Songs for a New World is a work of musical theater written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. Its original off-Broadway production ran for 28 performances at the WPA Theater in New York City in 1995. The show sits on the boundary between musical and song cycle, but it is neither; it is an abstract musical, a series of songs all connected by theme rather than narrative. The show employs four performers who do not literally play the same characters throughout the show but who do have consistently developing character arcs nonetheless. It is far more than a revue or song cycle but it's not a standard narrative book musical. Composer Jason Robert Brown has said of his show, "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."


Musical numbers

Act I

    * Opening Sequence: The New World (Company)
    * On the Deck of a Spanish Sailing Ship, 1492 (Man 1, Company)
    * Just One Step (Woman 2)
    * I'm Not Afraid of Anything (Woman 1)
    * The River Won't Flow (Company)
    * Transition I (Woman 1)
    * Stars and the Moon (Woman 2)
    * She Cries (Man 2)
    * The Steam Train (Man 1, Company)

	

Act II

    * The World Was Dancing (Man 2, Company)
    * Surabaya-Santa (Woman 2)
    * Christmas Lullaby (Woman 1)
    * King of the World (Man 1)
    * I'd Give It All For You (Man 2, Woman 1)
    * Transition II (Man 1)
    * The Flagmaker, 1775 (Woman 2)
    * Flying Home (Man 1, Company)
    * Final Transition: The New World (Company)
    * Hear My Song (Company)