Atlantic Records has released a live recording of the acclaimed 25th anniversary concert staging of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years in London earlier this year.
Tag Archives | Jason Robert Brown
Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler to star in The Last Five Years 25th anniversary concerts
Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Ben Platt and Golden Globe and National Board of Review winner Rachel Zegler will star in a special concert staging of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years in London in early 2026.
The Last Five Years – Reading Rep Theatre and Touring
The Last Five Years was reviewed at Reading Rep Theatre where it continues until 11 October 2025. The production then visits the Barn Theatre, Cirencester (17 October to 15 November) and Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio (25 November to 3 January). Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★
Special Feature: The Last Five Years at Reading Rep Theatre
The Barn Theatre, Reading Rep Theatre and Theatre Royal Bath co-production of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years runs in Reading until 12 October.
Songs for a New World – Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Songs for a New World continues at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, London, until 3 March 2024. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Songs for a New World is the perfect song cycle. A joyful journey through life’s trials and tribulations, each defined by love and hope.
Palladium concert date for Jason Robert Brown
Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown will return to London next spring with a one night only concert performance at the London Palladium.
Music Review: Parade – 2023 Broadway Cast Recording
PARADE – 2023 Broadway Cast Recording (Interscope Records). Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Originating from a Broadway production that ended prematurely – after just 84 performances – but then achieved two Tony wins and a further seven nominations, Parade is a show that truly divides audiences. Its central narrative is based on […]
Music Review: 13 The Musical – Soundtrack from the Netflix Film
13 THE MUSICAL – Soundtrack from the Netflix Film (Ghostlight Records and Atlantic Records). Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ 13 may not have the musical depth or emotional complexity that some of Brown’s better-known works do, but this middle school musical captures the angst that emotional upheaval at the start of teenage life can bring.
A Tony Awards Newsletter From New York
Mark Shenton offers a Broadway round-up of Tony-nominated musicals… The nominations for this year’s Tony Awards – due to be presented at Radio City Music Hall on 12 June 2022, hosted by West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose – were delayed this year. Usually they are announced a few days after the eligibility deadline […]
The Last 5 Years – Garrick Theatre
The Last 5 Years continues at the Garrick Theatre, London until 17 October 2021. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Jason Robert Brown’s autobiographical musical, he wrote music and lyrics, has finally arrived in the West End in a glittering production from Southwark Playhouse, first seen in February 2020. Premiered in Chicago in […]
13 – Cadogan Hall
13 was performed by the British Theatre Academy at the Cadogan Hall, London. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ This show is initially a bit wooden, probably because of youthful nervousness and inexperience. But it warms up so that 90 minutes later the post curtain call, full cast dance is exuberantly, infectiously […]
The Last Five Years to transfer to the West End
After a critically-acclaimed run at Southwark Playhouse last year and a highly successful worldwide stream with stream.theatre, Jason Robert Brown’s award-winning musical The Last Five Years will play a limited season at London’s Vaudeville Theatre, previewing from 17 September 2021, with an opening night on 23 September and running until 13 October 2021. Directed by […]
Chiswick Playhouse reopens with new variety festival including two musical productions
Chiswick Playhouse will mark its reopening with Chiswick Playhouse Recharged, a socially distanced festival of magic, musicals, comedy and more running from 17 May to 27 June 2021. The programme includes two nostalgic and powerful musical productions presented by Scenaria, The Soprano Behind the Screen: The Untold Story of Marni Nixon and a brand-new song […]
The Last Five Years and Rags share the musical theatre honours at the 2021 Offies
There were two wins each for the Southwark Playhouse run of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years and the Park Theatre transfer of Hope Mill Theatre’s critically-acclaimed production of Rags (Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz, Joseph Stein), directed by Bronagh Lagan, at OffWestEnd’s 2021 Offies Awards. Jonathan O’Boyle won in the Director category for his […]
