Nov. 11, 2008
UWSP Performing Arts Series to feature
Broadway composer
Jason Robert Brown
Tony Award-winning Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown will perform
in concert on Tuesday, Nov. 18, as part of the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point Performing Arts Series.
Both a Tony and Drama Desk award winner for his score to the
Broadway musical, “Parade,” Brown and his band, the Caucasian Rhythm
Kings, will perform at Sentry Theater in Stevens Point at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and $6 for
youth. UWSP students with ID may buy tickets in advance for $4.50 or
be admitted free if seats remain. Tickets may be purchased at the
UWSP Information and Tickets Office in the Dreyfus University
Center, by calling 715-346-4100 or 800-838-3378, or ordering online
at
www.uwsp.edu/centers/uit/ordering.asp. Visa, MasterCard and
Discover are accepted.
Brown is the composer and lyricist of the plays “The Last Five
Years,” “Songs for a New World,” “Parade” and his newest musical,
“13,” which recently opened on Broadway. He was invited to Stevens
Point by Assistant Professor Tim Howard, who performed as an actor
under his music direction in the Broadway National Tour of Brown’s
“Parade.”
“Jason Robert Brown is considered a modern age Stephen Sondheim,”
said Howard. “His music is extremely tuneful and blends pop styles
with the contemporary musical theatre genre. Some theatre
compositions are tuneful but without substance, while with others
you remember the lyrics but not the tune. Brown combines both.”
In addition to his performance on Tuesday, Brown will lead a master
class for eight musical theater students on Wednesday, Nov. 19, from
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in UWSP’s Studio Theatre in the Noel Fine Arts
Center. The public is invited as spectators of this class on a first
come, first served basis.
Howard added that his students are “beyond excited” to work with
Brown. “His works, in particular, speak to young people,” he said.
In addition to his composing work, Brown has released a solo album,
“Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes,” a collection of his compositions
that was named one of Amazon.com’s Best of 2005. He has also served
as a conductor and arranger for shows in New York and has composed
songs for the children’s program, “The Wonder Pets.” He is working
on a musical adaptation of the 1992 film “Honeymoon in Vegas.”
He has degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.,
and resides in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.
