The simplest production can lull you into believing that all of the aspects that come together to portray a story are also simple. We know however that when we’re not told what to think, but are allowed to construct the story with only a little cajoling, that some almost overwhelming complexities can emerge as each member of the audience creates their own narrative.
Songs For a New World is at the end of its oh-so-short run, but the legacy that is left will linger for a long time to come. That legacy is a consciousness that works overtime, trying to fully appreciate how all the pieces of this ‘musical’ fit together. This musical theatre piece is quality. Twenty years after its debut, Jason Robert Brown has revived it, and has given it new life and a new audience. The production is pared back almost to its core.
Apart from the stage sets, which are absolutely integral to the focus of the story, there is little in the way of costuming, technical intrusions or sundry cast members. The whole kit-and-caboodle is performed by four actors, accompanied by three musicians. Selected for their ability to switch seamlessly between characters and hold a convincing tune, Teagan Wouters, John O’Hara, Natalie O’Donnell and Linden Furnell, each sing the story of humankind’s struggle against the basest of instincts, with convincing finesse.
Constructed somewhat like a poem or verse novel, not one word, prop, lyric or action is gratuitous. From the 1492 Spanish sailing ship embarking on its journey to the ‘new world’ to the final curtain call, we were sometimes uncomfortably pulled between our instinctive fight or flight responses. The whole musical cycle parallels the journey that is adulthood and a life lived fully – with all its crises, joys, disappointments, losses, loves and dilemmas.
The music was a powerful medium to convey the human condition, connecting at a base level with every audience member. The lack of narrative allowed us our own, and the performers were professionally inconspicuous so the elements could convey meaning. This was excellent in a simply deep and complex way.