Virtual lockdown production of Songs For A New World returns via Stream.Theatre
Lambert Jackson Productions’ online lockdown production of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World will be available on stream.theatre for one week from 21 February 2021. Featuring West End stars Rachel John (Hamilton), Ramin Karimloo (Phantom of the Opera), Cedric Neal (Motown) and Rachel Tucker (Come From Away) and introducing recent graduate Shem Omari […]
Doing, rather than waiting – An interview with acclaimed producer Katy Lipson (Part One)
KATY LIPSON is the director of Aria Entertainment, a company which has been at the forefront of reimagining how theatre can operate given our current world of lockdowns and social distancing. Her Park Theatre production of Rags (originally at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre) and Southwark Playhouse production of The Last Five Years have been nominated […]
Songs For a New World transfers to the Vaudeville Theatre in February 2021 for a limited run
Lambert Jackson Productions has announced that its critically acclaimed production of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For a New World will transfer to the Vaudeville Theatre for a strictly limited run from 9 February 2021, with previews from 5 February, running until 7 March. This comes after the huge success of the production at The London […]
Southwark Playhouse’s The Last Five Years to be streamed
Home audiences across the world will get their chance to see the sold-out Southwark Playhouse production of The Last Five Years next month when a filmed performance is released on new platform stream.theatre. Recorded using multiple cameras, the filmed performance of Jonathan O’Boyle’s hit actor-musician production will be streamed from 26-29 November 2020 (with a […]
The Last Five Years – Southwark Playhouse
The Last Five Years continues at Southwark Playhouse, London until 14 November 2020. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ When a relationship goes sour and a couple decide to go their separate ways, they might use the excuse of not being in the same place as that partner. Composer Jason Robert Brown […]
Five Questions With: Rachel John
RACHEL JOHN is starring in the upcoming live performances of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World at the London Palladium on 11 October 2020. Rachel originally performed the role of Woman 1 in Lambert Jackson Productions’ virtual performance of Songs For A New World, broadcast during lockdown in association with The Other Palace. […]
Southwark Playhouse run of The Last Five Years extended
With over two-thirds of tickets already sold, the Southwark Playhouse run of Jonathan O’Boyle’s hit actor-musician production of The Last Five Years has been extended for an extra two weeks. Presented by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment in association with Edward Prophet and People Entertainment, the production will now run from 1 October until 14 […]
Stars of The Last Five Years form support bubble for Southwark Playhouse return
Molly Lynch and Oli Higginson will return to the lead roles when Jonathan O’Boyle’s hit actor-musician production of The Last Five Years returns to the Southwark Playhouse next month. To avoid the need for social distancing on stage the two actors will remain in the same ‘support bubble’ for the length of the run in […]
The Last Five Years to return to Southwark Playhouse in October
Jonathan O’Boyle’s hit actor-musician production of the Last Five Years will return to the Southwark Playhouse in October with added social distancing measures in place. The new version of Jason Robert Brown’s award-winning musical had been playing to packed houses at the South London venue when the curtain came down on the production due to […]
Minack Theatre lines up new production of The Last Five Years
Award-winning director and choreographer Omar F Okai will take charge of a new outdoor production of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years at the world-famous Minack Theatre in Cornwall next month. Okai will head a creative team that includes musical director Leo Munby, set and lighting designer Andrew Exeter, associate designer Natalia Alvarez and […]
Video of winning Song For Our Time released
Marking 20 weeks since theatres across the country went dark, the organisers of the Song For Our Time competition have unveiled the winning song recorded by West End and Broadway star Hadley Fraser. Written by Amir Shoenfeld and Caitlyn Burt, ‘Looking At The Moon’ was chosen from nearly 300 entries from songwriters from across the […]
Lambert Jackson announces virtual production of Songs For A New World
Lambert Jackson Productions in association with The Other Palace has announced a “virtual lockdown production” of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World. Filmed entirely in isolation, Séimí Campbell directs Rachel John (Hamilton), Ramin Karimloo (Phantom of the Opera), Cedric Neal (Motown) and Rachel Tucker (Come From Away), with musical supervision by Adam Hoskins […]
