Brownbrokers Explained

Brownbrokers is a student-run theater group at Brown 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.

History

Founded in 1935[2] Brownbrokers has been producing original student-written musicals on the Brown 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 musical revue 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 musical revue led to the hiring of Leslie Allen Jones ’26 to organize the new endeavor. Serving both Brown and Pembroke College, the group fused the “broke” of Pembroke with “Brown” to create the Brownbrokers name.

Brownbrokers’ first production was titled Something Bruin and opened on May 10, 1935. The revue included 23 original numbers. Burt Shevelove was cast in this inaugural production. The success of Something Bruin led Sock and Buskin to provide Brownbrokers with the resources and space for an annual production. Road to Bruin and Man 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 with Scuttlebutt in 1944, a navy-themed revue.

Under the guidance of the Brownbrokers Board, the productions began to transition from themed revues to book musicals in the 1950s and 1960s.[4] Barney n’ Me and Fiddle-De-Dee, the 1956 and 1957 shows, had librettos and lyrics by Alfred Uhry ’58, future Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Oscar 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 produced William Inge's Bus 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 titled Play 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 was Leavittsburg, 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 in Providence, Rhode Island in March 2012.

Notable alumni

Notable past productions

A comprehensive timeline of past Brownbrokers productions is referenced below.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brownbrokers' mini-musicals supersize fun. Kristina Fazzalaro. Brown Daily Herald.
  2. Web site: Encyclopedia Brunoniana - Dramatics. Brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  3. Web site: "Brownbrokers Returns to Campus: Started in 1934." Pembroke Record [Providence, RI] 28 Jan. 1944: 1. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. https://archive.today/20120707213458/http://dl.lib.brown.edu/dbdh/getpage.php?image_id=1236283101940353.jp2. dead. 7 July 2012. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  4. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  5. Web site: Pembroke Record [Providence, RI]]. https://archive.today/20131227021157/http://dl.lib.brown.edu/dbdh/getpage.php?image_id=1261009365285853.jp2. dead. 27 December 2013. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  6. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  7. Web site: Encyclopedia Brunoniana - Dramatics. Brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  8. Web site: Stephen Karam. Dramaticpublishing.com. 15 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215212159/http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/AuthorBio.php?titlelink=10406. 15 February 2015. dead.
  9. Web site: Brown University presents Emma. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 15 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215213411/http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=9891&source_type=B. 15 February 2015. dead.
  10. Web site: Stephen Karam Musical Emma Will Get NYC Developmental Run. Playbill. 15 February 2015.
  11. Web site: Timeline of Brownbrokers Productions. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  12. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  13. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  14. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  15. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  16. Web site: BDH Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  17. Web site: Pembroke Record [Providence, RI]]. https://archive.today/20120709213502/http://dl.lib.brown.edu/dbdh/getpage.php?image_id=1236283484476853.jp2. dead. 9 July 2012. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  18. Web site: Pembroke Record [Providence, RI]]. https://archive.today/20120709223002/http://dl.lib.brown.edu/dbdh/getpage.php?image_id=123628349352743.jp2. dead. 9 July 2012. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  19. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  20. Web site: Pembroke Record [Providence, RI]]. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  21. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  22. News: Armstrong . Leslie . Book and Lyrics Surpass Brownbrokers' Performance . 10 May 2023 . Pembroke Record . April 22, 1960.
  23. Web site: Pembroke Record Digital Archive. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  24. Web site: Pembroke Record [Providence, RI]]. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  25. Web site: Pembroke Record [Providence, RI]]. Dl.lib.brown.edu. 15 February 2015.
  26. Rodriguez, Bill. "Emma rewards: The Brownbrokers revisit Austen." Providence Phoenix 7 Dec. 2000: n. pag. Providence Phoenix. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
  27. Web site: Brownbrokers' 'Psyche' worthy of the gods. Jen Sopchockchai. Brown Daily Herald. 15 February 2015.