The JRB News Sectiontag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//22010-08-27T00:53:09ZA place to post announcements about site updates, new projects, press coverage, or anything else you don't want to talk about in detail or write about personally in the weblog.Movable Type 3.34A GUIDE TO THE MUSIC ON JRB.COMtag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2009:/news//2.3502010-10-02T05:00:00Z2010-08-27T00:53:09ZThis site's been up for over four years now, and in that time, we've been posting lots of songs and snippets for your collective enjoyment. Here's a quick roundup of where you can find all the music we've put online...Jason Robert Brown fromSongs for a New World:
Goin' My Way, Nicole Van Giesen (studio recording, 2003)
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JRB Interview for Music Expresstag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.5132010-08-27T00:40:43Z2010-08-27T00:47:06ZI had the delightful privilege of being interviewed for John Jacobson's Music Express Magazine, a Hal Leonard publication for elementary school kids. You can pick up the May/June 2010 issue here, which includes simplified sheet music for "What It Means...Jason Robert Brown
John Jacobson's Music Express Magazine, a Hal Leonard publication for elementary school kids. You can pick up the May/June 2010 issue here, which includes simplified sheet music for "What It Means To Be A Friend" and "Thirteen", as well as a fun article about me and my work; and you can listen to my interview with Lauren Frost by clicking this little link right here. Thanks to Andy Waterman for setting up the interview, and thanks to Music Express for having me on board! ]]>
JRB on a European Tour and more!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.5122010-08-25T20:43:07Z2010-08-25T20:44:09ZWillkommen, bienvenue, hellobama! It's going to be a very exciting September – the Caucasian Rhythm Kings and I are crossing the pond to bring our phantasmagoric extravaganza to the benighted peasantry of Europe, with some amazing singers along for the...Jason Robert Brown
It's going to be a very exciting September – the Caucasian Rhythm Kings and I are crossing the pond to bring our phantasmagoric extravaganza to the benighted peasantry of Europe, with some amazing singers along for the ride!
First stop: HAMBURG! This will be my first time performing in Deutschland and I'm totally stoked. In addition to our intrepid trio, we've got four bona fide German musical theater stars singing along with us: PIA DOUWES, WILLEMIJN VERKAIK, VOLKAN BAYDARand ALEXANDER KLAWS! And there are more fantastic singers to come!
We'll be at the TUI Operettenhaus on Monday, September 20 at 8:00 pm, and we're gonna kick the spaetzle out of that place! Ticket info is right here!
After Germany, the Boys and I high-tail it to LONDON, ENGLAND, site of many of our previous triumphs! This time, there are several special differences:
1. It's our first time performing in a real live West End theatre!
2. In addition to the trio, we've got a drummer and a horn section to make us extra-funky!
3. We're dragging along the amazing ANIKA NONI ROSE for her debut in the UK!
It's almost too much entertainment for one venue to bear, but we're going to do our best. We've got TWO performances, September 24 & 25 at the Garrick Theatre at 8:00 pm.
Ticket information for our London engagement can be found by clicking hither. Can't wait to make some musical magic on the Continent!
And while I have your attention, today marks the release of Stuart Matthew Price's debut album, All Things In Time. Stuart was the Young Soldier and Frankie Epps in the Donmar production of Parade three years ago, and since then, he's been pulling together this wonderful album of new theater songs. Georgia and I produced three of the tracks, including a brand new song of mine (the title track), a gorgeous Shakespeare setting by Georgia, and Stuart's magnificent opening number from Parade. You can find out more and pick up a copy by clicking this link to SimG Productions' website, and I would be honored if you did!
Along the same lines, the thrillingly-voiced Kevin Odekirk has released a new CD called Unheard, featuring previously unsung musical theater songs, and two of them are mine (with me at the piano and conducting the band) - "I Take It Back" from the not-particularly-lamented Urban Cowboy, and "My Name Is Archie," which was cut from 13 after the LA run. (And there's a song of Georgia's on this CD too!) You can pick up a copy of the CD at Amazon.com, and you'll agree that between Stuart and Kevin, my songs are being very well-served on recordings this year!
That's all for now, though there should be some great new sheet-music news coming soon. See you in Europe!
Auf wiedersehen, a bientôt, goodbiden!
