Toronto audiences are getting another Jason Robert Brown musical this season, as Angelwalk Theatre presents Songs for a New World at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Toronto audiences have historically embraced MR. Brown's work, in fact this winter Studio 180's production of Parade was virtually sold out at every performance.
Songs for a New World opened on April 1st, 2011 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts and features Erica Peck, Denise Oucharek, Stewart Adam McKensy and Justin Bott in the four iconic lead roles. The show is filled with wit, intelligence and enthusiasm for life's crazy possibilities. "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."
Jason Robert Brown has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Songs for a New World is one of his most popular musicals, in addition to being his first show. Popular songs include Stars and the Moon, I'm Not Afraid of Anything, Surabaya-Santa and Hear My Song. BWW had the opportunity to speak with Erica Peck on her role in the show, the importance of social media and returning to the Toronto stage:
Congratulations on Songs for a New World! This is a much more intimate piece than what Toronto audiences might be used to (for you) since your WWRY days, how does working on a show like this differ from something like that?
In my usual "Erica Peck Rock and Roll" style, it kicks ass! Seriously, it is a valued opportunity to show Toronto audiences another side of me as a performer and more importantly, as an actor. While the stories are told through song, I view this as an actor's piece and I'm honored and SO grateful to do something so different! Besides, I've been up to a whole bunch since WWRY, and the great thing about theatre is how much it can vary!
The show is described as being an "abstract" musical, almost more like a series of song cycles than a traditional musical. What's your take on this? How does it change the way you approach the piece as an actor?
Well, the show was originally intended to be a cabaret, and as a cast we decided that each song had a separate background and personality associated with it, however subtle it might be. I think for me, the key was not trying too hard to illustrate those differences through physicality but to just BE those different people, and tell their different stories.
How familiar were you with Jason Robert Brown's work prior to being cast in this show? Do you have a favourite song or piece of his?
By no means am I one of the "walking encyclopedia" types, but I think just about every modern young singer is familiar with him, and how honest his music can be. The final song in The Last Five Years gets me every time, man. That is some HEAVY stuff. And beautiful.
"Songs" originally workshopped in Toronto before transferring to NYC, do you think Toronto audiences will embrace it once again?
I sincerely hope so. We have done something different with the show, our director Andrew Lamb has found a way to make it flow and include the whole cast in almost every number. We can't ever be the casts who have performed it here before, but we get to bring this great show to new people in our own way.
This show is picking up a lot of momentum thanks to various social media outlets and avid fan's of Jason Robert Brown (on Twitter as @mrjasonrbrown) - have you embraced Twitter and other social media platforms for the purpose of promoting the arts? What do you think of the response Songs is getting so far?
It is finally time for me to tweet. I know it, there's no avoiding it. I'm just really stinky with technology. So I've embraced it in terms of accessing information, but not self-promotion. In terms of "Songs", I would say there has been a lot of chatter and excitement. I just hope it doesn't replace actually going out to see it. But the more people who know about theatre like this, the better!!
