The past year and a bit has been an embarrassment of riches for fans of new writing. There have been albums from Adam Guettel (Days of Wine and Roses) Michael John LaChiusa (The Gardens of Anuncia) and Jeanine Tesori (Kimberly Akimbo). And last but by no means least comes Jason Robert Brown’s The Connector, which premiered at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theatre in January. Hands down, it’s the score of the year. Every number fizzes with the youthful fire of Songs for a New World, matched with the artistry of a theatre maker at the peak of his creative power.
When you think of Brown, his music is the first thing that comes to mind. Intricate piano parts. Infectious riffs. Crunchy vocal harmonies. We take for granted his consummate skill as a character-driven lyricist.
Do try to listen to this album with the digital booklet in front of you. The quiet genius in these lyrics isn’t down to dazzling wordplay but Brown’s conversational ease. There are long descriptive lines - frequently monologues - with just a single word rhyming across multiple verses, like a thread of steel holding everything together. It’s truly awesome craftsmanship and you barely notice a thing.
As for the music (electrifyingly played by a six-piece band that sounds twice the size), this is a chocolate box of thrilling musical experiments.
There are nods to everyone from Steve Reich (“The Whole World Changed”) to Pat Metheny (“See Yourself”) via Lin-Manuel Miranda (‘Wind in my Sails’ has an affectionate tip of the hat to ‘Yorktown’ as its climax). Producer Jeffrey Lesser effortlessly navigates every stylistic twist and turn in his crystal-clear mix.
Hanah Cruz - currently tearing up Broadway in Suffs - gives a guttural rendition of ‘Cassandra,’ an embittered anthem about the injustice of old white men ruling the roost. Ben Levi Ross leads the disturbing euphoria of ‘The Western Wall,’ vividly bringing to life the finale ‘fake’ news feature written by the show’s protagonist. The song also serves as an apt metaphor for the post-truth theme of the piece, probing why each of us ‘believe what we believe’ (as one lyric puts it).
How lucky we are to be alive while Brown continues to fly the flag for story-led musicals in the Harold Prince mould, where stories about the human condition are explored so entertainingly - and with knockout tunes to boot.