Jason Robert Brown
And hey, follow me on Twitter!]]>
FNAM BENEFIT CONCERT 8/21 FEATURING JRB!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.5102010-08-11T07:45:02Z2010-08-11T07:46:09ZThe Festival of New American Musicals first appeared in Southern California in 2008, and since then, the folks over there have been spreading the word about musical theater all around the region, bringing under their umbrella a wonderful diversity of...Jason Robert Brown
Festival of New American Musicals first appeared in Southern California in 2008, and since then, the folks over there have been spreading the word about musical theater all around the region, bringing under their umbrella a wonderful diversity of shows, concerts, classes & competitions, so that even the sourpussiest curmudgeon will find something to cheer his miserable heart when he talks about "LA theater, grumble grumble."
Now, to celebrate the end of their third fantastic year, FNAM have given me the extraordinary honor of devoting their final concert to my work. And so, at a very fancy-shmancy garden party in Pacific Palisades, I will be leading a kick-ass band and some of my favorite singers in the whole world through a wild afternoon JRB hoedown, and I want YOU to come!
Here's who's on the agenda: ADAM PASCAL! LARA PULVER! GRAHAM PHILLIPS! NITA WHITAKER! with special guests The Theater Geeks Of America!
And me, of course, reducing an otherwise perfectly creditable piano to rubble while shrieking somewhere in the vicinity of the correct pitches.
Won't you come out at 4 PM on Saturday, August 21 and help support this fantastic festival? And hear some insanely talented singers nail my songs? What better way is there to spend a Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles?
See you on August 21!
Jason Robert Brown]]>
The JRB Summer 2010 Newsletter!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.5072010-07-23T07:08:39Z2010-07-23T07:09:26ZJoyful greetings! A lot of firsts in this month's update! This weekend marks my first concert in San Francisco! (Well, San Mateo, to be precise, but close enough.) I'll be doing a show on Saturday, July 24 at Broadway By...Jason Robert Brown
This weekend marks my first concert in San Francisco! (Well, San Mateo, to be precise, but close enough.) I'll be doing a show on Saturday, July 24 at Broadway By The Bay's Bayside Performing Arts Center starting at 7 pm. I hope I'll see you there - please click here for more information!
Then I'm spending next week in beautiful Fargo, North Dakota, my first time ever visiting there. The historic Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre is producing 13 this summer, and to help them celebrate, I'll be doing a concert on July 28th at 7 pm as well as a Q & A, and of course I'll be attending opening night! Tickets for the concert are available here, and there's more info on the JRB website or at the FMCT website.
There have been a lot of firsts at JasonRobertBrown.com as well. If you haven't heard about the brouhaha, let me catch you up quickly: I tossed off a casual blog about a teenager named Eleanor who was uploading my sheet music illegally; suddenly thousands of people were looking at it, and blogging and tweeting about it, including David Pogue in the New York Times, which led to (among other things) me being interviewed by the BBC, me having to shut down the comments on my blog because I was getting attacked by insane tech pirates, me writing my own article about the fracas for the Times, then having a final tete-a-tete with an intellectual property lawyer at Stanford University, and it's not over yet, since I just did an interview on NPR about it yesterday that will be broadcast some time in August. So that's my first major viral Internet controversy! Sort of fun! Sort of not!
(Also on the blog, some bloodcurdling outtakes from the Wearing Someone Else's Clothes sessions, and a contest that no one has yet had the courage to enter!)
Lots of incredible stuff coming up in the next couple of months, including a Songs for a New World concert at Town Hall, concerts in Stuttgart and London, and a whole bunch of new shows that I've just started working on.
And if you care, I'm actually on Twitter! Why? Who knows! But there I am: @MrJasonRBrown, if you will. Follow me and enjoy the randomness!
See you all in San Francisco this weekend!
Jason Robert Brown]]>
Concert review: "Portland's summer of Jason Robert Brown" (The Oregonian, 7/1/10)tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4842010-07-01T16:21:51Z2010-07-01T16:27:37ZMarty Hughley's article in The Oregonian here. Composer Jason Robert Brown highlights Portland's summer of...Jason Robert Brown Published: Thursday, July 01, 2010, 12:33 AM Updated: Thursday, July 01, 2010, 1:23 AM Marty Hughley, The Oregonian “I had always planned, somewhere...Jason Robert Brown
here.
