Preview: Songs For A New WorldRaleigh Little Theatre Preview In John Robert Brown's off-Broadway musical revue On May 14, 15, 21, and 22, Raleigh Little Theatre will present an outdoor production of Songs For A New World, a 1995 Off-Broadway musical revue with music, lyrics, and book by Jason Robert Brown, in its Louise "Scottie" Stephenson Amphitheatre. Brown won the 1999 Tony Award® for Best Original Musical Score and the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music for PARADE, plus the 2002 Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for The Last 5 Years. (Note: RLT rain dates for Songs For A New World are 8 p.m. May 16th and 23rd.) "I was not familiar with Jason Robert Brown's work," admits Raleigh Little Theatre guest director and choreographer Nancy Rich of Actors Comedy Lab. "I had heard the CD of The Last 5 Years and that's about it. But when I heard that RLT was doing the show, I bought the album on iTunes, burned it to a CD, and listened to it in the car when I was on a long drive. "Frankly," Rich confesses, "I wasn't sure I liked it at first. You see, iTunes has a function where you can burn the songs in alphabetical order instead of show order. So, the first three or four songs sounded remarkably similar; and I thought, 'All of this Brown guy's music sounds alike.' It turns out that I was only hearing the ballads. As I dug deeper, I realized that the show actually has great variety: gospel, funk, folk, rock -- even an hilarious tribute to Kurt Weill. The more I listened, the more I fell 'in like' with it. Now I love it." She adds, "The best thing about this show is the music. It's different and it's sophisticated. Everybody compares Brown to [Stephen] Sondheim, which I think is valid. Brown's work sounds very contemporary, and he has a unique way of putting together chords and rhythm. Some people refer to Songs as a cabaret or music revue, but I think it's stronger than that. Each song tells a story, which can be mined for meaning, and is up for some personal interpretation as well.... "Songs has no plot," notes Nancy Rich, "but it does have a strong theme, anchored around discovery and important moments in our lives. Brown gives the audience some broad hints about what to expect in the first song: It's about one moment Rich adds, "The next song happens on the deck of a sailing ship in the 1400s. The people are worried and the captain of the ship is praying that they will survive and make it to the New World. We zip forward in time to 2010, with a rich New York lady about to jump off of the ledge of her apartment building. That is the roller-coaster ride that is Songs For A New World. "Brown closes the show," Rich says, "with a line that he traditionally sings himself: Listen to the song that I sing In addition to director and choreographer Nancy Rich, the Raleigh Little Theatre creative team for Songs For A New World includes musical director Coty Cockrell, assistant to the director Taylor Oglesby, technical director Jim Zervas, set designer Rick Young, lighting designer Andy Parks, costume designer Rose Higgins, sound engineer Todd Houseknecht, and stage manager Mike McGee. Nancy Rich says, "The set is made of recycled materials from past shows: masts from Carousel, trusses from Altar Boyz, fabric from Veronica's Room. The background is a free-form sculpture that resembles a sailing ship. Wood on the set has been painted to resemble the aged wood of the deck of the amphitheatre stage. Urban touches, such as corrugated metal and bricks, have been added." She adds, "The backdrop of the set will have canvas sails, onto which [lighting designer] Andy Parks has projected shapes and colors. Small areas of light (or specials) are hard to achieve outside, because of the 'throw' of the instruments. Also, the number of instruments you can use outside is limited. Andy is very clever about using these limited resources, and I think the audience will be impressed with how many different 'looks' Andy has achieved for us.... "The costumes are urban and contemporary, and neutral in color," Rich points out. "Because the songs segue into each other, there are very few costume changes. So, we're using a neutral palette of grays and blacks for the actors. Color is added by adding costume pieces such as coats and hats." Staging Songs For A New World out-of-doors presents a number of formidable challenges to director and choreographer Nancy Rich and her cast and crew. "The RLT Rose Garden amphitheatre is a challenge in itself," Rich claims. "Outside, there is rain, wind, bugs, baby birds, weddings in the Rose Garden, the heat and the cold. As much as it is a real hardship to the crew and to the cast (especially their voices), for the audience, it is an extremely pleasant evening of roses, music, stars, and romance." Rich says, "The second-biggest challenge was to teach the very complicated harmonies that Brown has written. I thought Sondheim was hard! These singers have worked so diligently on this show -- they want to get every little musical nuance just right. I can't say enough about our incredible music director, Coty Cockrell. He has been so integral to this show's success. "Also, this show is written for an intimate venue," notes Nancy Rich. "Taking the show to a large amphitheatre [which can seat up to 2,000 people] meant that we had to figure out how to make the show work out there. We decided to double-up on the cast: going from four to eight people, in order to achieve a bigger sound and to fill the stage. Rick Young, our set designer, has brought the set closer to the audience, using bridges to span the orchestra pit." She adds, "Jason Robert Brown is a beloved composer among the teens and twenty-something crowd. Our cast is young, energetic, and amazing! The show is suitable for all, but people who have lived for a while will understand the show the best. We deal with the grownup moments: leaving a relationship, refusing to play by the rules, unexpected pregnancy, love triangles, greed, loss of a job, and Santa Claus." Raleigh Little Theatre presents Songs For A New World at 8 p.m. May 14, 15, 21, and 22 in its Louise "Scottie" Stephenson Amphitheatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina 27607. TICKETS: $18 ($15 students and seniors 62+). BOX OFFICE: 919/821-3111 or http://www.etix.com/. SHOW: http://raleighlittletheatre.org/performances/09-10/songs.html. PRESENTER: http://raleighlittletheatre.org/. VENUE: http://raleighlittletheatre.org/about/amphitheatre.html. PARKING/DIRECTIONS: http://raleighlittletheatre.org/about/parking.html. NOTE: Rain dates are 8 p.m. May 16th and 23rd. OTHER LINKS: The Musical: http://www.jasonrobertbrown.com/theatre/show.php?showID=songs (Jason Robert Brown's website), http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000191 (Music Theatre International), and http://www.lortel.org/LLA_ARCHIVE/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=605 (Internet Off-Broadway Database). Jason Robert Brown: http://www.jasonrobertbrown.com/ (official website), http://www.lortel.org/LLA_ARCHIVE/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=Jason&last=Brown&middle=Robert (Internet Off-Broadway Database), http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=11446 (Internet Broadway Database), and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2212346/ (Internet Movie Database). WHAT: The TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter, featuring previews and reviews by Robert W. McDowell and reviews by Alan R. Hall and others. 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