Jason Robert Brown By Samantha Riou

Early Life Jason Robert Brown was born on June 20, 1970 in Ossining, New York and raised Jewish. He cites Sweeney Todd and Sunday In The Park With George as his major influences. Beginning his career as an arranger, conductor and pianist in New York, he worked on shows such as William Finn’s A New Brain.

Early Career Songs for a New World marked the first major New York production of Brown's songs though it was an off-Broadway revue with a limited run. the show was directed by Daisy Prince, daughter of director Hal Prince The song "Stars and the Moon" has since become a cabaret standard, and is probably Brown's best-known composition to date.

Big Break Brown was introduced to Hal Prince through Daisy Prince, and was hired to write songs for Hal’s next project, the Broadway musical Parade, based on the trial and lynching of Leo Frank. Brown won his first Tony Award, for Best Original Musical Score, for his work on Parade in 1999.

Art Imitates life Brown went back to working with Daisy Prince for his third major show The Last Five Years, for which he wrote the book as well as songs The Last Five Years received mixed reviews and was not a commercial success, lasting only two months off-Broadway but the show has gained popularity and is often performed in regional and community theatres. Brown won 2 Drama Desk Awards for music and lyrics. A film version, featuring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan, was released in February 2015.

Projects Brown contributed several songs to the Broadway flop Urban Cowboy.The show was nominated, with 30 other composers, for the 2003 Tony Award for best Musical Score, losing out to Hairspray. In June 2005, Brown released a solo album, entitled Wearing Someone Else's Clothes. In December 2005, his Chanukah Suite received its world premiere with two performances by the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. He also teaches courses in musical theatre performance and composition at the University of Southern California.

Recent shows Brown's tween-oriented musical 13 premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, CA on January 7, 2007. It opened on Broadway October 5, 2008 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, and closed on January 4, 2009. His next project was a musical adaptation of Bridges of Madison County directed by Bartlett Sher.

Personal Life He was married to Theresa O'Neil, and their relationship inspired his musical The Last Five Years Since 2003, Brown has been married to fellow composer Georgia Stitt and they have two daughters