Review: SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD at Hillbarn Theatre

Including composer Jason Robert Brown’s (The Last Five Years, Parade, Bridges of Madison County) 1995 theatrical song cycle into their 85th season might seem risky, but in Hillbarn Theatre’s capable hands, Songs for a New World (directed by Cindy Goldfield) has been reinvigorated to display its timeless qualities. With no real narrative to speak of, the show allows the listener’s attention to be on every song, where the sum becomes an emotional arc of stunning visions of everyday life and the moments that make it worth living.

Award-winning director Cindy Goldfield has elevated the stage reading style adding nice staging touches to the performances, including contemporary projections that tie the songs to real-time events immigration, the war in Iran, and the homeless situation. Musical Director/pianist Jad Bernardo works wonders with a three-piece band (Nathan Sariowan on bass, Ben Visin on drums).

It’s all for naught without a cast capable of delivering on Brown’s beautiful songs and these four actors (Jessica Coker, Sophie Oda, Sidney Matthew Román, and Coleton Schmitto) knock it out of the park. Each brings a separate personality to their solos, and the company number harmonies are exemplary. Each actor gets their fair share of solos; Jessica Coker on “Just One Step” and “Star and the Moon,” Sophie Oda on “I’m Not Afraid of Anything,” Coleton Schmitto on “She Cries,” and Sidney Matthew Román on “The Steam Train.”

Brown’s cycle included bits from proposed projects and cover the gamut of genres from blues, gospel, pop, and Broadway. His themes touch on romance of course, the mystique of women, fearlessness, wonder, the fear of commitment, the horror of war and the endless possibilities of life. It’s quite an expansive repertoire that comes together in Hillbarn’s winning production.

Songs for a New World continues through March 29.