SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, Starring Cynthia Erivo, Comes to the St. James Theatre Tonight

Celebrating 20 years since its first performance off-Broadway, an all-new London production of triple-Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown's first musical, Songs for a New World is at the St. James Theatre for a strictly limited run of three weeks, beginning tonight, July 22, directed by Adam Lenson.

This special 20th Anniversary production of Songs for a New World will feature an award-winning cast, including Cynthia Erivo, Jenna Russell, Damian Humbley and Dean-John Wilson, alongside a five piece band.

Cynthia Erivo will be reprising her leading role in The Colour Purple on Broadway this autumn, starring alongside Jennifer Hudson. Her other theatre credits include Henry IV (Donmar Warehouse); Dessa Rose (Trafalgar Studios); Sister Act: The Musical (UK Tour); The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Gielgud Theatre). Her television credits include The Tunnel (Kudos) and Mr Selfridge (ITV).

Jenna Russell is a Laurence Olivier and Theatre World award-winning actress. Her theatre credits include Di and Viv and Rose (Vaudeville Theatre); Urinetown (St. James Theatre / West End); Merrily We Roll Along (Menier Chocolate Factory / West End); Sunday in the Park with George (Wyndham's Theatre / Roundabout Theatre Company, New York). Her film credits include Mortdecai (Lionsgate), whilst her television credits include Call the Midwife (Neal Street/ BBC) and The Ladies Paradise (BBC1).

Damian Humbley's theatre credits include Forbidden Broadway and Merrily We Roll Along (Menier Chocolate Factory/ West End); The Last Five Years (Menier Chocolate Factory); Lend Me a Tenor (Theatre Royal Plymouth/ West End); Shoes (Peacock Theatre/ Sadler's Wells) and Fiddler on the Roof (Sheffield Theatre/ West End).

Dean-John Wilson was most recently seen in the Oliver nominated production of Here Lies Love at the National Theatre. His other theatre credits include From Here to Eternity (Shaftesbury Theatre); Super Ordinary (Soho Theatre); Bare (Union Theatre) and Sister Act: The Musical (UK Tour).

Songs for a New World weaves characters, locations and time periods together in one extraordinary evening - from the deck of a Spanish sailing ship to the window-ledge of a New York penthouse. Jason Robert Brown's unforgettable songs take us on a vibrant, thrilling and moving journey through life-changing moments that define us.

"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

Written when Jason Robert Brown was only 25, Songs for a New World broke the mould of the 'showstopper' Broadway musical. The show debuted Off-Broadway in 1995 and has since been seen in hundreds of productions around the world, including the UK Premiere at the Bridewell Theatre in 2001.

Songs for a New World quickly established Jason Robert Brown as an intriguing new talent. Since then, the celebrated composer and lyricist has created Honeymoon In Vegas, which has just finished a critically acclaimed run on Broadway; multi-award winning Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County; 13, which Brown directed for its West End premiere in 2012 for National Youth Music Theatre; The Last Five Years, which won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics and was made into a film; and Parade, which won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Musical, as well as the Tony Award for Original Score.