Composer Jason Robert Brown highlights Portland's summer of...Jason Robert Brown
Published: Thursday, July 01, 2010, 12:33 AM
Updated: Thursday, July 01, 2010, 1:23 AM Marty Hughley, The Oregonian
“I had always planned, somewhere along the line,” Jason Robert Brown told the audience, “to be Billy Joel.”
Jason Robert Brown joked that he was so close to the audience at the Miracle Theatre that he could "collect DNA samples." His fans didn't mind the intimate setting.
Well, not everyone who wants to be a rock star ends up as one, and Brown’s skills as pianist and songwriter took him in a different direction, landing him not in arenas but on Broadway.
Even so, he might have felt at least a little like a rock star in Sunday night at Miracle Theatre, where a sold-out house of musical-theater aficionados greeted him with a roaring standing ovation, hung on his every word throughout a 90-minute solo set and a 45-minute question-and-answer session, and mobbed him (politely) for autographs during a post-show reception.
Brown may not be as widely known as Billy Joel, but he has won a Tony Award and established himself as a leading voice among a younger generation of composers (he’s recently turned 40 but first made his mark on Broadway while in his 20s) who’ve brought a rock-bred sensibility to the American musical.
Those who don’t know his work have a few more chances this summer to get acquainted. Brown is the focus of a series of events being produced jointly by the little musical-theater company Staged! and the Miracle Theatre Group, for which this weekend is prime time. A spirited production of “Songs for a New World,” -- which, as an Off-Broadway revue in 1995, launched Brown’s career -- runs through Saturday. Late Friday night, one of the city’s most talented singer/actors, Isaac Lamb, will star with Courtney Freed in a one-night-only performance of “The Last Five Years” (which also made for a fine Stumptown Stages production two years ago), Brown’s ingeniously structured and incisively emotional look at the dissolution of his own first marriage.
“Parade,” the 1999 show that earned Brown won his Tony Award for best score, and his more recent tale of adolescent social struggles, “13,” will be the basis for a pair of educational workshops, running July 19-30 for ages 10-14 and Aug. 2-13 for older teens. Then the series will conclude Aug. 19 with a cabaret featuring various Portland musical-theater stalwarts dipping into Brown’s songbook.
Chanda Hall, artistic director for Staged!, says it was “Songs for a New World” in particular that led to the series.
“We feel kind of a kinship because we’re a young company and that was a show he wrote as a young man,” she says. “It felt right because it’s an accessible work but also a difficult one that would challenge us.”
For Miracle, which focuses largely on bilingual plays with Hispanic cultural themes, the collaboration is a way to utilize its Southeast Portland theater during the off season, and to build broader connections with audiences and the artistic community.
“We love music, and we love music in our space, (which allows it to be) intimate, up-close, acoustic,” says marketing director Tim Krause. “We came to appreciate the aesthetic that Staged! has of stripping musicals down to their essence.”
So far, the biggest impediment to success for the series, Krause feels, has been the late arrival of sunny weather, which has made Portlanders gravitate to outdoor activities.
“The audiences have been smaller than we hoped, but the experience has been even greater than we expected,” he says.
The heat, however, hardly interfered with the enthusiasm on Sunday, which Brown described in a message on his web site as “a really warm (in both senses of the word) and fun concert...in Portland, my first-ever visit to this beautiful city.”
Though it’s possible a few folks in the excited crowd weren’t JRB fans coming in, it’s unlikely any remained unconverted by evening’s end.
For starters, Brown’s piano playing verged on the breathtaking, characterized by rhythmic drive and complexity, and a kind of glistening melodic architecture that subsumed decades of pop vernacular into the refined emotive machinery of Broadway. He delivered his songs (which have been covered by such magnificent singers as Audra McDonald) in an assured, flexible baritone. And he created some of the most exciting moments by inviting the -- surprised and thrilled -- cast members from “Songs for a New World” (which he’d seen earlier in the afternoon) to perform with him.
As witty and engaging as he was in his between-song banter, he was even more so during the Q&A, addressing his working methods (“By the time I get the first line, the song will be done by the end of the day; but what it takes to get me to the first line is often months”); the shortcomings of his early songs (“‘Stars and the Moon,’ I mean, I’m glad people like it and I even like it but...the whole premise of the song is farcockt!”); the importance of emotional honesty in singers (“There are a lot of great voices, but there are very few great singers”); of Hal Prince giving him his breakthrough with “Parade” (“If he had given me a musical about the history of vacuum cleaners, I’d have said, ‘I’m on it!’”).
