When I read that Jason Robert Brown was going to make his West End debut this September, I immediately navigated the British ticketing websites, cursed at the computer as it wouldn’t accept my American credit card, and finally purchased my ticket through PayPal. I would be surprised if anyone else in class shared in my excitement.
Jason Robert Brown is an American composer, pianist, musical director, singer extraordinaire who has written four Broadway musicals and has released a solo album. Has anyone heard of Songs for a New World? No? What about Parade? The Last Five Years? Urban Cowboy? His musicals have all had fairly short lives on Broadway and even less exposure in London. However, he has a loyal following of theatre dorks and musical theatre students. And this past Friday and Saturday he had his West End debut with guest Anika Noni Rose whom you may know as Lorrell from the film Dreamgirls or as the voice of Tiana from The Princess and the Frog in addition to her impressive theatre credits.
At the Garrick Theatre the stage was set with a piano, a microphone, a 4-piece brass section, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Jason Robert Brown played a mixture of songs from his musicals, songs he has written for albums (both his own and his friends’ albums), and new songs that he recently wrote. My personal favorites included “Still Hurting” and “Moving Too Fast” from The Last Five Years, “Stars and the Moon” from Songs for a New World, as well as “Brand New You” from 13.
Watching a composer perform his or her own songs always adds an element of authenticity, and Jason Robert Brown is an excellent performer and singer and I found myself completely enthralled with his music.
Having Anika Noni Rose as a guest performer is almost an oxymoron as Anika Noni Rose will almost always steal the show. In this case, she and Jason Robert Brown had a great balance. Anika Noni Rose’s clean and powerful voice was perfect for the JRB’s range of dramatic to upbeat songs.
Another very unique aspect of this performance was the audience. As Jason Robert Brown’s shows have had limited exposure in the UK, most of the audience was made up of people familiar with his repertoire including lots of musical theatre students who all seemed to know each other. In the upper circle I was surrounded by college students who seemed to all go to school with one another and no one was surprised to run into their fellow students. In JRB’s new song “Caravan of Angels” he even asked the audience to sing some back up harmonies and I have never heard an audience that was actually able to A. understand and B. execute successfully.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this show and am glad I got the opportunity to see Jason Robert Brown and Anika Noni Rose live and in London no less! I was a fan before and am an even bigger fan of both Jason Robert Brown and Anika Noni Rose now.
-Rachel Yeung
The fact that you were surrounded by fellow students from the USA suggests that this theatrical experience was not something you needed to come to the UK to enjoy. Or was it? Did you feel that listening to and watching a favourite performer in a foreign country affected your appreciation/understanding of the event? Did the audience members who did not appear to be part of an American clique of aficionados enjoy the show as much as you did? These questions spring to mind. Well done though, maybe the next post could explore your British experiences further. Dr Q
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