The Feb. 6 performance of Jason Robert Brown's "Songs for a New World," directed by Teaching Associate in Music Douglas Kevin Wilson and Noreen Yarwood, abounded with an emotional power matched only by the skilled performances of the cast.
A few black boxes sufficed for a set, and the actors dressed in black. The only embellishment came in the form of a few projected images displayed on a screen at the back of the stage. Yet once the actors began to sing, nothing else was needed.
The show was composed of a series of musical vignettes, with a thematic contiguity rather than a narrative holding the work together. Each of the songs presented a totally new context and plot.
In "King of the Worlds," Andrew Suzuki '09 shone as a young man haunted with remorse, and Julian Cihi '09 portrayed the flagging strength and unyielding devotion of an imprisoned idealist in "King of the World." Monica Willey '07 played both a suicidal housewife and later a murderous one to great effect in "Just One Step" and "Surabaya Santa," while Emily Borromeo '09 dazzled the audience with "I'm Not Afraid."
Brown's writing created a dichotomy between youth and idealism and mediocrity and decay.
"I'm Not Afraid," performed by Borromeo, exemplifies the bravery the show advocated. Though describing a bleak and often terrifying world, the song relates a message of hope. By not idealizing the world, the song's optimism became more realistic and all the more powerful.
In contrast, fear complicated an otherwise over-the-top romance in "The World Was Dancing." Suzuki and Borromeo sang a duet about collegiate love. The piece was seemingly a story of two lovers on the eve of their wedding. Yet, at the end of the piece, the audience realizes that this couple never reached the altar as this duet was made up of two remembrances. Suzuki's character sang from years later, recounting the happiness of his past love and lamenting his decision to leave her, while an institutionalized Borromeo sings only in perpetual anticipation of someone who could never return.
This vision of life made the optimistic note on which the play ended even more climactic. Brown implored his audience to choose life and bravery in the face of tragedy and conformity. Beauty dies, love fades, "and dreams get burned down overnight," as one of the songs goes, but "Songs for a New World" suggests they merit a gamble.
