ELY- The latest musical offering of the Northern Lakes Arts Association (NLAA), “Songs for a New World,” opened Thursday, July 20. The musical was the first work of the then-young Jason Robert Brown, who went on to win a Tony Award for his work on “Parade” and two Tony Awards for the musical version of the “The Bridges of Madison County.”
To split hairs, “Songs for a New World” is not technically a musical and should perhaps be classed as a “musical theater work” like Bernstein’s “Mass,” or a song cycle like “Carmina Burana.” The collection of musical numbers in “Songs for a New World” are connected and related to one another, but the work does not have the formal storyline expected of a musical.
The songs revolve around the decision turning points of life and death. Brown’s own description of the work was: “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 off-Broadway production of “Songs for a New World” had a cast of four. The Ely production uses all ten members of the NLAA Broadway in the Boundary Waters theater troupe.
In every song, the audience meets someone who is at a turning point in life, at a moment where everything changes, like the woman in “Christmas Lullaby” who sings about discovering she is about to become a mother, or the soldier in “Flying Home” who has died on the battlefield, where his soul is going to heaven while his dead body is going home to his grieving mother.
“Songs for a New World” is popular with smaller theater groups because it doesn’t require a large cast or a fancy set. The score for “Songs for a New World” is considered technically difficult. Brown’s score mixes gospel, blues, jazz and pop styles, and demands a high bar of musicality from the performers.
The remaining performances of the Ely production of “Songs for a New World” will be on the evenings of July 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, and 30, at 7 p.m. Sunday matinee performances will be on July 23 and 30, at 2 p.m. The July 27 performance is on a “pay what you can” basis. Tickets are available at northernlakearts.org or by calling 218-235-9937.