1. Prologue: "We Are Descended"-- Dessa Rose, Ruth and Company
2. "Comin Down the Quarters"-- Kaine, Charleston Field Hands
3. "Old Banjar"-- Kaine, Dessa Rose
4. "Something of My Own"-- Dessa Rose
5. "Ink"-- Nehemiah
6. "The Gold Band"/"Little Star"-- Charleston Field Hands, Rose, Harker, Mr. and Mrs Steele, Trader Wilson, Nehemiah, Nathan, Dessa Rose
7. "Ladies"-- Ruth's Mother, Dorcas
8. "Bertie's Waltz-- Bertie, Ruth
9. "At the Glen"-- Ruth
10. "Capture the Girl"-- Nehemiah
11. "Fly Away"-- Parishoners, Susannah, Dessa Rose, Nehemiah, Nathan, Linden Field Hands
12. "Terrible"--House Slaves, Field Hands, Nehemiah, Nathan, Harker, Ruth
13. "Twelve Children"-- Dessa Rose

Act 2

1. "Noah's Dove-- Nathan, Ruth, Harker, Philip, Janet, Annabel, Ada
2. "Fly Away"(reprise)-- Janet, Annabel, Harker, Philip, Ada, Nathan
3. "The Scheme"-- Nathan, Harker
4. "In the Bend of My Arm"-- Kaine, Dessa Rose, Ruth, Nathan, Nehemiah
5. "Better if I Died"--Ruth, Dessa Rose, Company
6. "Ten Petticoats"--Ruth's Mother, Dorcas, Ruth
7. "Just Over the Line"--Dessa Rose, Ruth, Nathan, Auctioneers, Janet, Ada, Annabel, Harker, Philip, Nehemiah
8. "A Pleasure"--Ruth, Mr. Oscar, Dessa Rose
9. "White Milk and Red Blood"-- Dorcas
10. Epilogue: "We Are Descended"-- Dessa Rose, Ruth, Nehemiah, Company

• "With Dessa Rose, Flaherty and Ahrens grab us from the very beginning; their music and lyrics are absolutely spellbinding.... Vast sections of masterful storytelling are intermingled with moments of great beauty and six or eight numbers that pierce the emotions"-- Steven Suskin, Playbill Online
  
  
  
• "While Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas's Light in the Piazza sucks up the sun in Lincoln Center Theater's spacious Beaumont stage, Dessa sits tucked away in the smaller Mitzi Newhouse, with nothing to offer but its glorious, heart-stirring brilliance. "--Financial Times
  
  
• "More intimately conceived but no less inventive in its voluptuous musical themes than was Ragtime, Dessa Rose is a far cry from the simplistic juke box musicals reigning (or is it raining?) on Broadway this season. In light of the current trend dominating musical theater, Dessa Rose may be considered somber and weighty. But it should be seen and appreciated by anyone with an interest in more lofty and gratifying aims. "

  -- CurtainUp.com

• "In Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’ new musical Dessa Rose at Lincoln Center Theatre, there is so much ambition in narrative style and richness in music that one can’t help but perk up, take notice and take heart. For in this season in which new musicals seem hopelessly mired in either the jukebox or the movies, Flaherty and Ahrens’ achievement seems truly heartening...
  
  While one may not always be sympathetic toward Dessa or Ruth, the same cannot be said for Flaherty’s score – an impressive mix of traditional Broadway sounding music alongside African percussion, traditional Gospels and spirituals and folk tunes. Although there are times when there is only spoken dialogue, so much of Dessa Rose is underscored that one leaves with the impression of the piece having been through-sung.
  
  

  Part of this sensation comes from Daniele’s gorgeous staging that allows the musical to seemingly sweep across Loy Arcenas’austere wooden-planked set. While Daniele has only a company of twelve at her disposal, they play nearly three dozen characters, a cross-section of both slave-holders and slaves. She will use them as an ensemble to create vivid visual and aural moments, most notably a chase through the woods."

• "Stands alone among the season's high profile musicals as the only one with something serious on its mind and in its heart."

• "An absorbing story of of two strong women in the pre-civil war south. Played with grit and conviction by LaChanze and Rachel York. There are many rewards-- beautiful songs, strongly etched characters and soaring emotions-- in the story of these proud independent minded women."

• 2005 AUDELCO Award-- Musical Production of the Year
• 2005 AUDELCO Award-- Best Actor in a Musical-- Norm Lewis
• 2005 Outer Critics Circle Nomination-- Best Off-Broadway Musical

• 2005 Drama Desk Nominations:
  Best Music (Stephen Flaherty)
  Best Actress (Rachel York and LaChanze)
  Best Featured Actress (Kecia Lewis)
  Best Featured Actor (Norm Lewis)