This brave attempt at the musical by Jason Robert Brown renowned for being tricky by Straight Line Theatre company was not an inspiring first encounter with the show. To be a fan of musical theatre is not nearly enough to put on a musical and this show is a by the book example of how not to do it.
With a young but enthusiastic cast of four, accompanied by a lonely pianist and guitarist who were like a comedy duo: the over-animated pianist and the deadpan guitarist. Never has a woman playing the guitar looked more disappointed and bored by the whole experience. Songs for a New World has no dialogue and no over-arching plot line, so is actually only a song cycle. It is therefore up to the director to flesh out the characterisation because a musical with no speaking doesn't mean no acting is required. The show conveyed no sense of story, even in each solo. It was still just a string of songs; the actors were just bodies filling the space with sound. Nothing had a purpose.
This was more problematic given that their vocals were often cracked and flat, really not as strong as needed, particularly for a show so musically weighted. Even the other cast members looked hugely disappointed when they missed the notes. If the cast can't conceal their winces, how can they expect their audience to? The weak direction staged the show in a mismatch of furniture ill-fitting to the modern costumes with pointless use of a chaise longue from the previous show. There was no consistency and the signs of the well-thumbed imaginary beginners guide to musical theatre emerged again with a couple of terrible dance routines thrown in.
As the show went on their singing definitely improved, but it seemed they had used the first half as a vocal warm up, so it was very clear that they were under rehearsed. Although they were trying their hardest to belt out unachievable notes for their abilities, you couldn't fault their effort. It's just a shame they looked so lost with their weak direction, making beautiful songs exceedingly boring. It came close to being an explosive show on account of being interrupted by fireworks from the Edinburgh Tattoo next door, as the gaping hole in the chemistry between the performers was a barge pole away from nailing anything.
