THEATRE + COMEDY

Houston Family Arts Center presents Songs for a New World, a theatrical song cycle by Jason Robert Brown.  Performances at Houston Family Arts Center, 10760 Grant Road, Houston, TX 77070.  Two Nights Only: Friday, March 26, 2010 and Saturday, March 27, 2010.

Houston Family Arts Center is thrilled to bring you a musical experience not to be missed! For two days only, HFAC is pleased to bring you a special presentation of Songs For a New World - a theatrical song cycle by the Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown. Filled with witty lyrics, intoxicating harmonies and poignant melodies, Songs for a New World will take you on a journey through life’s little hiccups, heartaches, fresh beginnings and triumphs while journeying along the path to discovering new worlds within oneself and beyond.

Dinner and dessert show; cabaret-style seating with tables and candle-light, formal hors d'oeuvres buffet.

March 26-27
Houston Family Arts Center (10760 Grant Road)
Tickets $35.00 (dessert-only option available for $20.00)

Buffet opens at 6:30 pm. Show begins at 7:30 pm. Dessert will be served at intermission.

THE PLAYWRIGHT
Jason Robert Brown has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim" (Philadelphia Inquirer), and his "extraordinary, jubilant theater music" (Chicago Tribune) has been heard all over the world, whether in one of the hundreds of productions of his musicals every year or in his own incendiary live performances. The New York Times refers to Jason as "a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical."

Jason is the composer and lyricist of the musical The Last Five Years, which was cited as one of Time Magazine's 10 Best of 2001 and won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics. Jason won a 1999 Tony Award for his score to Parade, a musical written with Alfred Uhry and directed by Harold Prince, which premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre in December 1998, and subsequently won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical. Parade was also presented on a national tour in 2000, which Jason conducted.

Jason's first musical, Songs for a New World, a theatrical song cycle directed by Daisy Prince, played Off-Broadway at the WPA Theatre in the fall of 1995, and has since been seen in more than two hundred productions around the world. Jason's newest musical, 13, written with Dan Elish and directed by Todd Graff, opened on Broadway in the spring of 2008.

Jason studied composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY with Samuel Adler, Christopher Rouse and Joseph Schwantner. He now divides his time between Los Angeles, California and Spoleto, Italy.

THE CAST
The talented cast includes local Houston actors David Allen III, Adrianne Coco Anderson, Sam Brown, Katy Burns, Teri Clark, Joshua Clark, John Ryan Del Bosque, Ellen Dyer, Ilich Guardiola, Elissa Leavitt, Sofia Mendez, Pamela Moore, and student actors Haley Landers, Tiffany Hopper, Libby Jasper, Logan Vaden and John Watkins. The pianist is Robert Lewis and the drummer is Ronnie Coleman.

PRODUCTION TEAM
The production team includes Ilich Guardiola (Director), Sam Brown (Musical Director) and Bob Clark (Producer).

About Houston Family Arts Center
Houston Family Arts Center is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, founded in November 2005 to provide a fun outlet for creative community involvement through the production of high-quality, family-friendly, affordable entertainment. HFAC is the recipient of the 2009 Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks Award for “Houston’s Best Theater or Theatre Group for Kids,” and the 2008 Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks for “Houston’s Best Artsy Class for Kids.” Their core values are: Fun, Integrity, Excellence, Respect, Family, Diversity, Teamwork and Love. Each year, HFAC produces family-friendly musicals, comedies, and dramas. The HFAC Actors’ Academy provides numerous acting, singing, and dancing classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults. To sign up for classes, purchase tickets or find more information, visit www.houstonfac.com  or call 281-685-6374.