The Last Five Years – Lambert Jackson Productions and The Other Palace
The Last Five Years, presented by Lambert Jackson Productions, in association with The Other Palace. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ The more a theatre fan learns about Jason Robert Brown’s 2001 musical The Last Five Years, the less appealing a proposition it appears. Between the overdone premise of a failing relationship, […]
Lambert Jackson Productions announces virtual production of The Last Five Years
Lambert Jackson Productions, in association with The Other Palace, have announced a “virtual lockdown production” of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years starring Danny Becker (Jamie) and Lauren Samuels (Cathy), with Samuels also making her directorial debut. The actors will record their parts entirely in isolation, using only what is available to them, which […]
Composers invited to write ‘A Song For Our Time’ charity track
As the theatre industry continues to find new ways to offer support for those who are hardest hit by current crisis, composers are being invited to write a new song to be recorded by West End stars and a virtual choir to raise funds for theatrical charity Acting For Others. The brainchild of award-winning producer […]
The Last Five Years – Southwark Playhouse
The Last Five Years continues at the Southwark Playhouse, London until 28 March 2020. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ If ever proof was needed that the path of true love does indeed never run smooth, here it is, laid bare in this emotional and innovative rollercoaster of a musical. Jason Robert Brown’s musical, here […]
Cast for The Last Five Years at Southwark Playhouse announced
Casting has been announced for director Jonathan O’Boyle’s new actor-musician production of The Last Five Years at the Southwark Playhouse next month. Wasted’s Molly Lynch (Sunset Boulevard, UK tour) will return to the South London venue to play Cathy opposite Oli Higginson (Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s Globe, Napoleon Blown Apart, Arcola Theatre) as Jamie. After opening […]
The Bridges of Madison County – Menier Chocolate Factory
The Bridges of Madison County continues at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London until 14 September 2019. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Jason Robert Brown’s musical adaptation of the best-selling novel by US writer, musician and photographer Robert James Waller (1939-2017) finally gets its long-overdue UK premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory. […]
INTERVIEW: ‘We could all do with a healthy dose of love’ – Edward Baker-Duly stars in The Bridges of Madison County at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Stage and screen actor EDWARD BAKER-DULY will star opposite Jenna Russell in the Menier Chocolate Factory’s eagerly-anticipated UK premiere of the musical version of Robert James Waller’s much-loved novel The Bridges of Madison County, officially opening on 23 July 2019 and running until 14 September. With music and lyrics by triple Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert […]
Cast for Menier Chocolate Factory’s UK premiere of The Bridges of Madison County
Stage and screen actor Edward Baker-Duly will star opposite Olivier Award winner Jenna Russell in the Menier Chocolate Factory’s eagerly-anticipated UK premiere of the musical version of Robert James Waller’s much-loved novel The Bridges of Madison County. With music and lyrics by triple Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Honeymoon in […]
The Last Five Years – Edinburgh Festival Fringe – PQA @Riddle’s Court
The Last Five Years continues at PQA @Riddle’s Court until 19 August 2018 (not 15, 22). Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ In the same set-up as the companion piece here, Closer Than Ever, back projections on an upstage screen set a scenic tone behind a large sofa. This intimate two-hander has a ravishing […]
Songs for a New World – Encores! Off-Center – New York City Center
Songs for a New World, an Encores! Off-Center production, played New York City Center. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Call it a song cycle. Call it a revue. Whatever you call it, Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World contains some of the brainiest dramatic monologues ever set to music. They’re the […]
Jason Robert Brown in Concert – London Palladium
Jason Robert Brown in Concert was at the London Palladium. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ “I came to sing a song about hope,” Jason Robert Brown croons in his opening number for what will become a special edition of BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night. It is a highly metatextual number, […]
Norm Lewis, Rachel Tucker and Betsy Wolfe join line-up for Jason Robert Brown concert
Broadway stars Norm Lewis, Rachel Tucker and Betsy Wolfe will join multi award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown for his return visit to the London Palladium next month. Part of BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night, An Evening with Jason Robert Brown on Wednesday 11 April will feature the writer, conductor and pianist with […]
