Musical Director’s Note: THE LAST FIVE YEARS

The musicals of Jason Robert Brown are performed infrequently in Australia, but as a musical director I would often come across individual songs in cabarets and auditions, and beyond the unique fusion of pop, gospel and musical theatre idioms, one common feature was often a fiendishly difficult piano accompaniment.

Robert Brown writes – “I’m not trying to be coy, I know it drives the best pianists in the world insane, but I guess part of the story is that I’m such a weird and idiosyncratic player that what I write feels very natural to me and feels completely bizarre to other pianists.”

In THE LAST FIVE YEARS he brings these idiosyncrasies to bear on a range on influences. “Joni Mitchell (particularly ‘Hejira’ and ‘Hissing of Summer Lawns’), Billy Joel, Sondheim, Paul Simon, Shawn Colvin, lots of traditional Irish and Jewish music, a million other things.” But once the notes are in the fingers, the virtuosic singing parts nailed, and the groove locks into place…there’s no better feeling in the world.

Daryl Wallis,
Musical Director

At Ensemble Theatre 29 Mar – 27 Apr. Book here.