Review: “Songs for a New World” Flint Repertory Theatre

Mike Sandusky and Emily Padgett (Flint Repertory Theatre)

Covering periods from 1492 to 1995, four singers in Jason Robert Brown’s “Songs for a New World” share their stories: stories of exploration, of waiting, of love, of ambition, of fear, of courage and of despair.

Flint Repertory Theatre presents this nearly two-hour song cycle on an outdoor stage with the planetarium as a backdrop. They’ve recruited and cast incredible voices and powerful musicians to perform what feels more like a concert than a musical.

For many in the audience, this show marked their first live theater show since the pandemic. They were acknowledged when Pianist and Music Director Brian E. Buckner walked to the piano centerstage wearing a mask. He sat at the bench, slowly took off his mask to reveal a smile and set it on the piano with a happy sigh that immediately generated empathetic applause.

The credentials of the cast members are impressive and their performances quickly demonstrate their talent.

Bonnie Milligan made her Broadway debut in “Head Over Heels,” earning nominations by both the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle for her role. She was the original Pat in the 1st National Tour of “Kinky Boots” and has multiple television roles on HBOMax, Showtime, NBC and SyFy.

Emily Padgett had turns on Broadway in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Bright Star,” “Side Show,” “Rock of Ages,” “Legally Blonde” and “Grease,” often playing the leads.

Mike Sandusky recently moved back to Michigan and has performed throughout the Detroit area with such theaters as Matrix Theatre Company, The Dio and Penny Seats Theatre Company.

Josh Young originated the role of “John Newton” on Broadway in “Amazing Grace.” He earned a Tony nomination for his role as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” He spent two seasons at Stratford Shakespeare Festival and toured internationally with “Les Miserables” as Marius and as Tony in “West Side Story.”

All of them immediately show off the power and clarity of their voices starting with the opening number of “The New World.” Throughout the show, Milligan belts out comedic and bittersweet moments including the show’s best known number, “Stars and the Moon.” Padgett has a crystalline voice that exudes warmth and love even when singing about heartbreak. Sandusky shades his story telling with rich emotion, infusing songs of hope with a lining of fear. Josh Young has a charisma that immediately connects him with the audience while his energy-filled performances are always character-driven.

Bill Fennelly directs this song cycle, spreading musicians across the large stage and having his actors move amongst them both for their performances and their entrances and exits. He assigns different spots on the stage for each number, helping to provide a distinction of characters that the script neglects to do.

Buckner does an excellent job of keeping the musicians together and even called a hold to the show at a time when some of the speakers went out and needed to be fixed before the show could go on. From his spot on center stage, he maintained control and even occasionally joined in the singing, particularly with a motif that repeated throughout the show based on the title.

Lighting Designer Chelsie McPhilimy gets special props for the creative lighting plot she developed. While the first act relied on natural lighting, dusk had fallen by the second act and McPhilimy was able to strut her stuff, using the planetarium as a backdrop to throw her lighting specials and rich colors. Her spotlight work let Fennelly keep multiple actors on stage who could fade into the darkness when their songs ended.

Jason Robert Brown has said this show is about the moment of decision and once a person knows that, it can be found within each song. But he does have to tell you because it isn’t obvious within the song cycle itself. For those of us living 26 years after he created this musical, it takes on a different meaning. It is far easier to focus on the idea of a new world coming out of the pandemic. Will we do things the same? Will we do them differently? How will we make our world new or will we simply fall back into the old one? Will we make the same choices, choices that lead to heartbreak, or will we choose those things that will make our worlds better?

“Songs for a New World” may not give us any answers, but it does invite us to reflect upon the challenges and rewards of moving into a new world and leaving the past behind us.