By September 24, 2021. Their remarkable submission - just 27 minutes, streaming free through the Arena website - shows the couple sharing their lives through the cruel winter of our pandemic, but also willing and very able to sing about it in real time. Part co-authored memoir and part touching voyage into an emotional soundscape, this new work in development is a beautiful testament to the sort of inquires made in tandem by the human mind and spirit. Its title song captured and likely inspired 4 million viewers on YouTube, and maybe just nudged Smith to tap The Bengsons to create something for the series they're calling Arena Riffs. One isn't necessary. Both Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker have been fighting cases of COVID, which put the Neil Simon revival on hiatus. My Joy is Heavy! It's a show that forces both Abigail and Shaun to look at their life and what is terrifying them before they step on stage -- and then face it. "It's not easy, it's not easy, but it's the way I want to live," Abigail said. By For a musical that's so much about creating memories to last and evoke a lifetime, Hundred Days succeeds brilliantly in etching its eloquent lines and infectious melodies indelibly on the brain. See who is performing and learn how to purchase tickets! Now, they invite the public to participate in a hybrid congregation., In our new work, the idea is that loss is the mechanism by which God comes close, says Abigail Bengson. "The most important theme of 'HundredDays' is moving through fear in the name of love," Abigail said. The Bengsons create new indie-folk musical for Arena Stage Hundred Days now takes place entirely in New York City (mostly in Astoria, Queens), with lots of internal detours into the twisty corridors of each partners mind. Ms. Bengson, 35, has a tale to tell about the autumn she was 15, when her family shattered and the seemingly safe Eden she grew up in was lost forever. Then in early July a pivotal phone call came. From the moment Shaun and Abigail Bengson met 11 years ago, there was a third wheel in their relationship a matter for no small measure of stress and apprehension. // Get the

element with the my-paragraph class The one-day-only event, starring Olivier nominees Rachel Tucker and Rachel John, arrives to the West End October 11 following a digital production earlier this summer. })(); Abigail and Shaun Bengson are a married composing and performing duo based in NYC and VT who have performed across the country and around the world. The piece is based on the couple's real-life story of how they got together and fell in love. Abigail and Shaun Bengson's THE KEEP GOING SONG to be Streamed on | April 14, 2022, By Stephen Mallatratts adaptation of Susan Hill's novel will again play London's Fortune Theatre. December 26, 2022, By Those interviews became part of the piece. Set in crunchy small-town New England (a part of Vermont that happens to be in Maine), its a follow-up to Hundred Days, a musical memoir of the Bengsons beginnings as a couple that was a hit last fall at New York Theater Workshop. Abigail Bengson says that she. Yet the acceptability of drawing bystanders into ones own art is one of the great ethical debates in any kind of autobiography. I love you, too, Ms. Gancher said, and exited. Dan Meyer while examining the way Shaun Bengson's inherited hearing loss intertwines with his journey of losing and finding faith. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In her own family, opinion about the existence of the show is divided some of those depicted vehemently in favor, some opposed. (ATLs Humana Festival; Manhattan Theatre Club), (New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow), and, (piece by piece productions). July 27, 2021. He ha (read more about this author). The Off-Broadway company recently canceled its Under the Radar Festival due to rising case numbers. Leah Putnam Silhouettes appear through the windows of the rear wall as shadows of the world that carries on outside at a markedly different pace from the life lived behind closed doors. The beauty part of this is that any question that I can think of to ask, theres an answer to, and the answer is always weirder and more interesting and more surprising and sort of brighter than anything that I could make up.. Up Close & Sweaty with Haus of Sequins, Nightbeast & Kiml, Vienna Light Orchestra Presents: A Tribute to Broadway & The Greatest Showman, The Map for Healing & Recovery Orientation & Sign Up, Darke County Food Truck Rally & Craft Show, Bridgerton Inspired Friends Chai Tea Party. Three of their singles have been featured on So You Think You Can Dance (FOX). Even the parts that never happened.. Their first rehearsal turned into their first date, and three weeks later, they were married! March 15, 2022, By } else { November 21, 2022, By And I can't imagine wanting it any other way. Three of their singles have been featured on So You Think You Can Dance (FOX). Stay informed with one email every other weekright to your inbox. And maybe hurt us so badly that we will hurt other people.. programming. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! | By The Bengsons A La Jolla Playhouse Commission. Dan Meyer The album, which features the cast of the NYTW production, will be released September 21. By Review: MY JOY IS HEAVY! by The Bengsons from Arena Stage paragraph.style.position = 'absolute'; But those three weeks in between meeting and tying the knot, the pair told NBC 7 San Diego, was the . July 8, 2021. Were interested in this great loss that weve all been moving through that has many names and is communal, but is also specific and particular to each person. October 15, 2020. Some have come to see it. The stage performers' union will not re-open their audition centers, but is allowing employers to host their own in-person calls. Here's What to Know, Nathan Fletcher's Accuser Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Filing Lawsuit, Escondido Middle School Teachers Sue Over District's Transgender Pronoun Policy, Hundreds of Migrants Arrive at San Ysidro