influential personally, but that he contributed to influential musicals∫.

Otherwise the language would be more like "JRB is one of the most influential musical theater composers of his generation yadda yadda yadda."

HogansHero said: "trpguyy said: "I bet if you were to ask young performers and/or students to name influential musicals from the last 30 years, you’d get an awful lot of JRB titles.
And there’s absolutely no denying that he has influenced younger composers (Tom Kitt and LMM immediately jump to kind)."

Is there actually a place where LMM credited JRB in this way? I'm asking because I don't recall it. I am sure that, because he is a nice-to-everyone sort of person, he has said nice things if asked, but to me that's different. Also, with all due respect, if you look at Kitt's track record, absent one hit, maybe any influence was not a great idea. I can't challenge your bet but I do wonder how many of those "influencees" have anything to show for it outside of a very insular cocoon."


He is literally credited for the quote of his used in Hamilton.

JRB directly influenced composers like Tom Kitt, Pasek & Paul, Adam Gwon, Ryan Scott Oliver, Jonathan Reid Gealt, the Lopezes, Rick Hip-Flores, Scott Alan, JRB’s own wife Georgia Stitt, so many others. These voices haven’t all been represented on Broadway, but they have a presence in contemporary musical theatre and cabaret. 

That was a list made off the top of my head whose music is similar in style to JRB or sounding like an offspring of it. None of it was heavily researched. I’m of the generation that grew up listening to Songs for a New World and The Last Five Years as the hip new sound of musical theatre, and I assume so did this group of composers.

Broadway Flash said: "To me, JRB just represents a shift to generic contemporary musical theatre sound. JRB, Tom Kitt, Aherns and Flaherty, Pasek and Paul, Scott Frankel, Tesori. It all just sounds boring and lyrical and story driven. I prefer a very melodic score, people like Richard Rodgers, John Kander, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jerry Herman, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Menken, Schwartz. Now those men know how to write a tune!"

I'm sorry Tesori is generic? What in the name of ...

I also didn't realize songs being "story driven" was a bad quality in a musical. What in the name of ...

Updated On: 1/30/23 at 10:41 PM

Millie is very tuneful.  Some of her more recent stuff i would say is generic musical theatre.  Fun Home and Kimberly Akimbo.  Not really something I would remember the melodies of leaving the theatre.  Of course this is MY opinion, and probably many people agree with me.

Whether or not you agree, it’s a true statement. You can hear the influence of THE LAST 5 YEARS and SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD in countless composers work.

The score is beige.  I believe Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal said that.  So look at that, it's not just me!