Jason Robert Brown Quotes

Powerful Jason Robert Brown for Daily Growth

About Jason Robert Brown

Jason Robert Brown is an award-winning American composer, lyricist, and musician, renowned for his unique blend of pop, rock, and jazz in musical theatre. Born on April 21, 1973, in Manhattan, New York City, he was exposed to music from a young age, with both his parents being musicians. His early life was marked by a deep love for the piano, which he began playing at the age of five. By the time he was ten, he had written his first song. Brown attended the High School of Performing Arts and later graduated from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. In 1995, Brown made his off-Broadway debut with the musical 'Song for a New World.' The show showcased Brown's signature style, combining introspective lyrics with contemporary music. His breakthrough came in 1998 with 'The Last Five Years,' a two-character musical about a love affair told from two perspectives - one moving forward, the other backward. Brown gained widespread acclaim for his work on the Tony Award-winning musical 'Parade' (1998), which he co-composed with Alfred Uhry. His other notable works include '13' (2004), a coming-of-age musical about teenagers, and 'The Bridges of Madison County' (2014), based on the popular novel by Robert James Waller. Brown's music is known for its emotional depth, intricate lyrics, and complex harmonies. His work has been performed around the world, and he continues to be a significant figure in contemporary musical theatre. He has won multiple Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, and Lucille Lortel Awards, among others. Brown's unique voice in musical theatre continues to captivate audiences and inspire new generations of composers and musicians.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I'm a mess, but I'm your mess." - The Last Five Years

In "The Last Five Years," a character expresses the sentiment that despite their personal shortcomings and turbulence, they remain an integral part of someone else's life journey, symbolizing a shared history and emotional investment in each other, even during challenging times. This quote poignantly captures the essence of relationships where individuals, while imperfect, find solace and stability in their connection to one another, acknowledging the complexity and messiness that is an inherent part of their relationship.


"Wishing won't bring him back, but missing him keeps me strong." - The Last Five Years

This quote emphasizes the power of memory in coping with loss or separation. While wishing for the return of someone who is gone cannot be fulfilled, the act of missing them serves as a source of strength. It suggests that the pain and longing evoked by memories of the absent person fortify us, giving us resilience to face life's challenges. This quote underscores the bittersweet nature of love and loss, highlighting both their emotional toll and their role in shaping our character.


"You make me feel like a man. I am a man." - The Last Five Years

This quote, written by Jason Robert Brown for the musical "The Last Five Years," is a poignant expression of emotional maturity and recognition. The speaker is acknowledging that his partner empowers him to feel like a complete individual - someone who is confident in his masculinity, both emotionally and socially. It suggests a profound connection where one person allows the other to fully realize their identity as an adult male, validating them in their growth as individuals.


"Someone to save me from myself. Isn't that what everyone wants?" - The Bridges of Madison County

This quote from "The Bridges of Madison County" by Jason Robert Brown suggests a universal human desire for connection, understanding, and salvation. People often yearn for someone to help them navigate their complex inner worlds, providing comfort, guidance, and a sense of purpose that they may struggle to find on their own. The search for such a companion can be particularly intense when one is faced with life-changing decisions or feelings of existential uncertainty. In essence, this quote highlights the human need for emotional support, understanding, and growth, which can often be found in meaningful relationships.


"To love you is to watch marbles roll away." - The Last Five Years

This quote suggests a deep sense of loss and powerlessness in love, where one's partner seems to be slipping away or distancing emotionally, much like how marbles roll away when not held. It implies a profound connection and affection, but also the struggle to keep that bond intact due to personal growth or life circumstances that cause emotional distance. It is a poignant metaphor for the complexities of relationships, particularly those that evolve over time, where love persists despite feelings of detachment or loss.


I've never been particularly good at explaining or even understanding what this sort of rage is that is so accessible to me. I'm not an out-of-control person, but I can access in my work very easily a feeling of real fury. Thank goodness I've channeled it into my work, I guess.

- Jason Robert Brown

Been, Very, Accessible, Out-Of-Control

Immediate, simultaneous connection between the audience and a performer is crucial to me. It's why I do what I do. Other things, like recording, are satisfying, but they're not the same. I love the connection I get with the audience when I'm sitting behind that piano.

- Jason Robert Brown

Love, Behind, Other, Simultaneous

Leonard Bernstein was probably the most significant formative influence on me - he was such an encompassing musician. I spent my teenage years absorbing him, and my other interests stemmed off of that. Bernstein led me to Sondheim and to Gershwin, and Sondheim led me to listening to Joni Mitchell.

- Jason Robert Brown

Other, Stemmed, Teenage, Sondheim

You have to understand the medium you're writing for. People jump into writing musicals without realizing how complicated they are. Knowing one form doesn't necessarily mean you know the other. You have to be comfortable with it.

- Jason Robert Brown

Understand, Other, Medium, Realizing

I am a muso, and I love doing it. I assumed that would be my career for a long time. I always wanted to be a writer, but I didn't think that anyone could actually be that full-time, so I always go back to conducting and arranging and playing. If you scratch me, I'm a musician.

- Jason Robert Brown

Love, Doing, Full-Time, Arranging

I grew up in the '70s, and I hear in my own stuff a lot of what I grew up listening to, which is to say I hear a lot of Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder.

