Where I Watched it: Broadway HD
English Audio Description?: No
It has been a minute since I have reviewed something from Broadway HD, and this is a belated review of John and Jen, which I assume is still on the service, though I did not watch this in December. This musical is written originally by Andrew Lippa, who would go on to work on musicals like The Addams Family, but this revival is specifically getting punched up by Jason Robert Brown. So, it’s a little bit different, and you can feel Brown’s touch in the score. Of the musicals you could watch around Christmas, this one makes sense, as parts of it take place at Christmas, though it’s not exactly the happiest musical.
It’s just two people. One actor, one actress. The first act features a brother and a sister growing up under somewhat complicated circumstances, but at least in the beginning there is very much the idea that they have each other. The second act, is the same girl, now grown up, raising her son, named after her brother, and going through a very different set of experiences. So, the actress remains in the same role for the duration, but the actor does play two technically different John’s.
Broadway HD is pretty awful when it comes to their accessibility. They seem to offer only two productions, The Phantom Of The Opera and a version of Romeo and Juliet. For those of us who love theatre, and especially music theatre, this is such a shame. more and more live theatres, especially professional ones asking for a couple hundred bucks a ticket, have started to embrace audio description for live performances. Broadway HD just needs to find a way to tap into what is already happening, and figure out how to get that out there for its users.
When I try to grade a film on Broadway HD and figure out if the movie gets a grade or is unwatchable, I think about am I gaining more from having seen this version than I would with just a cast recording? That answer varies. there are stage productions that feature scenic design and costume design we are missing, not to mention choreography and blocking. That’s not the case with john and Jen, where the whole musical is in song. There really isn’t a book here, no long monologues to be had. It lends itself to be the kind of thing that the only way to justify watching it is by adding audio description.
However, I didn’t find this specific version with a recording. So, as I’m a fan of Jason Robert Brown, and I think he really punched up and modernized this musical, I’m leaning toward the idea that because this was such a specific and improved version, I gained more by listening to it here. If this had been the original production, I would not have graded it, because then it is the same experience as a cast recording.
Final Grade: A-