The one question he shied from, though, might have told us the most. Asked how he felt about the state of musical theater, he replied, “I’ve learned at great cost not to expound on that...I do it the way I think it should be done and just leave it at that.” ]]>
Playbill: JRB/Stitt Concert June 12 To Feature...tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4782010-06-08T01:39:56Z2010-06-08T01:45:20ZAndrew Gans's article here. Jason Robert Brown/Georgia Stitt Concert to Feature Taylor, Trimm, Pulver, Ryder, Chapman, Callaway By Andrew Gans Playbill Online, 07 Jun 2010 The songs of Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt will be presented June 12 at...Jason Robert Brown
here.
Jason Robert Brown/Georgia Stitt Concert to Feature Taylor, Trimm, Pulver, Ryder, Chapman, Callaway
By Andrew Gans Playbill Online, 07 Jun 2010
The songs of Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt will be presented June 12 at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, CA.
The evening of songs by the husband-and-wife composers will feature the talents of Ty Taylor (Songs for a New World), Allie Trimm (13), Lara Pulver (Parade), Amy Ryder (Damn Yankees), Tracy Nicole Chapman (Caroline, or Change) and Dan Callaway (Phantom of the Opera) as well as a 30-voice choir. Show time for the benefit concert for the church is 7:30 PM.
"We'll be doing 20 songs, many of which we've never done in concert in Los Angeles before, and those of you who don't already know Georgia's work will get to hear some incredible songs performed by an extraordinary cast," Tony winner Brown said in an e-mail.
Brown won a Tony Award for his score to Parade. He was most recently represented on Broadway with the new musical 13.
A composer, lyricist, musical director, conductor, arranger and pianist, Georgia Stitt's musicals include The Water, Big Red Sun and Sing Me a Happy Song. Stitt was the assistant conductor for the Broadway bow of Little Shop of Horrors and the associate conductor for Encores! mounting of Can-Can. A recipient of the ASCAP Frederick Loewe Fellowship and the Sue Brewer Award for excellence in music composition, Stitt is married to Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown. Her CD is titled "This Ordinary Thursday"; she also recently collaborated with lyricist Marcy Heisler on "Alphabet City Cycle," a five-song cycle for soprano.
Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, CA. For tickets, priced $35, call (626) 793-2191 or visit www.ppc.net.
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JRB Is Coming To Santa Rosa Again!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4742010-05-13T00:42:33Z2010-05-13T00:43:29ZStop kvetching! It's a beautiful day in May, and I've got concerts coming up! The fantastic and enterprising Roustabout Theater in Santa Rosa, California, is bringing me out for a fun-filled weekend, and I hope you'll come join us! On...Jason Robert Brown
The fantastic and enterprising Roustabout Theater in Santa Rosa, California, is bringing me out for a fun-filled weekend, and I hope you'll come join us!
On Saturday, MAY 22 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, MAY 23 at 3 pm, I'll be taking the stage at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts with a choir from the Roustabout Apprentice Program as well as my old friend and muse, AMY RYDER. We'll be doing lots of stuff from all of my shows, as well as a whole bunch of new songs. You can order tickets by clicking right here, or going to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/102734.
Also, on Friday night, May 21, I'll be doing a public Master Class with the Roustabout students at the Carston Cabaret. More info on that can be found at the Roustabout Theater website.
And for all you Los Angelenos waiting for me to do a concert out here in L.A., mark SATURDAY, JUNE 12 on your calendars. More details to come soon!
See you in Santa Rosa!
Jason Robert Brown]]>
ANIKA NONI ROSE joins JRB at Birdland in March!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4722010-03-03T00:22:38Z2010-03-03T06:50:48ZGo on, look up there at the title of this post. Look at that. Is that a thing of beauty? I am very proud of that subject line, people. For all four of my shows at Birdland in March, I...Jason Robert Brown
For all four of my shows at Birdland in March, I am being joined by the magnificent ANIKA NONI ROSE, diva of the stage (Tony Award winner for Caroline, Or Change and star of the 2008 revival of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof), television (star of HBO's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency), movies (Dreamgirls), and, according to my four-year-old daughter, easily the coolest person that has ever stepped foot in this house (thank you, Princess and the Frog).
