Brownbrokers is a student-run theater group atBrown University. Together with Brown's Theatre Arts and Performance Studies faculty, Brownbrokers develops and produces a full-length, student-written musical every other year. Founded in 1935, it is one of the oldest undergraduate producing bodies devoted to new student-written musical theatre, both comedic and dramatic, in the United States. The group is run by The Brownbrokers Board, an organization of self-elected students from the Brown student body. In addition to the biennial full-scale production, Brownbrokers produces smaller events such as the annual miniMUSICAL Festival[1] and staged readings of the musicals in consideration for production the following year.
Founded in 1935[2] Brownbrokers has been producing original student-written musicals on theBrown University Department stage for over 75 years. In 1934, a Pembroke College student and composer named Carolyn Troy '35 wrote a song titled “Patch Up Your Heart.” Wanting to produce a musicalrevue on the Brown and Pembroke campuses, she teamed up with friend Burton K. Shevelove '37 (Burt Shevelove) and together with a few other Brown undergraduates, they founded Brownbrokers.[3] By 1935, student interest in staging a musicalrevue led to the hiring of Leslie Allen Jones ’26 to organize the new endeavor. Serving both Brown andPembroke College, the group fused the “broke” of Pembroke with “Brown” to create the Brownbrokers name.
Brownbrokers’ first production was titledSomething Bruin and opened on May 10, 1935. The revue included 23 original numbers.Burt Shevelove was cast in this inaugural production. The success ofSomething Bruin led Sock and Buskin to provide Brownbrokers with the resources and space for an annual production.Road to Bruin andMan about Brown, the 1936 and 1937 productions respectively, parodied both life at Brown and the national politics of the day. In 1943, there was no Brownbrokers show because of World War II, but Brownbrokers returned withScuttlebutt in 1944, a navy-themed revue.
Under the guidance of the Brownbrokers Board, the productions began to transition from themedrevues tobook musicals in the 1950s and 1960s.[4]Barney n’ Me andFiddle-De-Dee, the 1956 and 1957 shows, had librettos and lyrics byAlfred Uhry ’58, futurePulitzer Prize,Tony Award andOscar Award winner. In 1958,Down to Earth was the first Brownbrokers show written entirely by students from Pembroke College. The annual productions continued with two exceptions. In 1962, Sock and Buskin instead producedWilliam Inge'sBus Stop in the usual Brownbrokers slot. In 1974, due to a low turn out for auditions, Brownbrokers instead produced a pre-written, non-musical play titledPlay it Again, Sam.[5]
In 2008, the Brownbrokers development and production process was rebuilt to operate on a biennial basis. The first production under the biennial system wasLeavittsburg, OH, with book, music and lyrics by Nate Sloan ’09. Brownbrokers second production under the new system,We Can Rebuild Him by Deepali Gupta '12, received its world premiere inProvidence, Rhode Island in March 2012.
George M. Cohan – Born and raised in Providence, RI, George M. Cohan was a major American entertainer, playwright and composer, well known for his songsGive My Regards to Broadway,The Yankee Doodle Boy, andYou're a Grand Old Flag. He was made an honorary Brownbrokers Board member when he attended a dress rehearsal ofCurriculi-Curricula (1938) and positively reviewed the production.[7]
Stephen Karam (Class of 2002) – A MacDowell Colony Fellow, Stephen Karam has received national recognition for his playscolumbinus,Speech and Debate and Sons of the Prophet. During his time at Brown, he wrote a nationally acclaimed Brownbrokers show titledEmma, which was reprised atThe Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C., winning the Michael Kanin Playwriting Award for Musical Theatre.Emma also received theNYMF Director's Choice Award.[8][9] In May 2011, he revisited his Brownbrokers showEmma through the New York-based company Waterwell's developmental New Works Lab.[10]
1943: No Brownbrokers production (World War II)[15]
1944:Scuttlebutt – directed by Leslie A. Jones and Janine O. Van deWater[16]
1945:Souvenirs – a tenth anniversary compilation of past Brownbrokers musicals with new compositions by Frannie Patenaude, Alma Fain, Josie Truscot and Al Pomerantz[17][18]
1958:Down to Earth – by Nancy Worcester '58, Barbara Burgess '58 and Connie Hansen '58[20] (first Brownbrokers show written entirely by Pembroke students) and set designed byRichard Foreman '59[21]
1968:Good Times Illustrated Weekly – book by Alfred Basile '70 and music by William Griffith '70[23] (received Honorable First Mention in the 1967/1968Broadcast Music, Inc. Awards)[24]
1987:A Hustle Here, A Hustle There – book and lyrics by Paul Greenberg, music by David McLary (based on theLou Reed songWalk on the Wild Side, with a set designed byBrian Selznick[25]); directed by Vivienne Goldschmidt '89.
1988:The Malady Lingers On – book and lyrics by Jonathan Schaffir, music by Maria Seigenthaler '90; directed by Brian Herrera '90.
2000:Emma – by Stephen Karam '02[26] (Michael Kanin Playwriting Award for Musical Theatre and theNYMF Director's Choice Award)[8][9]
2003:Transforming Jimmy Dalton – book and lyrics by Rebecca Rouse '04 and music by Brendan Padgett; directed by Michael Perlman '05.
2004:Psyche – book and lyrics by Jed Resnick '06 and music by James Egelhofer '04[27]
2005:Moon Mary – book and lyrics by Ella Rose Chary '07 and Angie Thurston '07, music by Jon Russ '07
2006:The Pursuit of History – book and lyrics by Michelle Oing '07, music and lyrics by Daniel Bowman '07
2007:Elsewards – book and lyrics by Jessie Hopkins '08, music by Jerzy Fischer '08
2008 / 2009:Adding Up bySarah Kay '10 and Drew Nobile '07 andLeavittsburg, OH by Nate Slan '09 are developed
2009 / 2010:Leavittsburg, OH by Nate Sloan ‘09 is produced
2010 / 2011:DORIAN by David Brown '12, Lance Jabr '12 and Phoebe Nir '14 andWe Can Rebuild Him by Deepali Gupta '12 are developed
2011 / 2012:We Can Rebuild Him by Deepali Gupta ‘12 is produced
