Ordinary Days

In the last moments of Ordinary Days one character persuades another to look more closely at Cezanne’s Apples and see the beauty in the ordinary.  It’s a fitting end to this ultimately optimistic tale of four New Yorkers struggling with their ‘ordinary’ frustrations, anxieties, and the burdens of their pasts. 

Adam Qwon’s musical from 2008 – and performed many times since – is entirely sung – with tiny patches of dialogue.  The cast here is to be congratulated on navigating and making sense of the intricate, complex, often witty lyrics – that include conversations, exposition and direct address monologues –flowing all the way through, accompanied only Vicky Jacobs on piano.

On opening night, the’ amplified piano did threaten to overwhelm the cast’s singing, despite their all being miked – particularly soprano Sarah Morrison, who has some of the most difficult songs.

Ordinary Days give us two contemporaneous New York storylines. What is it about New York?  Romantic Jason (Bobby Fox) is – finally – moving in with girlfriend Claire (Sarah Morrison) but now it’s come to this, she’s wary and ambivalent... Meanwhile, elsewhere, Warren (Joel Granger), a young, gay wanna-be artist is house and cat-sitting for a graffiti artist (think a downmarket Jenny Holzer) who’s in gaol.  Warren is printing handbills no one wants with the gaoled artist’s sayings.  Fish out of water Deb (Melanie Bird) is an unhappy graduate student writing an overdue dissertation on Virginia Woolf but panicking because she’s lost her notes.  Warren finds her notebook and arranges a meeting at the Metropolitan Museum – a key location for both sets of characters because finding beauty in paintings is key to the theme...

Richard Roberts’ set design is minimal – four cluttered desks that the cast rearrange from time to time – but those desks – with skilful and energetic direction by Tyran Parke – provide multiple locations.  Gavan Swift’s lighting, Jack Scandrett’s sound, our imagination and the lovely acting of the cast create apartments, New York Streets, a taxi ride, crowds, Claire caught in a rainstorm and the dangerous roof of Warren’s building.

The two plotlines run parallel, contrasting rather uneasily, the characters never meeting – although they intersect at a joyous and coincidental realisation that provides both stories’ climax.  While the Claire/Jason story is about the overcoming of internal obstacles, and is lyrical, melancholy and even painful, the Deb/Warren strand provides more than comic relief; it’s light, funny, a little satirical and – I must say – very entertaining.  Deb and Warren may be close to Seinfeld-esque, sub-Sondheim types but Joel Granger makes Warren’s irrepressible optimism engaging, and delightful comedian Melanie Bird has a lot of fun with whiney, irritable Deb – and incidentally, she sings so that we get every word.  

Ironically, their ‘light’ storyline carries, in the end, the greater burden of the piece. The Claire/Jason relationship difficulties – although perfectly real enough – risk tipping into maudlin even when we know – it’s an American musical – it’ll all work out in the end.

Director Tyran Parke gets funny and or touching performances and imbues the show with restless energy, using almost the whole length of the playing space. Ordinary Days achieves exactly what it sets out to do: its ‘message’ is serious but not heavy-handed and its optimism is earned even if a little trite.  Adam Gwon may be more of a clever lyricist than a musician – there isn’t much tunefulness or any great variation to his score, but that seems to be contemporary music theatre style. 

Michael Brindley       

Photographer: Ben Fon