Port of Entry as Title 42 End Looms. So by bringing viewers into their homewarts and allthey will see the dirty dishes in the background as the Bengsons sing and dance together, providing that real intimacy. By Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Abigail said in a phone interview. In Hundred Days, real-life married couple Abigail and Shaun Bengson (the duo behind Ars Nova's The Lucky Ones) detail the story of how they . They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rodgers Awards and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille. sleeknoteScriptTag.charset = 'utf-8'; By "So at the time, we started writing music as a way to process those feelings and get closer and move through all the fear.". June 24, 2021, By He majored in musicology at Indiana University and moved to. The shift in focus from outside to inside clarifies and intensifies what was already an affecting piece. Review: Waltzing With Love and Death in 'Hundred Days' - New York Times Like Hundred Days, The Lucky Ones is directed by Anne Kauffman and has a book co-written by the playwright Sarah Gancher, who is the Bengsons neighbor across the hall in Ridgewood, Queens. Often, they jump and dance in their own kitchen, an intimacy that can't quite be replicated on stage. Dr. Shaun Rodgers, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Cohen Children's Medical Center part of Northwell Health in New York said his hospital is still seeing an above-average number of brain . Meg Masseron Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's docu-play, with music by Steve Earle, had its 2020 Public Theater run cut short by COVID. The one possible relevance that the period has (besides possible medical advances since then) is how easy it is for Sarah and Will to seclude themselves in their home and remove themselves from any indication of what day or decade it really is. By Logan Culwell-Block They begin awkwardly and self-consciously, as if reluctant to commit even to performing. Our memoir pieces need to reflect whats going on in our own hearts and bodies as we process the world, Abigail said. | La Jolla Playhouse's 'Hundred Days' a musical memoir born from passion Abigail Bengson is such a compelling, empathetic figure, with a voice grounded in a folk, shape note singing and gospel as she expresses herself further with upraised hands. Marc J. Franklin The musical, starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, was originally slated to open March 22, 2020composer Stephen Sondheims 90th birthday. Ars Nova, which also co-produced Sundown, Yellow Moon, a Rachel Bonds play with music by the Bengsons, has an estimable record with nontraditional musicals that includes birthing Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. It was the company that matched Ms. Gancher with the Bengsons several years ago. Arena Stage debuts the Bengsons' musical 'My Joy Is Heavy!' - The Blocking belongson the stage,not on websites. Ars Novawill celebrate its 20th Anniversary and honor its foundersJenny & Jon SteingartatNova Ball, Ars Novas annual benefit-turned-party of the season. Check out Samantha Barks, Stephanie McKeon and more in costume. Its been incredible that weve gotten to work through the year, and how this song has gone viral, Shaun said. By var s = document.getElementById('sleeknoteScript'); Copyright 2023 DC Theater Arts. | Logan Culwell-Block Im like, here I am, sending tapes to them, 20 years later.. This. paragraph.style.width = '0px'; At first, the Bengsons thought it would just turn out to be a concert or a collection of songs. Such considerations are usually private matters. Their return also marks the launch of their 40th season in operation. Not all the songs are like that, certainly; there's a lot of stylistic variety while maintaining a distinctive unified sound. And Ms. Bengson, in particular, finds herself opening baggage from her past that would seem to make happiness with someone else impossible. What did our critic think of OPEN at Nu Sass? The Bengsons' "The Keep Going Song" is my favorite song of 2020 'Hundred Days' - the anatomy of a rock opera - SFGATE Three of their singles have been featured on "So You. const paragraph = document.querySelector('.my-paragraph'); Manhattan Theatre Clubs New York premiere ofWhere the Mountain Meets the Sea, written by AUDELCO Award nomineeJeff Augustinis in its final week of performances atNew York City Center Stage I. | would be just as splendid live, but the ability to capture its creation in real time where it happened amid moving music that seems to pour forth simultaneously adds a much deeper impact. The Broadway revival, on hold due to the pandemic, will now begin previews March 9, 2022. St. Anns Warehouse to Begin Indoor Performances With The Bengsons, Track-by-Track Breakdown: The Bengsons on Crafting Their, joins New Yorks flexible cultural spaces, JoAnn M. Hunter's Exclusive Playbill Photoshoot, See Natasha Lyonne, Larry Owens, Ronan Farrow, More Celebrate The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window Opening Night. And she has a deep affection for the Bengsons. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Anyone can read what you share. Care about whats happening in Bay Area arts? Sovereignty Hymns features a series of original songs exploring questions about reproductive liberty. As we enter the second year of pandemic, theater companies have largely shifted from live performance spaces to film and video producers. The Rob McClure-led musical has been facing breakthrough COVID cases among its cast. // Define the CSS rule for the .my-paragraph class Allen Willner's shifting lights accentuate that live-gig atmosphere, bathing the stage in one color or another when it's time to really rock out. The musical, based on the blockbuster film of the same name, reopens at a different venue: the Savoy Theatre. // Append the CSS rule to the style element The message of Each Kindness should be shared to people everywhere, and the music of Rootstock Republic should be enjoyed by all. And I really hoped that wasnt so.. Leah Putnam