John & Jen: A Small Musical With a Devastating Emotional Punch

At Festival Bruxellons!, John & Jen turns a two-person cast and an intimate barn stage into a deeply moving story about family, grief and the wounds we inherit. Running until 21 September at Château du Karreveld in Molenbeek, this Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald musical follows one woman across two defining relationships: first with her younger brother, then with her own son. Ket had the chance to see the show — and left genuinely shaken by the emotional force of this stripped-back production.

A family story across two generations

At first glance, John & Jen may sound like a relatively simple story: a sister, a brother, a mother and a son. But the musical builds something far more complex out of those close relationships.

The first part takes us back to 1952, when Jen grows up in a fragile household with her younger brother John. Their father is violent, their family is falling apart, and Jen becomes John’s protective older sister. Their bond is intense, loving and sometimes painful. As Jen leaves for New York to study in the early 1960s, John remains caught in their father’s influence before joining the army and leaving for Vietnam.

Nearly three decades later, Jen is a mother herself. Her son is also called John — and his sensitivity, his questions and his growing independence reopen wounds she has never fully processed. The past does not simply return as a memory: it shapes the way she loves, fears and tries to protect her child.

Two performers, a full emotional world

The remarkable achievement of this production lies in the work of its two performers, Marion Preite as Jen and Loaï Rahman as John. They carry the whole story on their shoulders, moving through years of family history, changing dynamics and emotional shifts with striking precision.

Preite gives Jen both strength and vulnerability. She is protective but not always gentle, loving but marked by guilt and unresolved anger. Her performance makes it impossible to reduce Jen to a single role — she is a sister trying to save her brother, then a mother trying not to repeat the patterns she escaped.

Rahman brings a touching openness to both versions of John. As the younger brother, he captures the need for reassurance and recognition. As Jen’s son, he brings another kind of tension: the painful but necessary moment when a child begins to separate from a parent and claim his own life.

Together, they create a rare sense of intimacy. Their scenes do not feel like big theatrical demonstrations of emotion. They feel lived-in, fragile and painfully recognisable. The result is often overwhelming.

When love cannot erase the past

John & Jen is not a musical about family love as a simple cure. It asks harder questions: how do we remain loyal to the people we love without losing ourselves? What does protection mean when it turns into fear? And how can a parent let go when loss has already shaped everything?

The relationship between Jen and her brother is haunted by absence, violence and the Vietnam War. The relationship between Jen and her son is shaped by the same emotional legacy, even though he has not lived through the same childhood. The musical shows how trauma can travel across generations — not as fate, but as something people must consciously face.

That is what makes the show so moving. Its themes may be universal, but they are never abstract. The pain is in the details: a difficult goodbye, a missed connection, the guilt of not having been able to protect someone, the fear that love may not be enough.

An intimate counterpoint at Bruxellons!

Festival Bruxellons! is known for its large-scale summer musical productions, including this year’s Kinky Boots. In that context, John & Jen offers a very different experience: smaller, quieter and more concentrated.

Presented in the barn at Château du Karreveld, the show benefits from its close setting. There is little distance between the audience and the story. Every song, silence and change in the relationship lands with added weight.

The live musical direction also plays a key role. Arnaud Tibère conducts from the piano, joined by Simon Drachman on percussion and Eline Duerinck on cello. Their presence gives Andrew Lippa’s score a warm, delicate texture, allowing the music to support the emotions rather than overwhelm them. The production is directed by Guillaume Nozach.bruxellons

Why this story resonates

For queer audiences, John & Jen may resonate in a particular way — not because it presents explicitly LGBTQIA+ characters, but because it explores chosen and inherited expectations around family, care, identity and becoming oneself.

Many queer people know the tension between love and acceptance within families: the wish to remain connected, the need to set boundaries, and the difficult work of building a life beyond the roles others assign to us. Jen’s story is rooted in a specific American family, but its questions about emotional survival and intergenerational healing feel widely recognisable.

This is a musical that takes emotion seriously without becoming sentimental. It is tender, painful and at times almost unbearable — in the best possible way.

Practical information

What? John & Jen, a musical by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald
When? Until Sunday 21 September 2026
Where? The barn at Château du Karreveld, Festival Bruxellons!, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
Cast: Marion Preite as Jen and Loaï Rahman as John
Live musicians: Arnaud Tibère (piano and musical direction), Simon Drachman (percussion), Eline Duerinck (cello)
Direction: Guillaume Nozach
Tickets and full schedule: bruxellons.bebruxellons

A small-scale production with a large emotional reach, John & Jen stays with you long after the final note.

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