Dear Reader, Love Jason Robert Brown
By: BWW Sep. 21, 2005
It's been a while, and there's much to report, so close the door and put on the "Do Not Disturb" sign, this is going to take a while.
The last time I wrote, it was right before my trip to New Orleans to perform at Le Chat Noir. That was a hell of a trip! We sold out the club and turned people away, sold out all my CD's for the evening, and generally had an amazing time, particularly when Diane Lala (who starred in the New Orleans production of "Songs for a New World," the first production that took place outside of New York) came up to sing a stirring "Stars and the Moon." It was such a great night that it's now hard to imagine that the city in which it occurred is largely destroyed, virtually deserted, entirely non-functional. I have family in New Orleans, and have always loved it more than any other American city, and I just wanted to take a paragraph to remember how much joy it brought me and to hope for its quick return to life. Within a day of leaving, I missed it immensely; you can imagine how much more I miss it now.
Moving ahead: there's a lot of JRB excitement coming up, and I hope you'll be there to be a part of it! I'll go chronologically, so you can coordinate your calendars accordingly.
OCTOBER 16 & 17, Baltimore MD: If you're in the Baltimore area, you've already heard the raves about the Everyman Theatre's production of "The Last Five Years." (J. Wynn Rousuck of the Baltimore Sun: "Just might be the best 90 minutes you can spend in a theater this season.") So, to help celebrate this fabulous production, and to try and get their audience to spend more of their money on my CD, the Caucasian Rhythm Kings and Lauren Kennedy are joining me for two concerts at the Everyman, Sunday October 16 and Monday October 17! There's a cocktail reception before the show, and then the usual mayhem onstage, and of course we'll be signing CD's afterwards. Need more info? Go here:
OCTOBER 24, Boston MA: Earlier this summer, the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts suffered a devastating fire that completely shut down one of their productions and forced two others to move offsite while the theater underwent substantial repairs. In an effort to help recover some of the considerable financial losses incurred, local producers Tony McLean and Matt Kidd asked if I would help them put together a performance of the symphonic version of "Songs for a New World," using local Boston talent, as a benefit for North Shore. I was delighted to say "yes," and so The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, Lauren Kennedy and I will be coming to Boston on October 24 to do "Songs for a New World" with a full symphony orchestra and a wide range of Boston theater stars (like Kerry Dowling, Jose Delgado, Andrew Giordano, Maryann Zschau and about twenty others!) at the John Hancock Hall. There are certainly plenty of benefit concerts and worthy causes demanding your time and money these days, but North Shore's doing such great work and could use all the help they can get, and boy, I think we're all going to have a swell time in Boston, so come out and sing along! Need more info? Go here:
NOVEMBER 5, Upland, CA: Lauren Kennedy and I will be performing together at the beautiful Grove Theatre in the Inland Empire of Southern California, just forty minutes east of Los Angeles, for one performance only, on Saturday, November 5 at 8 pm. It should be a lovely, intimate evening, and tickets for this one will go fast! Hope to see some of you SoCal fans there! Need more info? Go here:
NOVEMBER 14, Kansas City, MO: Why leave out the Midwesterners, after all? Lauren Kennedy and I are comin' to KC, y'all, to sing at the exquisite Quality Hill Playhouse for one night only, on Monday, November 14. We'll be singin', sellin' and signin' until the cows come home (and they know about cows in Missouri), so come on out and see the festivities! I'll also be doing a masterclass at the Playhouse on Sunday, the 13th – you can get more information about that by calling the Playhouse at (816) 421-1700. Need more info? Go here:
NOVEMBER 21, San Antonio, TX: The University of Texas at San Antonio is bringing me down South (don't worry, Lauren's coming too so I'll have some protection) for their Monday Night Artist Series, Monday November 21 at 7:30 pm! I'll also be doing masterclasses during the day with some of their acting and composition students, so I'll be completely exhausted by the time the show starts. Questions about the classes? Talk to David Heuser, (210) 458-5321 or e-mail him at dheuser@utsa.edu . More info about the concert? Go here:
and finally (for now!):
DECEMBER 7-11, London England: Yeah, baby, that's right, the Rhythm Kings are going international! Five performances in the heart of Merry Olde England featuring the Caucasian Rhythm Kings with special guests Joanna Riding (Olivier Award-winner) and Frances Ruffelle (Tony Award-winner)! We'll be at the New Players' Theatre in the Arches near Charing Cross. We can't wait! Gary's getting a whole new passport picture for this! Need more info? Bloody right you do! Go here: http://www.seetickets.com/see/event.asp?e%7Cartist=JASON+ROBERT+BROWN&resultsperpage=20&filler1=see
And there are a lot more concerts in the works, hopefully coming soon to a theater near you! We're doing all we can to get out there and sell "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes," because I'm so proud of that album and I hope you all get to hear it, so come on out, give a brother some love!
Here's a great interview from the Baltimore Sun:
(This may already be off the site, but if you can find it, it's a nice read: "Jason Robert Brown: Now appearing on two stages" by J. Wynn Rousuck, September 4 2005)
There was a fun interview with David Cuthbert from the New Orleans Times-Picayune that's still on their servers, despite there being much more important news for them to archive!
Scott Vogel wrote a great review of the new album for the Washington Post:
That's all for now, my wonderful fans and supporters! Some time in the next week, you all may receive a little note asking if you still want to be on the mailing list; that's all part of upgrading systems here at JRB Central, while we prepare for the grand launch of JasonRobertBrown.com, finally coming in November!
And hey, write a review of the new album at Amazon.com when you get a chance – they really make a difference, and besides which, they're fun to read! (And you can always pick up a copy of the album at amazon.com, sh-k-boom.com, or through the iTunes Music Store!)
Thanks (and congratulations) for making it through this whole enormous thing! I hope to see you all soon!
All best,
J.
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