Anika's going to be singing a whole bunch of songs, some brand new, some way old, and she will be accompanied not just by the usual Caucasian Rhythm Kings, but by the Brand New Caucasian Horns in their concert debut! That stage is going to be crowded, y'all.
So come git your tickets, people! 7 pm on March 14, 16, 17 & 18. See you there!
She was even in From Justin to Kelly! That's a STAR!
See you in March!
Jason Robert Brown
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"Music of Heaven" sheet music now available online!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4702010-02-12T06:56:10Z2010-02-12T07:07:05ZIn the "Good Things Coming To Those Who Wait" Dept.: I have been getting requests for "Music of Heaven" for thirteen years now, and I am delighted to say that you can now purchase the sheet music online at SheetMusicDirect.com,...Jason Robert Brown
I have been getting requests for "Music of Heaven" for thirteen years now, and I am delighted to say that you can now purchase the sheet music online at SheetMusicDirect.com, along with every other song of mine currently in print. Go forth! Enjoy!
What's gonna work?
Jason Robert Brown]]>
Valentine's Day at Notre Dame with JRBtag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4692010-02-09T01:41:27Z2010-02-09T01:43:20ZYou're agonizing over how to spend Valentine's Day. You don't want to spend a lot of money, everything seems clichéd or phony, but you do like the idea of celebrating the day with the person you love; or maybe you're...Jason Robert Brown
The University of Notre Dame is presenting Parade this weekend at Washington Hall, and either you can go and appreciate the beautiful love story at the center of the show, or you can go and enjoy the lynching. See? Perfect Valentine's Day treat. And if you go on February 14th, the fun keeps coming.
Directly after the 3:00 pm performance of "Parade" on Sunday, February 14, I'll be taking the stage of Washington Hall with my friend, Keith Byron Kirk (oh, he's going to love that picture), to talk about race in the context of the show and of musical theater in general. And Keith knows something about it, since he played Jim Conley in the National Tour of "Parade" ten years ago! Click here for more info on that event. (Incidentally, the Notre Dame production will be using the original touring version of the show, not the new Donmar version, which isn't yet available for licensing.)
But your Valentine's Day isn't over yet! No, it isn't over! Because that night, at 8:00 pm, I'll be doing a solo concert at the Shite Annenberg Auditorium at the University of Notre Dame. And I'll be sure to sing songs both romantic and depressing, often at the same time. Also: tickets are FIVE DOLLARS. WHAT? How am I supposed to make a living like that? You could buy a plane ticket to South Bend, Indiana and see the show and the concert and spend a night in a swank hotel and it would still cost you less than one ticket to Billy Elliott. (I know, I know, what swank hotel in South Bend, Indiana? All right, fine.)
You want to come to the concert, check out the info right here. And I'll see you in Indiana on Valentine's Day!
Pucker up!
Jason Robert Brown
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Wonder Pets Save The Lovebugs for Valentine's Day!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4672010-02-03T20:07:58Z2010-02-03T20:22:05ZA new JRB-written episode of the hit Nickelodeon series "The Wonder Pets" premieres on Friday, February 12 at 10:00 am. Jason Robert Brown provides music and lyrics for Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming on a special Valentine's Day episode. Check the...Jason Robert Brown
"The Wonder Pets" premieres on Friday, February 12 at 10:00 am. Jason Robert Brown provides music and lyrics for Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming on a special Valentine's Day episode. Check the listing here, and tune in!
This episode is also already available on a new DVD called "Nick Jr Favorites – We Love Our Friends" which is reviewed here and is available at Amazon.com now!
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JRB is Back at Birdland in March!tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4662010-02-03T19:31:30Z2010-02-03T19:33:30ZHellobama! Tickets are on sale now for the next round of Jason Robert Brown concerts in New York City – I'll be taking the stage of Birdland once again for FOUR NIGHTS, with an expanded band, fantastic singers, and a...Jason Robert Brown
Tickets are on sale now for the next round of Jason Robert Brown concerts in New York City – I'll be taking the stage of Birdland once again for FOUR NIGHTS, with an expanded band, fantastic singers, and a bunch of new songs from my forthcoming new album!
(When I say "forthcoming," I don't mean "forthcoming soon," I just mean that I'm working on a new album, and someday before my daughter's bat mitzvah I might finish it.)
So come catch me at Birdland, 315 W 44th St in Manhattan, on the following nights (click the link for tickets):
It's gonna be a great run, and I hope you'll be there to join us!
