Brown & More Featured In NYPL's ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM

By: Jun. 17, 2013
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Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown is the first major entertainment personality to participate in the New York Public Library's witty new amateur songwriting game challenge ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM.

ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM - the title taken from the famous SOUTH PACIFIC lyric in "Some Enchanted Evening" by Oscar Hammerstein, natch - provides aspiring composers, lyricists and performers the opportunity to create a performance piece based on a one-sentence jumping-off point provided by an industry professional - such as, in this case, first participant Brown.

The inspiration point provided by Brown for the first installment is this, in which he writes:

"Write a song for Annie and Neil in the following scene:"Standing in the kitchen of their loft in Williamsburg, Annie tells her husband Neil that she's realized that she's a lesbian."

The official synopsis of goals and intent for ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM is as follows:

"ARE YOU...

  • a composer longing for lyrics?
  • a lyricist looking for a composer?
  • a singer searching for new songs?

This summer, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts wants to help you find your artistic soul mate and bring beautiful new musicals into the world!

Every two weeks, we will post a prompt from a musical theater professional. Responses to the prompt and to the work of others can be posted as comments to the prompt on this blog. Post either lyrics OR music in direct response to the prompt, or else write music for lyrics or lyrics for music as a "reply" to another "comment." If you are a performer, find a song you like and perform it on YouTube! [More details...]

At the end of the project, some of the songs may be performed in a concert on the stage at the Bruno Walter stage at Lincoln Center (where they announce the Tony Award Nominations!).

Now, start collaborating. To paraphrase Stephen Sondheim, "You have always belonged together...give us more to see!"

Visit the official NYPL ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM website here.

So, how exactly would you set out to musicalize this dramatically rich moment yourself?


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