Jason Robert Brown Archives - North West End UK

Songs for a New World – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

10Feb

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Songs for a New World – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

When you watch a musical production, it usually follows a known formula with a beginning, middle and an end. Not so with ‘Songs for a New World’ for this is what’s known as a song-cycle. That means rather than having one fully formed narrative, the show is an anthology; a collection of short stories that hang together with common themes. For me, I think the best way to describe this production is as an immersive musical show. You honestly feel as though you’ve stepped into the making of a musical and are part and parcel of the actual show, such is the intimacy of this performance. The venue aids this feeling enormously, and to be seated just inches away from the action is a real thrill. Unlike most shows, the band are not hidden away, they are clearly visible, on display and are inte...

10Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Parade – Sheffield Theatre Deli

Parade by Jason Robert Brown is probably one of the most underrated musicals ever written. It is totally captivating from beginning to end with a powerful score and gripping storyline, the only down side is that it is not performed very often in this country. The musical is a dramatization of the 1913 trial, imprisonment and subsequent lynching, of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia. Tonight, Cutting Edge Productions brought this story to Theatre Deli in Sheffield where it continues until Saturday (13th November). https://www.cuttingedgetheatreco.com/ The lead role of Leo Frank requires an accomplished actor to play him, and tonight Dylan Lambert shone. His attention to detail in the role was impressive, he portrayed an introverted character with an inner determination to get perso...

24Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Last Five Years – Garrick Theatre

Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last 5 Years comes to the West End a year after its sold-out London premiere at the Southwark Playhouse. The show originally premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and has been produced in Northern America and internationally ever since. The musical takes us through five years in the relationship of New Yorkers Jamie and Cathy, an emerging author and actress respectively, and the toll their demanding professions take on their lives as they fall in and out of love. The action follows a non-linear approach with Jamie's story told in chronological order, starting at the first encounter between the two, whilst Cathy’s story plays out in reverse chronological order, starting just after their marriage has ended. Their individual timelines play out i...

The Last Five Years – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

8Jun

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

The Last Five Years – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The award winning The Last Five Years has got to be one of my favourite musicals. With a stunning musical score by Jason Robert Brown, the one act musical requires actors with a broad range both vocally and emotionally to portray the joy, hardship and heartbreak Cathy and Jamie endure throughout. With a tiny cast of just two actors, and directed by new Garrick Artistic Director Joseph Meighan, The Last Five Years is an intimate look at the relationship between two New Yorkers: a writer and an actress The musical follows their love story in a fresh, modern way, as its unconventional structure tells Cathy’s story in reverse and Jamie’s chronologically. You may have seen Hollywood star Anna Kendrick and Broadway sensation Jeremy Jordan in the film adaptation released in 2014, so Ella- M...

FIRST LOOK – The Last Five Years at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

7Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

FIRST LOOK – The Last Five Years at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse have today released the first production images and a trailer ahead of their first opening night in over 15 months tonight. Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years is playing until Saturday 12th June, one of the only musicals to be taking place in the Greater Manchester area this week, not to mention any LIVE theatre! Jason Robert Brown’s Drama Desk Award winning musical, The Last Five Years, is an intensely personal look at the relationship between two New Yorkers; a writer and an actress, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. Image: Martin Ogden Directed by Joseph Meighan, this modern, One Act musical masterpiece is emotionally powerful and intimate with one of the brightest, freshest scores of the new century. The musica...

The Last Five Years to Transfer to the West End

12Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

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 Drama Desk Award-winning musical, The Last Five Years, will play a limited season at the Vaudeville Theatre, previewing from 17th September, with an opening night on 23rd September and running until 13th October 2021. Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, Molly Lynch and Oli Higginson will reprise their roles as Cathy and Jamie. This will be the first time the musical will have had a significant run of length in the West End. The production at Southwark Playhouse was nominated for eight Offie Awards and won two for Best Director and Best Musical Production. Oli Higginson was nominated for a Stage Debut Award for his performance as...

Songs for a New World – Lambert Jackson Productions

21Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Songs for a New World – Lambert Jackson Productions

Recorded remotely in June 2020, this abstract musical is a breath of fresh air in this confined lockdown. Jason Robert Brown’s song cycle captures the feeling of transitioning as we explore the effects of “one moment” of change. The piece opens with footage of closed theatres and soundbites of the news. The uncharacteristically empty theatre districts are accompanied by the words of hope in “A New World”. The show premiered in 1995 but, as with this song, the whole show’s premise feels especially poignant in this time. Almost instantly I had goosebumps and there was many more of that to come. The idea of a moment igniting change couldn’t be more significant when thinking of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests. The footage of Windrush and street art of George Floyd gave even more ...

Songs For A New World on stream.theatre from 21st February

5Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Songs For A New World on stream.theatre from 21st February

Lambert Jackson Productions today announces its online lockdown production of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World which will stream on stream.theatre for one week from 21st February. Filmed during the first UK lockdown, entirely in isolation and on the artists smart phones, Séimí Campbell directs Rachel John (Hamilton), Ramin Karimloo (Phantom of The Opera), Cedric Neal (Motown) and Rachel Tucker (Come From Away), and introducing Shem Omari James, with musical supervision by Adam Hoskins, musical direction from Josh Winstone and video editing by Danny Kaan. “It's about one moment. It's about hitting the wall and having to make a choice… or take a stand… or turn around and go back.” Written by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown and sitting between musical and son...