Songs for a New World
Encyclopedia
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. 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."
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.
An extensive background and analysis essay about the stage show is online at http://www.newlinetheatre.com/newworldchapter.html
, which was to open at Lincoln Center in the fall of 1998, with a book by Alfred Uhry
(Driving Miss Daisy) and direction by Harold Prince.
Songs for a New Worlds first professional revival in New York was staged off-Broadway
on October 10, 2008 at the ATA Chernuchin Theatre, featuring a 14-member youth ensemble in addition to the four principal performers; it was directed by Debbie Slevin.
The show continues to be popular amongst amateur theatre groups with performances across Australia, the USA and the UK.
Act II
Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown is an American musical theater composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics...
. Its original off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production ran for 28 performances at the WPA Theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1995. The show sits on the boundary between musical and song cycle
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
, 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. Composer Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown is an American musical theater composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics...
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."
The original cast consisted of Brooks Ashmanskas
Brooks Ashmanskas
Brooks Ashmanskas is American stage actor. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for playing various characters in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me...
, Andrea Burns
Andrea Burns
Andréa Burns in Miami Beach, Florida, She is an American actress, singer and songwriter, primarily featured in theatre, recordings and television. She is married to Director Performer Peter Flynn, whom she met while touring in West Side Story...
, Jessica Molaskey
Jessica Molaskey
Jessica Molaskey is a professional singer of torch songs and show tunes. She has appeared in a dozen Broadway shows such as the revival of Sunday in the Park With George and Cats and has premiered theater pieces off-Broadway, including the Jason Robert Brown 1995 musical Songs for a New World, and...
, and Billy Porter (Porter's part was sung by Ty Taylor
Ty Taylor
Ty Taylor is an American musician best known for being the guitarist and vocalist of R&B group Dakota Moon and was also a contestant on the reality TV show Rock Star: INXS. He is currently the lead singer and guitarist for Los Angeles based Soul/Rock band, Vintage Trouble...
on the original cast recording). Daisy Prince, daughter of Broadway director Harold Prince, directed. The original band consisted of Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown is an American musical theater composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics...
on piano, Randy Landau on bass, Tom Partington on drums, Joe Reina on keyboards, and Warren Smith
Warren Smith
Warren Smith may refer to:*Warren Smith , golf professional, Cherry Hills Country Club*Warren Smith , American Rockabilly artist*Warren Smith , American jazz drummer...
& 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
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and classical music. Many of the songs combine elements of two or more of these genres.
An extensive background and analysis essay about the stage show is online at http://www.newlinetheatre.com/newworldchapter.html
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 to great acclaim, 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 major assignment — writing the score for the new musical ParadeParade (musical)
Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical was first produced on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on December 17, 1998. The production was directed by Harold Prince and closed 28 February 1999 after only 39 previews and 84 regular...
, which was to open at Lincoln Center in the fall of 1998, with a book by Alfred Uhry
Alfred Uhry
Alfred Fox Uhry is an American playwright, screenwriter, and member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He is one of very few writers to receive an Academy Award, Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing....
(Driving Miss Daisy) and direction by Harold Prince.
Songs for a New Worlds first professional revival in New York was staged off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
on October 10, 2008 at the ATA Chernuchin Theatre, featuring a 14-member youth ensemble in addition to the four principal performers; it was directed by Debbie Slevin.
The show continues to be popular amongst amateur theatre groups with performances across Australia, the USA and the UK.
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)