Songs for a New World

Infobox Musical
name= Songs for a New World
subtitle=


caption= World Premiere Recording
music= Jason Robert Brown
lyrics= Jason Robert Brown
book= Jason Robert Brown
basis=
productions= 1995 Off-Broadway
awards=

"Songs for a New World" is a work of musical theater written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. Its original off-Broadway production ran for 28 performances at the WPA Theater in New York City in 1995. The show sits on the boundary between musical and song cycle, but it is neither; it is an abstract musical, a series of songs all connected by theme rather than narrative. The show employs four performers who do not literally play the same characters throughout the show but who do have consistently developing character arcs nonetheless. It is far more than a revue or song cycle but it's not a standard narrative book musical. Composer Jason Robert Brown has said of his show, "It's about one moment. It's about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back."Miller]

The original cast consisted of Brooks Ashmanskas, Andrea Burns, Jessica Molaskey, and Billy Porter (Porter's part was sung by Ty Taylor on the original cast recording). Daisy Prince, daughter of Broadway director Harold Prince directed. The original band consisted of Jason Robert Brown on piano, Randy Landau on bass, Tom Partington on drums, Joe Reina on keyboards, and Warren Smith & Rob McEwan on percussion. "Songs for a New World" was Jason Robert Brown's first produced show.

The piano features heavily throughout the show's music and because of its small cast and orchestra, "Songs for a New World" has become a favorite small show for colleges and local theatres, despite its vocally demanding score. The music of "Songs for a New World" is heavily influenced by a broad range of musical genres, including pop, gospel, jazz and classical music. Many of the songs combine elements of two or more of these genres. Some of the songs reference well-known historical and fictional characters, including Martin Luther King Jr., Mrs. Santa Claus, and Betsy Ross.

History

A workshop of the show was produced in Toronto, and then it was brought to the WPA Theatre in New York where it played a limited run of twenty-eight performances. The score was recorded in 1996 by RCA and released commercially, which spurred many regional productions of the show across America. In 1998, on the heels of some limited success for "Songs for a New World" Brown was given his first Big Time assignment – writing the score for the new musical "Parade", opening at Lincoln Center in the fall of 1998, with a book by Alfred Uhry ("Driving Miss Daisy") and directed by Harold Prince.The show continues to be popular amongst amateur theatre groups with performances across America and the UK.

The show had its first professional Off Broadway run in New York in over 13 years at the ATA Chernuchin Theatre. The cast consisted of Matt Deangelis (Man 1), Janine Romano (Woman 1), Sunzanne Sole (Woman 2), Marc Dalio (Man 2), Youth Ensemble: Sabrina Riteman, Yurina Kutsukae, Kyle Schliefer, Jame Crichton, Casey Garvin,Ariella Serur,Katie Henney,Kyshawn Lane,Maggie Glassman,Justine Magusson,Andrew Meyer,Dan Gershaw,Alexa Burger,and Bridget Kohles. The show was Directed by Debbie Slevin, Choreophraphed by Marlo Hunter, Musical Directed by Marc Dalio.It ran from October 10 2008 through October 25 2008.

An extensive background and analysis essay about the stage show is online at http://www.newlinetheatre.com/newworldchapter.html cite web|last=Miller|first=Scott|title="Inside "Songs for a New World"|publisher="New Line Theatre"|date=1998-11-01|url=http://www.newlinetheatre.com/newworldchapter.html|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Musical numbers

;Act I
* Opening Sequence: The New World ("Company")
* On the Deck of a Spanish Sailing Ship, 1492 ("Man 1, Company")
* Just One Step ("Woman 2")
* I'm Not Afraid of Anything ("Woman 1")
* The River Won't Flow ("Company")
* Transition I ("Woman 1")
* Stars and the Moon ("Woman 2")
* She Cries ("Man 2")
* The Steam Train ("Man 1, Company");Act II
* The World Was Dancing ("Man 2, Company")
* Surabaya-Santa ("Woman 2")
* Christmas Lullaby ("Woman 1")
* King of the World ("Man 1")
* I'd Give It All For You ("Man 2, Woman 1")
* Transition II ("Man 1")
* The Flagmaker, 1775 ("Woman 2")
* Flying Home ("Man 1, Company")
* Final Transition: The New World ("Company")
* Hear My Song ("Company")

References

*Miller, Scott. "Rebels With Applause" (Heinemann, 2001)

External links

* [http://www.mtishows.com/show_home.asp?ID=000191 Musical Theatre International's site with links to synopsis and other information]
* [http://www.jasonrobertbrown.com Official Jason Robert Brown site]
* [http://www.newlinetheatre.com/newworldchapter.html "Inside Songs for a New World," New Line Theatre website]