Goodbiden!
Jason Robert Brown]]>
LA Drama Critics Circle Nominates "Parade" and Awards JRBtag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2010:/news//2.4652010-01-26T05:49:45Z2010-01-26T06:06:29ZKenneth Jones's article can be found here. L.A. Drama Critics Circle Nominees Include Parade, Birkenhead, Strouse, Metcalf and More By Kenneth Jones Playbill, 25 Jan 2010 The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle announced nominees and special awards for excellence in...Jason Robert Brown
here.
L.A. Drama Critics Circle Nominees Include Parade, Birkenhead, Strouse, Metcalf and More
By Kenneth Jones Playbill, 25 Jan 2010
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle announced nominees and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2009.
The 41st Annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony, hosted by Jason Graae, will take place on March 22 at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. The co-host will be critic Wenzel Jones.
Awards will be given in 20 categories, honoring excellence in theatre over the past year. Eight special awards will also be given, including an award honoring Kirk Douglas for his lifetime contribution to Los Angeles theatre.
Among the titles nominated in the Production category are Life Could Be a Dream, Munched, No Man's Land, Parade, Stick Fly, The Happy Ones and The Pain and the Itch.
Broadway songwriters Susan Birkenhead and Charles Strouse were nominated for the score to the Broadway-aimed Minsky's.
Broadway and TV actress Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne," November) was nominated in the Lead Performance category for her work in Voice Lessons.
The 2009 Special Award recipients are:
The Ted Schmitt Award for the world premiere of an outstanding new play will be awarded to Julie Marie Myatt for The Happy Ones. The award is accompanied by an offer to publish and a $1,000 check funded by Samuel French, Inc.
The Polly Warfield Award for an excellent season in a small to mid-size theatre will be awarded to Celebration Theatre. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by the Nederlander Organization.
The Bob Z Award for career achievement in set design will be awarded to Sybil Wickersheimer.
The Angstrom Award for career achievement in lighting design will be awarded to Luke Moyer. The award is accompanied by a $1,000 check, funded by Angstrom Lighting.
The Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater will be awarded to the Rubicon Theatre Company. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by Disney Theatricals.
The Joel Hirschhorn Award for outstanding achievement in musical theatre will be awarded to Jason Robert Brown. The award is accompanied by a $500 check, funded by David Elzer/Demand PR.
The Milton Katselas Award for career or special achievement in direction will be awarded to Richard Israel. The award is accompanied by a $1,000 check, funded by Camelot Artists.
A Special Award for Lifetime Contribution to Los Angeles Theatre will be awarded to Kirk Douglas.
Awards will also be given in the following categories:
Solo Performance
Danny Hoch, Taking Over, Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Makeup Design
Ann Closs-Farley, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater
Puppet Design
Wes Crain, Lena Garcia, Lynn Jeffries, Elizabeth Luce, and Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
The nominees for the 2009 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for theatrical excellence are:
Production Life Could Be a Dream, David Elzer, Peter Schneider & Crooning Crabcakes, LLC, Hudson Mainstage Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company, El Centro Theatre No Man's Land, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Odyssey Theatre Parade, Center Theatre Group and the Donmar Warehouse, Mark Taper Forum Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre Company, Matrix Theatre The Happy Ones, South Coast Repertory, South Coast Repertory The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company, Theatre @ Boston Court
McCulloh Award for Revival (shows between 1920 and 1980) Equus, The Production Company, Chandler Studio Theatre Hair, Chance Theater, Chance Theater The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre, Pacific Resident Theatre
Direction
Sean T. Cawelti, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Duane Daniels, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Shirley Jo Finney, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
Marilyn Fox, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Oanh Nguyen, Hair, Chance Theater
Writing
Julie Hébert, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre—LA at [Inside] the Ford
Bruce Norris, The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company at the Theatre @ Boston Court
Kim Porter, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Brian Christopher Williams, Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins, West Coast Ensemble at the El Centro Theatre
Writing (Adaptation)
