You've gone through most, if not all, of the Beatles' albums and have done a Who show, what inspired this John Lennon tribute?
Lennon was a King. I recently did a show in Manhattan with Lennon's early band, The Quarry Men, as well as Pete Seeger, Neil Innes (of The Rutles and Bonzo Dog fame), Marshall Crenshaw, Tom Paxton -- all celebrating the music of Lennon. I was also at the NYC Premiere of compelling film about Lennon's boyhood, "Nowhere Boy" and I recently picked up a wonderful book about the day John met Paul. This guy is in the air a lot recently, on a lot of peoples' minds. Mine too.
I've done a lot of Beatles music in my life. I've reproduced 8 of their albums in their entirety "live" and have performed probably close to every last one of their songs, including tough ones like "Revolution #9" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)". But I am thrilled to explore some of this material of Lennon's as both an Ex-Beatle as well as a mop-top. It is an honorable challenge.
Any plans to keep moving further into solo Beatle work? Maybe a Paul McCartney show in the future?
Good idea, Gary. We'll see. George Harrison's no slouch either. I wouldn't expect I'd be doing an all-Ringo show right away, however.
Who are some of the artists scheduled to take part in the Lennon show?
Earl Slick who, in addition to playing guitar on Lennon's 'Double Fantasy' album, has had an extensive career playing with David Bowie. Pat Dinizio, front man and primary singer/songwriter for the The Smithereens. Christine Martucci, Bob Burger, Lisa Bouchelle, Kim Pulsive, John Merjave, Dusty Micale, Taylor Hope, Anjelia, Emily Grove, Jo Wymer, Rick Barry, Jerzy Jung, Rosemsry Conte, a nine year old girl named Jordan Reid…The list goes on and on…
Since you normally handled the Paul tunes, is there one main Lennon singer or several?
One of the blasts for me is getting to sing some of John's material. But I'm not alone on this. I have women, girls, kids and a choir diving into this material. No clowns or elephants, I'm afraid.
What are some of the tunes people can expect? Does the show follow any particular theme such as chronological by release? John's most popular songs? A blend of greatest hits and obscurities?
It's pretty much a balance of things you'd know and obscure material. One of my favorites is kind of new to me, "Grow Old With Me", purportedly his very last song.
Thanks to your Facebook posts, I think many people have something of an idea just how much work and rehearsal time goes into these projects but can you give me a little breakdown of just how long you generally spend on a tribute show?
I don't know. I try not to count up the time I put in, that only points out how inefficient it all is. I'd probably make more per hour working at a fast food restaurant! These are labors of love for me. If I'm gonna make music for a living, it might as well be for the joy of it, as opposed to...oh well, perhaps being in an Las Vegas cover band...not that there's anything wrong with it.
It's all about scheduling. And that's no fun for me.
What's the most difficult aspect of putting on a show like this?
People. Organizing and scheduling performers to rehearse. Getting musicians to commit to a schedule. A lot of times, the people who will be playing the song together on stage wont both be available to rehearse on the same day. So, I'll rehearse with each separately; one on one day, another on another day. Which means I have to rehearse twice as much…
Technical stuff like informing the production people how many inputs we'll need is no picnic either.
Are there any video montages this time around?
I believe we'll be stripping things down this time. I like to think John would like it to be more about the music.
Finally, what are your three favorite songs by John Lennon?
Oddly enough, we won't be doing my favorite, "Cry Baby Cry". There are so many great ones. Today, the way I feel right now, I'll say "A Day In The Life" and "I'm A Loser" could be my other two choices. But that's hard for me to narrow it down, considering the guy wrote things like "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" and "Across The Universe".
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
