For AJR, writing original songs for a new Broadway musical is more than just a full-circle moment.
“The most full circle,” member Jack Met tells The Line of Best Fit. “The biggest circle.”
As previously reported, the brother trio is composing music for a stage production of the classic children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon. Given that AJR has basically made a career out of recording musical theater-influenced albums, the collaboration seemed like a natural fit.
“This producer approached us and he was a big, Tony-winning producer who put on a bunch of Broadway shows,” Jack recalls. “He said, ‘Your guys’ music sounds really theatrical — have you ever thought about writing a Broadway show?’ We’re like, ‘Oh my god, before we even made a band we were writing fake Broadway songs in our living room.'”
AJR’s involvement with the musical was first announced in 2022, and Jack notes that AJR is currently “in the process of writing.”
“There’s this interesting world in Broadway that you can sort of escape into and just write these really cheesy and weird and fantastical things,” Jack says. “We’re having such a blast doing it.”
Meanwhile, AJR just released a new album, The Maybe Man, in November. They’ll launch a U.S. tour in April.
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