PCPA Theaterfest Presents
Songs for a New World
It's all about the music!

Songs for A New World
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
August 6 - 21, 2010 – Marian Theatre
August 27 – September 12, 2010 – Solvang Festival Theater


Songs for a New World …. An exploration – through music – of life’s emotions: risk, fear, hope, dreams, love. As author/composer Jason Robert Brown said, “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.” It’s about those life-defining moments we reach and must make those important decisions. The show’s concept is more about a collection of songs that tell a series of stories, rather than a continual and developing plot running throughout. Each song transports us through our American identity, our community, and our desires. They sweep us away into the moments we stand our ground, break our silence, make a bargain, or find our way home. Propelling the journey is a live band on stage and a four-actor ensemble featuring Karin Hendricks, Melinda Parrett*, Melvin Abston*, and Jerry Lee.

PCPA’s Songs for a New World is directed by Resident Artist Erik Stein with Choreography by Michael Jenkinson. Musical Direction is by Jordan Richardson, Scenery by Dave Nofsinger, Costumes by Frederick P. Deeben, Lighting by Tamar Geist, Sound by Walter T.J. Clissen, and the Stage Manager is Aleah Van Woert. The live band on stage is comprised of Jordan Richardson, Piano; Kristin Blascyk, Keyboard; John Flitcraft, Bass; and Ross Sears, Drums. Jason Robert Brown’s music is an eclectic mix of gospel, rock, folk, and blues.

Brown (Last 5 Years) introduces us to a wide array of characters ranging from a young man who has determined that basketball is his ticket out of the ghetto to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage. The songs echo life’s moments when we reel from being suddenly jarred. We see the survivors, those that can regroup and figure out how to carry on amid a new set of circumstances, sometimes against seemingly overwhelming odds.

These are the stories and characters of today, the songs for a new world, a world in which the definitions of family, distance, money, technology, the very nature of human contact is changing every day, a world in which the rules don’t apply as often as they do, a world in which the solutions our parents found don’t work for us, and a world in which today’s answers probably won’t apply tomorrow. For someone who has lost his job or lost a spouse, our everyday world becomes just as frightening, just as dangerous, just as uncharted as the New World was to Columbus. As Director Erik Stein says, “These are moments of discovery that cannot be expressed with mere words, they must be sung. It asks the question, in the moment of profound discovery, what do you do?”

Concluding this summer season is the world premiere of Invierno. Visit www.pcpa.org for photos, multi-media, calendars, and more.

For the best seating, lowest prices, and exclusive privileges become a season ticket holder. Subscription packages start with as few as 4 plays, or see all 8 throughout the season for the ultimate theatre experience. Call the box office to receive a subscription brochure or email: boxoffice@pcpa.org.

For tickets call 805-922-8313 between 1 and 7pm Wednesday through Sunday, or purchase single tickets for the current season online anytime at www.pcpa.org. Information about Group Sales for 12 or more patrons may be obtained by contacting groups@pcpa.org or by calling 1-800-PCPA-123.

Now in its 46th season, PCPA Theaterfest is the Central Coast’s Resident Professional Theatre Company, and has infused the national theatre scene with thousands of trained actors and theatrical technicians over the years in its conservatory.

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The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) of Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California supports a unique, fully-accredited vocational training program for aspiring actors and theatre technicians. PCPA is the only training program of its kind offered by a community college in the United States.