The opening line to Jason Robert Brown bio is BOLD!!!!!! — Page 2

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

I know what you mean when you (was it you?) talk about a generic beige sounding pop score with little magic or melody (especially that kind of generic off Broadway sound in the early 2000s) but I just don’t think Fun Home is a good example of this. For example, “Changing my Major”, “Ring of Keys”, “Days and Days” to me are all top tier melodic and emotional (different emotions of course). I’d say I personally think Tesori hits the mark more often than JRB for me.

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

You remember wrong. Teachout was generally positive about the show, but was disappointed that "the show's creators have taken a stingingly astringent graphic novel and turned it into a cute, well-crafted musical with an unhappy ending."

And as others have noted, the songs are varied, advance the story in meaningful ways, and several are quite tuneful and memorable: Days and Days, Changing My Major, and Ring of Keys to name a few.

Updated On: 1/31/23 at 08:28 AM

When I was in performing arts high school from 2004-08, JRB was an extremely popular composer and his work was in heavy rotation in classes and at thespian competitions. And it wasn’t just my high school- it was all the theater clubs and programs in the county. Everybody knew the scores to Last Five Years, Parade, and Songs for a New World inside and out.


Two decades later, those kids have moved into professional careers and leadership positions of their own and have undoubtedly taken that influence with them. Whether or not you’re a fan, if you’re in the millennial age bracket, odds are JRB was a big part of your formative arts education.

Updated On: 1/31/23 at 10:47 AM

I studied musical theatre from 2012 - 2015 and apart from the most obvious composers (Lloyd Webber, Sondheim, R&H, etc) Jason Robert Brown was pretty much always the go for solos to sing, scenes to perform or musicals to produce.

HogansHero said: "Kad said: "When I was in performing arts high school from 2004-08, JRB was an extremely popular composer and his work was in heavy rotation in classes and at thespian competitions. And it wasn’t just my high school- it was all the theater clubs and programs in the county. Everybody knew the scores to Last Five Years, Parade, and Songs for a New World inside and out.


Two decades later, those kids have moved into professional careers and leadership positions of their own and have undoubtedly taken that influence with them. Whether or not you’re a fan, if you’re in the millennial age bracket, odds are JRB was a big part of your formative arts education."

I realize I am trying to make my point to the wrong audience (i.e., here) but I think your point actually underscores mine because you are talking about Brown's influence within a very narrow band of millennials. It certainly cannot be said that that generation as a whole has been drawn to his music. "

Literally no one in this thread is arguing the sentence I've bolded. The discussion is whether the statement made in his bio is accurate. And i think it is.

Unlike Kad, I'm fully Gen X, and JRB has had a strong presence in the musical theater world since I came to NYC. My off-Broadway debut was at the same theater that debuted Songs for a New World just two years after. The entire reason our show was picked up by that theater was that the powers-that-be felt it was the queer version of SFANW. It didn't turn out that way, but that's the business.

Whether he's achieved financial success on Broadway kind of has nothing to do with the argument. I'd venture to say that a majority of regional, community and college theaters have produced The Last Five Years. Bridges is proving very popular around the country and 13 is being done by school groups all the time.

I've spent a lot of time teaching theater as well and, 28 years since SFANW premiered, JRB still dominates a great deal of the repertoire being explored by younger actors. Gen X, Millenials and Gen Z have all been influenced by JRB.