Jonathan Brielle

http://www.jonathanbrielle.com/

Biography

Jonathan Brielle on Broadway: wrote the music and lyrics for Foxfire with Jessica Tandy (Tony Award) Hume Cronyn, and Keith Carradine; Off-Broadway:  Himself and Nora (book, music, lyrics); Outer Critics Best Musical Nomination, Minetta Lane Theatre 2016; Circle Repertory Company, NY: dozens of scores as Composer in Residence; Regional:  Himself and Nora: American Theater Group production.  Earlier versions include NYMF, James Joyce Center, Ireland and The Old Globe; Nightmare Alley (book, music, lyrics): Geffen Playhouse, Gil Cates Director, and NYMF.  40 Naked Women, A Monkey and Me (book, music, lyrics) The Eugene O’Neill Cabaret Conference.  Las Vegas:  Enter The Night (book, music, lyrics) Stardust Hotel 12 years; MadHattan (book, music, lyrics) New York, New York Hotel; US Tours: Rugrats, Live! (Executive Music Supervisor); Goosebumps, Live! (Producer, Music) TV: Wonderama (music, lyrics) for the national television.  Charitable Organizations: Executive Vice President of the Johnny Mercer Foundation (JMF), creating programs for federally funded schools in New York, Newark, Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta. Writer/Producer in Residence of the Johnny Mercer Writers’ Grove at Goodspeed Musicals and oversees the JMF Songwriting Project at Northwestern University.  Jonathan is the former National Projects Director of the Songwriters Guild of America and is the founder of a new platform featuring new Broadway bound shows and free musical theater education for grades 3-12. www.valamusicals.com.

Talk

After two decades of research, Jonathan Brielle’s musical, Himself and Nora- based on the lives of James and Nora Joyce- was produced at the Minetta Lane Theater in New York City. The often-overlooked fact that Joyce died 15 minutes before Nora could get back to his hospital room inspired the author to imagine the missing 15 minutes Nora wished she could have had. The two-hour production introduced us to Ezra Pound, Harriet Shaw Weaver, Silvia Beach and the Joyces’ son Giorgio and daughter Lucia- singing and dancing, all helping Nora to realize, “without Nora, there would be no Joyce.” As much a labor of love as a drama-dy about love, Brielle, the author, composer, lyricist will give an overview about this musical complete with video clips from the production and will take questions and comments from the audience after if technology allows.