Jason Robert Brown (Los Angeles, CA) is a three-time Tony Award-winning composer, lyricist, and playwright renowned for his sophisticated and rhythmically dynamic scores. He emerged as a leading voice in contemporary musical theatre with his off-Broadway debut, Songs for a New World (1995), followed by the seminal Parade (1998), which earned him his first Tony for Best Original Score. His body of work—which includes the generation-defining The Last Five Years (2002), the coming-of-age musical 13 (2007), and The Bridges of Madison County (2014)—is celebrated for its seamless fusion of pop-rock energy with profound theatrical storytelling. A frequent performer and conductor of his own music, Brown has been hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim".