Rehearsals for the new show, Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown, debuting May 6, are in full swing for the theatre department. 

“We started rehearsing with the cast a couple of weeks ago- going over the songs,” stage manager senior Shivani Kosuri said. “But now we’re beginning to incorporate the crew and adding those aspects to the show.” 

The show is a musical review, which means it only consists of songs, ranging in topics from sailing to America in 1492 to Mrs. Claus leaving her husband. 

“You’ve always heard that expression when one door closes, another one opens, and that’s what the show is about,” director Heather Willingham said. “It is about the different times in our lives when we face new challenges when we have to go a different path than we were expecting, and how we as human beings deal with that.”

Down to her final weeks on campus, Kosuri is glad the theatre department is doing another show before the school year ends. 

“I decided to do this show because it is my senior year, and I love everyone in the department,” she said. “I just wanted to spend more time together before I head off to college.”

Part of the reason the show was chosen was to be conscious of the restrictions surrounding COVID. 

“It allows for social distancing,” tech director Laura Darce said. “And you don’t have characters interacting, so I know we picked a review because it was a great year to do a review.” 

But COVID wasn’t the only reason Songs for a New World was chosen as the spring show. 

“It’s one of my favorite shows of all times,” Willingham said. “And I knew we had the voices to sing it and do it well, and it’s not an easy show.”

Kosuri believes that the show’s message can also relate to real life. 

“This show is about everyone coming to a new world and living their lives in their own ways, and I think with this year, or this past year, a lot of things have changed, and it’s almost like a new world for all of us to be living in,” Kosuri said. “So I think the message has almost a similar concept that people could relate to during the show.”

The performances are on May 6, 7, 8 at 7:00 and May 8 & 9 at 2:00 in the auditorium.