Catchy 'Songs' open to personal interpretation

By Katherine Tolentino

Upon hearing the word "musical," a few images may come to mind: Maria von Trapp singing her heart out against a backdrop of crisp alps, or the elaborate, color-saturated urban sets of "Rent."

This month, a small group of talented individuals on Santa Clara's campus have teamed up to challenge our every perception about the modern musical in "Songs for a New World," opening this weekend.

"It's not a classic musical show, like Rodgers and Hammerstein," said sophomore Molly Murphy, an actress in the production, "but it's one of my favorite musicals."

Composer Jason Robert Brown wrote the show's music. "It's so easy for people to connect to the music without feeling like it's something beyond your reach," said Murphy.

With a cast of six actors, little to no dialogue and a refreshingly-simple set design, it is the universality of the music's message that will keep audiences captivated.

"The show is about people finding new stages in their lives and discovering the challenges that brings," said Jackie Stotlar, bassist of the show's instrumental trio.

But what's different about "Songs" is that the show doesn't give us the full story of some heroine who's trying to make it on her own in New York City.

Nor do we hear the detailed story of some college graduate born and raised in Mississippi who eventually moves and grows accustomed to business life in fast-paced Chicago.

On the contrary, "Songs for a New World" doesn't actually have a linear plot. Instead, the audience sees snapshots from different time periods, regions, ages and ethnic groups weaved together with the common thread of discovery and growth in "new-world" settings.

"So whether it's the beginning of a new relationship or a new job or a new stage in your life," Stotlar explained, "it's all about discovering the new world within it and the challenges that that brings."

There are also no static characters. Rather, each of the six actors plays a different character in every musical number.

The show doesn't give the audience much information about the characters' backgrounds, nor do we see their lives progress as we would Christine's in "The Phantom of the Opera" or Cosette's in "Les Misérables." Instead, it is the audience's job to fill in the blanks.

"What makes this show unique is that all the songs are open-ended," explained Skye Wilson, the show's choreographer. "The background, circumstance and outcome of each song can be interpreted in multiple ways. Though there are clearly individual characters and stories within each song, since these songs are not frozen within a linear plot, the show leaves us room to imagine and to relate."

Director Kimberly Mohne Hill elaborated, "In this particular show, there are no expositions. The songs aren't quite linked, but it's something where everyone's experiences will really color how they experience the show."

Murphy spoke of one of the songs in the show, "On the Deck of a Spanish Sailing Ship, 1492." "It can seem very foreign," she said, "but because of the way the music is written, anyone can find things to connect to."

Mohne Hill, for example, approached the show from her perspective as a mother and an actress, and was able to build on themes in her direction of the production.

As for the show's music, be prepared to adopt some of these numbers as your new favorites. Murphy describes the score in words all of us can relate to: "Normally when you listen to â?¦ a CD, there's always a song that you skip. But in this show, I don't think there's a song that you'd want to skip over, because â?¦ you can find so much in everything that he's written."

Amen to that.

Check out some of Santa Clara's best talent in their production of "Songs for a New World," which opens this Friday in Fess Parker Studio Theatre.

Contact Katherine Tolentino at ktolentino@scu.edu.