Jason Robert Brown to play special London concert
Multi award-winning Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown will return to London Palladium in April for a special one-night only concert. Part of BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night, An Evening with Jason Robert Brown on Wednesday 11 April will feature the writer, conductor and pianist with the 60-piece BBC Concert Orchestra. Brown, who […]
Parade – Frogmore Paper Mill, Hemel Hempstead
Parade was performed at Frogmore Paper Mill, Hemel Hempstead. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ From the moment the notes of ‘The Old Red Hills of Home’ rang out, sung gloriously by Lawrence Smith as a young Confederate soldier, it was clear we were about to experience something quite extraordinary. What young […]
Full cast for Parade at the Frogmore Paper Mill in Hertfordshire
Casting has been announced for the revival of the award-winning 1998 musical Parade which will be the first professional production at the world’s oldest working paper factory in Hertfordshire this September. Connor Dyer (Leo Frank), Sherelle Kelleher (Lucille Frank), Philippa Rose (Mary Phagan), Tré Copeland-Williams (Jim Conley) and Thomas Isherwood (District Attorney Hugh Dorsey) will lead a […]
13 The Musical – Ambassadors Theatre
13 The Musical continues at the Ambassadors Theatre until 23 August. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ In Jason Robert Brown’s 13, young New Yorker Evan Goldman finds himself uprooted from home just weeks before his bar mitzvah, and after his parents’ divorce moves with his mother to a sleepy Indiana town. […]
New production of Parade to launch Hertfordshire Paper Mill as arts venue
A revival of the award-winning 1998 musical Parade will be the first professional production at the world’s oldest working paper factory in Hertfordshire this September. With a book by Driving Miss Daisy writer Alfred Uhry and a score by Jason Robert Brown (Songs For a New World; The Last Five Years; Bridges of Madison County), […]
British Theatre Academy to stage musical double at the Ambassadors Theatre
The British Theatre Academy is lining up youth productions of Neil Bartram and Brian Hill’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and Jason Robert Brown’s 13 The Musical to play London’s Ambassadors Theatre this summer. Following on from the success of previous BTA summer shows, The Secret Garden at the Ambassadors last year and Annie Jr at the […]
Honeymoon in Vegas The Musical in Concert – London Palladium
Honeymoon in Vegas was performed at the London Palladium. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The London Musical Theatre Orchestra (LMTO) once again proved itself to the most exciting new force on the London theatre scene with a spectacular concert staging of Jason Robert Brown’s playful Honeymoon in Vegas at the Palladium. The event – […]
Honeymoon in Vegas – Maxwell Caulfield and Simon Lipkin join cast
Maxwell Caulfield, Rosemary Ashe, Nicolas Colicos and Simon Lipkin have joined the principal cast for the London Musical Theatre Orchestra’s concert staging of Honeymoon in Vegas at the London Palladium on 12 March. Caulfield (Guys and Dolls), Ashe (Sister Act), Colicos (Annie Get Your Gun) and Lipkin (Guys and Dolls) will join the previously announced […]
Honeymoon in Vegas – Samantha Barks and Arthur Darvill cast in LMTO concert
After the success of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair at the Cadogan Hall in November last year and the concert of Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens’ A Christmas Carol (Lyceum Theatre, December 2016), initial casting has been announced for The London Musical Theatre Orchestra’s first concert of the 2017 season, the hit Broadway musical Honeymoon […]
Honeymoon in Vegas – Jason Robert Brown to conduct LMTO concert debut
Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown will be the guest conductor when London Musical Theatre Orchestra’s plays a concert staging of his musical Honeymoon in Vegas next month. A patron of the LMTO, Brown will be the 30-strong orchestra’s first guest conductor when Honeymoon in Vegas receives its UK premiere at the London Palladium on 12 […]
Samantha Barks – Live at Zedel
Samantha Barks performed in cabaret at Live at Zedel, London. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Fresh from an American tour, a new album launch and fantastic run of The Last Five Years as Cathy at St James Theatre, Samantha Barks treated the Zedel audience to an intimate evening of vocal acrobatics as she took us through the […]
The Last Five Years – St James Theatre
The Last Five Years continues at the St James Theatre, London until 3 December. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ The songs from Jason Robert Brown’s high concept musical The Last Five Years have become so popular amongst performers that the show has a tendency to become a collection of audition songs […]