Kitty Felde, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Meryl Friedman, The Wasps, Stinger Productions at The Lost Studio
Music Direction Brent Crayon, Songs for a New World, International City Theatre David O, The Wasps, The Lost Studio
Michael Paternostro, Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Phil Reno, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Bill Strongin, Hair, Chance Theatre
Choreography
Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear, and Geoffrey Garratt, Mary Poppins, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ameenah Kaplan, Altar Boyz, Celebration Theatre
Kelly Todd, Hair, Chance Theater
Musical Score
Susan Birkenhead and Charles Strouse, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Anthony Bollas, Stranger, Bootleg Theater
Erin Kamler, Divorce! The Musical, Hudson Mainstage
Lead Performance
Sam Anderson, The Bird and Mr. Banks, The Road Theatre Company at the Lankershim Arts Center
Johnny Clark, Blackbird, VS. Theatre Company at the Elephant Studio Space
Jade Dornfeld, Blackbird, VS. Theatre Company at the Elephant Studio Space
Bruce French, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Jim Hanna, Equus, The Production Company at The Chandler Studio Theatre
Deidrie Henry, Coming Home, The Fountain Theatre
William Dennis Hurley, Shining City, The Fountain Theatre
Michael Kostroff, The Producers, Musical Theatre West at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Alan Mandell, No Man's Land, Odyssey Theatre
Laurie Metcalf, Voice Lessons, Zephyr Theater
Darin Singleton, The Unseen, The Road Theatre Company at the Lankershim Arts Center
Samantha Sloyan, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Featured Performance
Hugo Armstrong, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater
Chuma Gault, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre—LA at [Inside] the Ford
P.J. Griffith, Setup & Punch, The Blank Theatre Company at the 2nd Stage Theatre
Andrea Hutchman, Munched, Buzzworks Theater Company at the El Centro Theatre
Heather Lee, No Way to Treat a Lady, Colony Theatre
Sally Smythe, The Browning Version, Pacific Resident Theatre
Greg Watanabe, The Happy Ones, South Coast Repertory
Jacqueline Wright, Tree, Ensemble Studio Theatre—LA at [Inside] the Ford
Ensemble Performance
Hair, Chance Theater
Hunter Gatherers, Furious Theatre Company at the Carrie Hamilton Theatre
Life Could Be a Dream, Hudson Mainstage
Our Mother's Brief Affair, South Coast Repertory
Stick Fly, The Matrix Theatre
The Pain and the Itch, The Theatre @ Boston Court and Furious Theatre Company at the Theatre @ Boston Court
Set Design
John Iacovelli, Stick Fly, The Matrix Theater
Jeff McLaughlin, A Skull in Connemara, Theatre Tribe Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, Treefall, Rogue Machine at Theatre/Theater
Lighting Design
Lap-Chi Chu, Our Mother's Brief Affair, South Coast Repertory Haylee Freeman, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
David Lander, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Dan Weingarten, Stranger, Bootleg Theater
Costume Design
Gregg Barnes, Minsky's, Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ann Closs-Farley, Land of the Tigers, The Sacred Fools Theater Company & Burglars of Hamm in association with Frantic Redhead Productions at Sacred Fools Theater
Shigeru Yaji, Peace, The Getty Villa
Sound Design
Ron Klier, Blackbird, Elephant Theatre Lab
John Nobori, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Ken Sawyer, Dracula, Noho Arts Center
CGI/Video
John MacDonald, Hair, Chance Theater
Brian White, Gogol Project, Rogue Artists Ensemble in association with Bootleg Theater at Bootleg Theater
Fight Choreography
Brian Danner, Macbeth, Theater Banshee
Victor Warren, Stranger, Bootleg Theater
*
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle was founded in 1969. It is dedicated to excellence in theatrical criticism, and to the encouragement and improvement of theatre in Greater Los Angeles.
For tickets, visit LADCC's website, at www.ladramacriticscircle.com.
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LA Times: Top 10 Theater 2009 (12/15/09)tag:www.jasonrobertbrown.com,2009:/news//2.4622009-12-27T07:43:34Z2009-12-27T07:48:54ZClick here for Charles McNulty's photo essay on the best theatre in California in 2009. And included in the list, this blurb about Parade: The Donmar Warehouse's scaled-down version of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's 1998 musical about the...Jason Robert Brown
here for Charles McNulty's photo essay on the best theatre in California in 2009.
And included in the list, this blurb about Parade:
The Donmar Warehouse's scaled-down version of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's 1998 musical about the execution of injustice done to Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager dubiously convicted of the rape and murder of a teenage employee, featured a top-notch cast led by T.R. Knight and Lara Pulver. The material is admittedly very stark for a musical, but Brown's Tony-winning score lent an astonishing degree of moral nuance and color.