jacqui sirois and jason robert brown The evening started out with an excited buzz both in the lobby and continued when everyone was in the theatre. As soon as the lights dimmed, the applause and cheers broke out but it wasn’t until a few moments later, when the man himself walked out, that everyone erupted in a wild applause. Lots of “oooh”s and “ahh”s and “oh my gods” could be heard throughout the audience (from myself included) when he came out. He sat down and just started.
He opened with a song I believe is called something like “Everything In Its Time.” The opening notes flowed freely throughout the air and everyone was silent as he sang and played. The next song he did was the title song from his own album, ‘Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes’. He really rocked it out and got lots of chuckles from the audience with his quirky lyrics and wonderful delivery. I also wrote down in my notes that he hit an “a-MAH-zing” high note at one point in the piece. He really shows minimal effort in his falsetto and he really shows that he is having an awesome time performing. “Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes” really showcased the classic JRB “rant” that he likes to use in his songs. Next, he performed ”I Could Be in Love With Someone Like You”, the first version of “Shiksa Goddess” from The Last 5 Years, but is also featured on his album.
After, he finally did his introduction and chatted up the audience. He was really funny and has a very dry and fantastic sense of humor. He’s really witty, which really comes through in his music and lyrics. He made a really funny remark about why he doesn’t come to Toronto much (as in the past 3 years) that went something along the lines of: “Get me up there! Are you crippled or something? Oh, Richard, don’t write that one down.” The audience roared with laughter. He admitted that he doesn’t think before he speaks, it just comes out! He then claimed that “the real
reason why I’m here is to get some sleep.”
The next song he performed was one that he wrote for his friend’s wedding called “The Long, Long Road”. It was a wonderful song and I really hope he records it. I was really convinced that it was from Songs for a New World since he mentions “new world” a lot but I don’t think it is. It was really great and featured some wonderful solos from Jason himself as well as his guitar player, Gary Sieger.
The next song he did was called “Being a Geek”, from his new show, 13. It’s a personal favourite so it was a real treat to hear him do this. My notes for that song were particularly funny. I said: “I love how Jewish he is,” because all of his characters are Jewish and I feel like that is the part of him he puts in his characters because he knows it so well.
Next up, he brought out his guest female singer, Chilina Kennedy. She played Maria in West Side Story at Stratford this season. She started with “Still Hurting” from L5Y. I think this was my least favourite performance of the night. It is not because it didn’t sound good (it was gorgeous!), but because it almost seemed like she was going to forget her lyrics and that really kept me on the edge. Her voice was lovely though and it made me smile. Next, she sang “Summer in Ohio”
from L5Y and, let me tell you, it blew me out of the water! She’s such a petite girl and she had this huge booming voice that came out of her and I really wasn’t expecting it at all. Apparently, Jason Robert Brown only lets something like 3 people do that song ever and she was lucky enough to get to do it! It was a fantastic performance. Last, her and Jason did a duet from Songs for a New World called “I’d Give It All For You”. It sounded so lovely with them doing it together. (Something tells me I’ve heard Sara Farb do this song at a cabaret or open mic or something. Now I have her voice singing this song in my head). Anyway, I found that the balance between the two was very nice and it was a spectacular duet.
The ninth number that Brown did was a song that was called something like “I Will Follow (And You Will Lead Me There)”. I didn’t write anything down for this one so it must have been a good one. That was followed by a song called “When You Say Las Vegas” which is from a new show he’s working on called Honeymoon in Vegas based on the 1992 film of the same name. It was a really funny song and jazzy and fun. It kinda seemed like a crooner singer sort of a song that Michael Buble would sing. Next, he did a song (that I think was) called “Out of the Sun”. I say ‘I think’ a lot cause he didn’t really pause a whole lot to chat and he just wanted to fit as much in a possible. The song was really funny and had some really quirky lyrics.
After that was one of his classic songs called “King of the World” from Songs for a New World. This is probably one of my fave songs. It’s just so triumphant and driving. Next, was a song that I believe is called “I’m Flying Over”. It was kinda mellow and country-ish. When he was done singing a part of the song, he just pushed the mic away and hit the keys for a passion driven piano solo. His fingers just ran up and down and all over the keys and he didn’t miss a single one! You can really see how much of his heart goes into his work and how much he loves it. His mismatched melodies to his accompaniment and vocal part create such a fire that it really makes the song exciting. A huge applause erupted when he finished his solo.
Finally, the Toronto Youth Music Theatre Company kids came out to sing with him. I’m proud to say that I had four friends performing and they looked (for the most part) that they were having a really fantastic time. They sang “A Little More Homework” from 13 and, let me say, it was beautiful. You had Jason doing the first solo that melts your heart and then the kids join in with some kids being featured on solos. The young voices really add so much colour. It was really quite a beautiful thing to listen to. After that, the finale song was “Hear My Song” from Songs for a New World. It was really great and featured the kids and Jason wonderfully. After that, the whole place burst into applause and cheers and standing ovations and then, he pounded out the opening chords and lines to “Moving Too Fast” from L5Y, which made me squeal with excitement since it my absolute favourite song of his. I almost cried because I was so happy. When I didn’t hear it in the set, I was disappointed but he ended up doing it in the end and it was
fantastic! He did another encore and he sang “Someone To Fall Back On”, a song from his album. It was really gorgeous cause it was just him and the piano. Such a beautiful moment in time. After that, there was a long and huge standing ovation. He came out again, took another bow and told us to go home. It was a wonderful, wonderful show.
After the show, I was hanging around the lobby, chatting with friends and stars of the Toronto production of The Toxic Avenger (=D) when my mom saw a huge line on the other side. She looked over there and there was Jason Robert Brown in the flesh, signing autographs and taking
pictures with fans. I got in line with my friends and waited to meet him. When it was my turn, I was so happy and excited and I couldn’t believe I was meeting my favourite composer of musical theatre! He was a really sweet guy and was very gracious. It was such a wonderful moment.
It really was a spectacular night and I’m so happy I got to go and see this amazing man perform his amazing music.
