Carolee Carmello to Star in Paper Mill Playhouse Songs for a New World

Complete casting has been announced for the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World, which begins performances October 13, ahead of an official opening on October 17. The show is slated to run through November 7.

Songs for a New World will feature Roman Banks (Dear Evan Hansen), three-time Tony Award nominee Carolee Carmello (Finding Neverland), Andrew Kober (Beautiful) and Mia Pinero (Broadway's West Side Story), with Dion Simmons Grier (Paper Mill's New Voices) and Olivia Hernandez (The Cape Playhouse's Songs for a New World) understudying. Mark S. Hoebee directs.

Originally mounted off-Broadway in 1995, Songs for a New World features a collection of highly theatrical songs about people standing at the precipice of a life-changing decision. Featuring numbers like "I'm Not Afraid of Anything" and "Stars and the Moon," it revolutionized the "song cycle" genre and has become a staple of university theater programs ever since.

Jason Robert Brown is the composer of Parade and The Bridges of Madison County. Songs for a New World was his first major work.

The Paper Mill Playhouse production will feature choreography by Kenny Ingram (Emojiland), music supervision by Georgia Stitt (NBC's The Sound of Music Live!) and music direction by Sinai Tabak (Broadway's The Cher Show), who will also conduct. The production will feature scenic design by Kelly James Tighe (Paper Mill's Beauty and the Beast), costume design by Jen Caprio (Paper Mill's Beehive), lighting design by Charlie Morrison (Paper Mill's West Side Story) and sound design by Matt Kraus (Paper Mill's Chasing Rainbows).

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