The Influence of Stephen Sondheim in Jason Robert Brown’s Writing
Jason Robert Brown and Stephen Sondheim (© Erika Kapin Photography)
Ana Capote
When I was studying Musical Theatre, acting through song classes used to be my favorite. For an hour we would sing our repertoire, explore the characters, their world, and learn how to approach a song. The whole class would be involved in the process whether by giving feedback or be an actor to react to. This productive communication and safe space environment allowed many discoveries to all of us as actors.
A bit of particular advice that the teacher would often give us, was to always analyze the sheet music in order to find clues to act the character. To really listen and discover new things in the melody line and in the accompaniment. It may sound obvious and simple but it really changed the way I see a song as a singer/actress now. I realized that in most songs nothing is written by chance. Every single note, pause, and orchestration has a purpose and meaning. Half of the actor’s job is done, if we take the time to dive into the work of the composer.
Once I sang Moments in the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and The Audition Sequence by Jason Robert Brown, I realized the amount of extra detail there was in their work in comparison with other songs I previously sang. So I decided to learn more about these two particular composers and find what made their songs so exciting to work on.
One thing is clear, both use text and narrative to guide their musical ideas, a process initiated by Sondheim’s mentor, Oscar Hammerstein.
I also understood why both of these composers tend to be compared. Both seem to have the same approach when it comes to their writing and their commitment to integrating text and music, since they are both inclined to write songs rhythmically, in a way people would normally speak those words.
Brown has stated that it was when he was first introduced to Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park With George that he realized how much a composer could do to tell a story, and furthermore, it was from that point that he knew he wanted to write musicals.
"Had it not been for Sondheim’s shows I would have probably joined a rock band and tried to be Billy Joel. But once I heard what could be done, what enormous musical and emotional potential could be unleashed, I knew I had to write musicals.” (Nicely Done Schmuck, Brown, 2018)
The more I sang and listened to repertoire written by Sondheim and Brown, the more details I would find in the music, and the better I knew the characters who sang them. These details can go from the simplest clues to disguised subtext in between the notes.
Even if you haven't studied music, you'll have a natural response to certain sounds and chord progressions. You might feel discomfort, peace, or get transported to a specific space and time by certain music. For example, consonance and dissonance are two terms used to describe the interval between notes. Dissonance will most of the time imply that the characters are experiencing fear, nervousness, or regret whereas when you find consonance and unison (when the characters are singing the same melody line) they will most likely represent union or clarity.
Look at The Last Five Years, for instance, a story about a couple where Jamie tells the story sequentially, beginning with their first meeting, while Cathy tells the story in reverse, beginning with the divorce. The last note of The Next Ten Minutes, in which we go from Jamie’s marriage proposal to their wedding, is in unison. Musically, this symbolizes that, for once, the characters are with each other, both in time and in tune.
Both of the composers use motifs, which can be small music sentences that repeat throughout the show reminding the audience of a specific character, emotion, or situation. Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and The Last Five Years, are examples of shows filled with motifs, but dive into this would be a whole new article.
The use of a quarter note ostinato patterns in the accompaniment is another similarity both composers share, which is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice. In musical theatre, it normally corresponds to a vamp and is normally used to create anticipation and energy.
Sondheim uses this musical technique in shows like Passion, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George and throughout Into the Woods, including the prologue where the driving quarter notes support the intensity and create a sense of urgency with forward motion. Brown also uses this in the songs A Part of That and Summer in Ohio.
Another similarity that I find quite interesting about these two, is that both of them seem to be inclined in writing cheerful tunes for the most horrid scenes like Sondheim did with Pretty Women and Johanna (Act II) in Sweeney Todd, where such beautiful gentile songs underscore the Judge’s near murder and then Sweeney's murder spree respectively. And then in Parade, Brown also uses a joyful celebration song, Big News, to portray both the success of a journalist due to Leo’s murder trial and also Leo’s death sentence.
Last but not least, there’s a musical that is most likely to exist because of the other. A clue? Both explore different chronological lines in order to communicate a story… You probably know that I’m talking about Merrily We Roll Along and The Last Five Years…again.
Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along is told in reverse, which time regresses from 1976 to 1957 and in The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown develops both lead characters differently, time-wise.
As stated by Jason Robert Brown, Merrily We Roll Along was a flash of inspiration that he is surely indebted to. The Last Five Years was supposed to be a love story for two singers, alternating solo songs, but then Brown got stuck in how to tell it. It was only when he realized that if he had one character telling the story in reverse while the other is telling it chronologically, that it would be more interesting than having both moving in the same direction.
The same way actors and singers get inspired by each other so do musicians. The more you see and listen to, the most likely you are to have a wide variety of influences and discoveries that will probably influence your own craft.
Sondheim’s influence on Brown’s compositions is quite thrilling to find, as are both their storytelling through beautiful, meaningful lyrics with multidimensional characters.
As an actor, I find it quite important and truly helpful to be aware of the composers style and background when singing their songs. By knowing that the songs are text-driven, the most likely it is to find things hidden in the score that complement the lyrics, giving meaning to the accompaniment and consequentially help tell the story.