- Jason Robert Brown

Own, Billy, Stevie Wonder, None

As much as I can act, I don't have anything in me that yearns to be an actor - that sense of needing to be onstage, in costume, in character; that is utterly not interesting to me.

- Jason Robert Brown

Interesting, Sense, Needing, Costume

Comedy is drama. I think that if your characters are feeling something that is very real, then they have to respond in a way that feels real to them, and some situations, the only response you could possibly have is to respond in a way that's so extreme that people are going to laugh.

- Jason Robert Brown

Some, Very, Feels, Possibly

I don't want costumes and makeup between me and the audience - I want more direct communication. There's something for me about being honest on stage, and I'm at my most honest when I'm behind a piano. So I prefer my concert performances.

- Jason Robert Brown

Makeup, Behind, Prefer, Costumes

When I started out, I wanted to be Billy Joel. The plan was to be a singer-songwriter of that ilk, and, then, I got waylaid - that's probably an unfair way to say it - from being a rock star by the musical theatre stuff, which I love doing.

- Jason Robert Brown

Love, Doing, Rock Star, None

Writing music and lyrics, you tend to become a control freak - sitting alone in your room with a bare light bulb over your head, writing communist manifestos.

- Jason Robert Brown

Over, Communist, Bulb, Sitting

You're supposed to be a control freak when you're an artist. That's the whole point of having a vision: Why have one if you're not going to protect it?

- Jason Robert Brown

Artist, Going, Having, Control Freak

I try to get underneath the skin of all kinds of music, and I never know what's going to inspire me and what makes me crazy.

- Jason Robert Brown

Skin, Going, Makes, Underneath

I never wanted to write 'Mamma Mia!' or 'The Book of Mormon' - they're not my thing, I don't care about them. What I do is very different.

- Jason Robert Brown

Book, Very, About, Mormon

Personally, I've never been popular, so I'm not surprised that professionally I'm a bit out of step, too.

- Jason Robert Brown

Been, Bit, Professionally, Surprised

I'm not doubtful that I am doing what I should be doing - writing for theater - and that I'm doing it in a way no one else does it. Whether anyone else is paying attention or anyone else cares, I'm still ambivalent about that. It's still an open question.

- Jason Robert Brown

Doing, About, Paying, Doubtful

I think that when you write for stars, I think that you have to be very specific about what they do beautifully and let them bring it to life.

- Jason Robert Brown

Think, I Think, Very, Beautifully

I did musicals in high school, certainly. And then I just kept wanting to do them. I felt at home in the theater, in that way that, you know, you're supposed to if that's the kind of person you are.

- Jason Robert Brown

Kind, Wanting, Certainly, Musicals

I love my stuff - you're not supposed to say that. But because I'm performer as well as a writer, I'm constantly interacting with my own work. I always get to find these little secrets that I left for myself, little notes - I find them all over the scores.

- Jason Robert Brown

Love, Notes, Scores, Secrets

I write about outsiders. I write about people who are outside and don't know quite how to get in because it's how I've always felt.

- Jason Robert Brown

Always, I Write, About, Outsiders

What I aspire to do, and what I try the hardest to do, is write stuff that's very personal in its way. I figure I can only say things the way I say them, so I'm trying to do something that is kind of anti-generic.

- Jason Robert Brown

Kind, Very, Figure, Aspire

What's great about collaborating is getting to work with wonderful people. That's what theatre is about: other people getting you to give your best, and getting everyone else's best out of them.

- Jason Robert Brown

Give, Other, Everyone, Collaborating

I find I like the spotlight for a very brief period of time... and I sort of need it. But then, the minute that it's done, I have to sort of go hide. So I was never really meant, I think, to be a performer for a living.

- Jason Robert Brown

Very, Brief, Meant, Spotlight

In terms of my religious preference, if a year goes by and I don't have a Seder or I don't light the menorah, I feel a loss.

- Jason Robert Brown

Year, Goes, Religious, Preference

I don't come from a musical family at all, but I realized early on I was a musician. I started begging for a piano when I was 6 years old.

- Jason Robert Brown

Old, Begging, Musical, Musician

Being a musician - and I like to think of myself as a musician with a capital M - you need to be an omnivore, and I think the best musicians will listen to anything and love everything, and I do.

- Jason Robert Brown

Love, Think, Capital, Musician

My work is very popular with performers, and there are theatre people who get what I'm doing and what tradition I'm working in. I'm very grateful to them - they're my people, who understand why I work the way I do.

- Jason Robert Brown

Grateful, Doing, Very, Tradition

Actually, if you ask my really close friends, they would say that 'Honeymoon' is more me than anything else I've written.

- Jason Robert Brown

Say, More, Close Friends, Honeymoon

It is scary to write - period - for me, but once you get past the idea that it's scary to write, I still can only be who I am. As a writer, my job, to me, is to expose myself - to really sort of dig in and find out who I am and then put it on the page.

- Jason Robert Brown

Dig, Idea, Put, Expose

There are actors I have very strong chemical responses to, and I strive always to figure out ways to work with them and get them to sing my stuff.

- Jason Robert Brown

Strong, Always, Very, Chemical

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.