‘Songs for a New World’ Review: A Collection of Pivotal Moments in the Timeless Search for Self Discovery

Would you jump off a ledge overlooking Fifth Avenue if your husband did not love you? This is just one of many plotlines that blossomed in the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s (HRDC) recent run of “Songs for a New World” from March 27 through March 30. One thing is certain — this production was not for the faint of vocal chords: 111 minutes, four singers, and eight dancers revitalized the black box setting of the Loeb Experimental Theater to put on a performance of 19 songs revolving around love, identity, and the choices that are made during pivotal life moments. The production team put a delightful modern spin on the captivating, original song cycle by incorporating graceful and polished dancers into the various storylines and imaginatively using the Loeb Ex’s smaller space.

As suggested by the title, the show consists of songs surrounding the uncertainty, yet hope, that the future may hold for the various protagonists. Although there are four singers, each plays multiple characters. First performed off-Broadway in 1995, productions of this abstract musical typically incorporate the original cast of four but have also expanded to include a larger ensemble. This HRDC production incorporates the best of both worlds, featuring the original cast of four singers — Woman 1 (Gabrielle G. Medina ’26), Woman 2 (Shannon M. Harrington ’26), Man 1 (Kaylor G. Toronto ’27), and Man 2 (Saman de Silva ’26) — alongside an entourage of eight featured dancers.

The Loeb Ex can be a challenging space for a director and choreographer to work with, given its smaller, more intimate thrust stage setup, which brings the performers closer to the audience while still maintaining a traditional “front” to the stage. Stage director and co-choreographer Jess R. Hung ’25 made excellent use of the entire space to ensure audience engagement throughout the production. This was accomplished through choices like using the entire cast of singers and dancers to form a ship of bodies during Man 1’s song about the exploration of a new world and praying for the hard times to end. Dancers then emphasized the different corners of the black box space with their motions to reflect a change in the song. The overall use of space by both dancers and singers added a captivating element to the production.

The eight dancers also left their marks on the show as valuable additions, contributing to a deeper layer of artistic complexity by physically representing the wide array of emotions felt by the singers throughout the song cycle. In Man 2’s number “She Cries” dancers Eliza Pritchard, Katherine Byunn-Rieder ’27, and Lana M. Schwartz ’28 played various love interests as the man is torn between chasing after the girls he falls in love with and making the difficult decision to live life on his own. The compatibility between dancer and singer, through choice movements that conveyed the chasm of conflicting feelings and disdain for each other, allowed for a more engaging story than what mere singing would provide. In addition to the dancers’ stellar abilities, the singers were also able to show off their physical finesse by joining dancers throughout certain numbers. This decision by Hung integrated everyone into the scene, distributing the spotlight evenly across the entire cast.

While Harrington’s performance as a groveling Mrs. Claus was hilarious, one of the show’s most unforgettable moments comes in her number “The Stars and the Moon.” The song follows a woman who leaves the love of her life to marry a wealthy man, only to feel deep regret. This melancholic song is brought to life by the use of hanging strands of colored shapes ingeniously illuminated on the floor and wall by lighting designer Jada P. Lee ’26 to represent the stars that Woman 2 sings about, or the lack thereof, as she chose a life of money over the happiness she would have received from her true love. Harrington’s performance prowess and ability to encompass numerous singing styles is highlighted by her starkly different role of a flagmaker during the Revolutionary War towards the end of the production, crying about the horrors of the war with an even more frighteningly beautiful melody.

Seated at the far side of the theater was the talented pit orchestra, overseen by music director, pianist, and conductor AJ Yi ’25 and consisting of a rhythm section and strings. The musicians’ ability to keep time and play the entire show under Yi’s excellent piano conducting was admirable. It exhibited the intimate connection fostered between the cast and the musicians throughout the production’s development.

A feature of the show that may give rise to viewers’ confusion is the unconventional plot — or lack thereof — paired with the insufficiency of costume changes to keep up with the changes in the story. As a song cycle, the production does not follow one linear plot throughout the entire show, but consists of a different mini story within each song. So, as the singers perform multiple songs, the lack of costume changes in between contributed to a general blur between the characters that the singers portray throughout the cycle. Some costuming changes were present, as was the case in Man 1’s number, “The Steam Train,” for which he changed from his seaman outfit — consisting of a simple button down shirt and cuffed pants to a hoodie and jeans, finished with a basketball. This was done to portray a basketball player determined to make it big in the sport and escape from his life of hardships, but a wider array of costumes could have conveyed the storylines within each song more vividly.

Tasked with an unconventional production, the cast and crew of “Songs For a New World” were able to perform the timeless journey of self discovery presented in the split moments before a decision is made with modern and original interpretations. Hopes and expectations for future productions to demonstrate such a large array of talent, ingenuity, and creative ideas are in store for Harvard’s theatrical community.

—Staff writer Anmol K. Grewal can be reached at anmol.grewal@thecrimson.com.