On June 1st, 1995, Tom Greenwald and Andrew Lippa's John & Jen premiered Off-Broadway at the Lamb's Theatre, starring Carolee Carmello and James Ludwig. 30 years later, this intimate musical still speaks to our climate of political and social polarization. Set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990, John & Jen is a gem of a show, brimming with intelligence, wit and beautiful melodies. 

Jen and her younger brother, John, are growing up in the ever-changing world of mid-century America. As the country becomes divided over the war in Vietnam, so does the family, and battle lines are drawn between the once-close siblings. When John is killed in Vietnam, Jen is left to reconcile her memory of their fractured relationship along with her son and brother's namesake.

In 2015, Keen Company mounted a 20th anniversary revival starring Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan. Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times about Lippa's "swirling, impressionistic score": "the music is sometimes perky, sometimes solemn and always underlaid with a throb of sweet regret."

In 2021, an updated version of John & Jen premiered at Southwark Playhouse in the UK. The production starred Lewsi Cornay and Rachel Tucker and featured new orchestrations by Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years) and Lippa. It is available for rental or purchase on most major streaming platforms.

We were fortunate to have authors Tom Greenwald and Andrew Lippa share their reflections with us.

What inspired you to create this show?

Tom Greenwald and Andrew Lippa: In 1990, two actor friends were looking for a 15-minute musical to showcase themselves. They suggested a short play they’d found that centered on a brother and sister. We didn’t connect with that play, but we did connect with the idea of a musical about a brother and a sister. So, we wrote a 15-minute musical called “John & Jen”. Then, a year or two later, we got asked to include it in a showcase in NYC with two 1-act plays. It got a little longer - it was probably 25 minutes - and we did it. Then, when Andrew was working as a musician at Goodspeed in 1992, we put on a version of the show after the main performance at the theater one evening. People liked it and suggested we make it a full-length show. So we did. And the Goodspeed produced it in 1993. And it just kept going. We didn’t know this at the time, but the fact it kept going (1995, The Lamb’s Theatre followed by the MTI license, the recording, and productions all around the world, followed by the 20th anniversary production in NYC, etc.) was not what normally happened to musicals, especially by first-time writers.

Was it always your intention for the show to only have a cast of 2? What drove the choice to make it such an intimate musical?

Greenwald and Lippa: It was always intended for only 2 actors. What drove the choice to make it so? Money, actually. It seemed to us, as newbies, we might have a fighting chance of getting our show on with 2 actors and 3 musicians. Turns out, we were right! I think the Lamb’s Theatre production in 1995 cost around $90,000 to mount. That was cheap!

Have you found yourself relating to John or Jen more over the years? If so, why?

Lippa: For me, it’s Jen, of course. I say “of course” because she’s the one who ages. As I’ve aged, I see more and more of myself in her. How Tom and I knew what to write about an almost 50-year-old mom when we were in our 20’s is beyond my ability to reason. But we guessed at what the human behavior would be and, well, we have mothers. Enough said!

Greenwald: For sure Jen, because sending my kids off to college was indeed traumatic. It’s surprising how on the money we were when we wrote adult Jen, but her struggles as a parent are very familiar.

Is there anything new you’ve discovered about John & Jen upon revisiting the show?

Lippa: Not so much “new” as “wow”. The show, over 30 years old since we started writing it, still packs an emotional punch. Audience members really invest in the characters early in the show. This is, for me, what making a musical is about: draw characters the audience can believe in and care about. Time hasn’t (yet!) aged these characters or this musical. I’m always knocked out by that.

Greenwald: I think when we were writing the show, we didn’t realize how risky it would be to have adults play children. I get that now! Having said that, I have seen many productions since the original, and actors have consistently taken on that challenge with grace and skill.

What can today’s audiences learn from John & Jen 30 years after its premiere?

Lippa: I think they can learn what we always hoped they would learn: loving is hard but it’s better than not loving.

Greenwald: family is hard but it’s better than not family.

What advice would you give to a director producing the show?

Lippa: Trust the material. Keep it simple. Don’t let the music always tell you how to feel. Believe in the characters and their conflict. No concepts, please. Just tell the story.

Greenwald: Don’t put “he dies at the end of the first act” in the promotional materials.

License John & Jen.