| Shaun Bengson, 34, cracked up at this, seated beside her in the apartment in Alphabet City where they stayed through early previews, to be close to the theater. | May 26, 2021. Their video for, has been viewed over 4 million times. | Shaun Bengson, Abigail Bengson, Jeff Augustin, Joshua Kahan Brody, Billy Eugene Jones, Chris Myers From: Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE SEA at Manhattan Theatre Club By Its conversational, sometimes it seems like a music video or a dance party, sometimes it seems like youre going for a walk with us, Shaun said. The incredible Molly Smith [Arena Stage artistic director] reached out to us and said we could create whatever we wanted, Abigail said. September 8, 2021. The front-line team has provided COVID compliance safety for 1.8 million audience members seeing more than 30 shows on Broadway and beyond. See who is performing and learn how to purchase tickets! The immersive theatrical experience resumes performances at The McKittrick Hotel. Abigail Bengson in Hundred Days In Hundred Days, real-life married couple Abigail and Shaun. | Her older sibling, so-called, would respond with feedback on her craftsmanship that helped to shape her as an artist. Website by, The Bengsons create new indie-folk musical for Arena Stage, A global community celebrates Passover with The Third Seder concert on Sunday, Washington Stage Guild revives Shaws Devils Disciple with simplicity and skill, Getting to know Elizabeth Dinkova: I like creating a brave space, When I like a play, I get obsessed: Karin Rosnizeck on The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield, I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky remains sharply poignant, Calendar: Play Readings, Workshops, and Theater Events in the DMV, Rorschach Theatre announces free staged readings of three new plays, Keegans Boiler Room Series announces seven new play workshops, 2023 Womens Storytelling Festival to feature 27 performers, Brett Widmann, Chicago WordPress Developer. But as the show picks up momentum, their own music sweeps them into galvanizing eruptions of passion and existential anger. By | By Dan Meyer "Hundred Days" runs at La Jolla Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Forum until oct. 21, 2018. This is the person, no longer institutionalized, whose life Ms. Bengson is most fearful of harming with The Lucky Ones, an ensemble piece in which a cascade of events results in the dissolution of her family, including her parents marriage. A Childhood Eden Seared by Violence. can be accessed on the Arena Stage YouTube channel. Mr. Bengson, who exudes a defensive deadpan calm that hints at demons scrambling beneath, sums up their chronicle with the jaunty disclaimer, So here it is, the sound of introverts pining! That may not sound like much fun. The show smoothly segues from the informality of a tale told in a concert setting to more fully staged scenes. And the sound of Ms. Bengson wailing like a banshee as she considers the mangling trap that is love will echo in your ears for days to come. By 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. | We never hear about any war going on, and Christine Crook's costumes aren't noticeably informed by that period. By A while later, this cameo struck Ms. Bengson as curious. Then in early July a pivotal phone call came. Ill eat those eggs. | For their part, the Bengsons composed a new memoir musical titledMy Joy Is Heavy!, which is currently streaming on Arenas website for free. | But three weeks is a long time in the newly discovered country of young love. November 9, 2020. Set to Music? | Three of their singles have been featured on So You Think You Can Dance (FOX). Their fierce 2015 production imagined a young couple whose time is cut short by illness but. 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. They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rodgers Awards and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille. Dan Meyer The result is a raw and personal expression, wrapped in splendid music and honesty. Their first rehearsal turned into their first date, and three weeks later, they were married! Then, in one cataclysmic season, it all falls apart, beginning with a killing that might have been prevented if only the parents hadnt been so committed to a you-choose-your-feelings worldview that they dismissed the signs of mental illness in one of the kids. September 22, 2020. 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. In the new show, an extended family runs a school together, raising their children Abigail, her sisters and their cousins in a kind of hippie idyll. And I really hoped that wasnt so.. Ryan McPhee The concert's creative team also includes assistant director Keenan Tyler Oliphant, lighting designer Alejandro Fajardo, projection designer Jeff Sugg, scenic and costume designer DOTS, associate projection designer Simon Harding, producer Wendy vanden Heuvel, and executive producers Kendra Bator and Tom Casserly. Sonya Tayeh, currently Tony-nominated for Moulin Rouge!, serves as movement director. 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. With creator Sara Bareilles back in the lead role, the musical grossed more in single-day ticket sales than any other show in the history of the Barrymore. By Wearing a black leather biker jacket over a slinky white dress, the long dark haired Ms. Bengson has an alluring presence, a powerful voice and plays drums. May 10, 2021. But accompanied by a wonderfully droll quartet of singing musicians Colette Alexander, Jo Lampert, Dani Markham and Reggie D. White the Bengsons are stirring, and surprisingly witty, company. Its possible that we have all been raised in a way that hurt us, Abigail says in the show. // Define the CSS rule for the .my-paragraph class When new work is offered, it streams online, often created by the artists themselves. July 1, 2021. January 11, 2022, By Our memoir pieces need to reflect whats going on in our own hearts and bodies as we process the world, Abigail said. Abigail Bengson says that she. April 9, 2021. Even days afterward, having heard the songs only once, I get a surge of visceral pleasure every time one of them runs through my head. | Their video for The Keep Going Song has been viewed over 4 million times. My Joy Is Heavy! January 18, 2022, By This year has really been about connection, and we have connected to people all over the world in a very real and humbling way.. Andrew Gans They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rogers Award and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucile Lortel awards. This is a true story, Shaun Bengson tells the audience from the stage of the Connelly Theater in the East Village. Hundred Days (the title refers to packing a whole lifes experience into that period of time) was performed in an earlier version in January at the Under the Radar Festival of experimental theater. By 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. Natan Zamansky The story, which is reminiscent of the more fully-realized Broadway musical, "Once," unfolds through short dialogues that are alternately pithy, poignant and playful. There'd be much more unplugging to be done today. Review Roundup: Sean Hayes Stars In GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR On Broadway! Even the notion of miscarriage is for some reason socially shrouded in silence, leaving shattered would-be parents to mourn alone. Structured as a live concert, with bits of storytelling woven in (the songs are by Abigail Nessen-Bengson and Shaun Bengson, who write and perform under the name The Bengsons, and the book by the . 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. "We asked the question, 'well, what would we do, if we didn't very much time left together, if we did get the the terrible news, how would we handle it?'" What Are Theatremakers Doing to Present Safe Productions? | Reggie D. White (whose Beyonce parody video "Dunkin Love" is currently going viral) and Amy Lizardo act as stand-ins for the couple in the story, sometimes silently acting out a scene while the Bengsons voice the dialogue in song, and occasionally singing the parts themselves (and forcefully, at that). INTO THE WOODS & More Lead 2023 Drama League Award Nominations. We made the whole piece on our cell phones, filming each other and things that were going on.. Photo by Paul de Luna. The stage performers' union will not re-open their audition centers, but is allowing employers to host their own in-person calls. That changed a few times as our lives changed, as she ran with us as things kept evolving.. They also star in the show, with a full band and chorus who take on roles in the story as needed, and they deliver the songs with such quirky exuberance that it's impossible to resist following wherever they want to take the narrative (with a smart book by Kate E. Ryan). Both Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker have been fighting cases of COVID, which put the Neil Simon revival on hiatus. if (styleElement.styleSheet) { Would just being grateful and happy during the same period be a better approach? Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Its been incredible that weve gotten to work through the year, and how this song has gone viral, Shaun said. Yet she is terrified of compounding anyones anguish. By Dan Meyer Presented by Z Space and piece by piece productions with Encore Theatre Company, the show is conceived and created by married couple Abigail and Shaun Bengson, who double as a band called. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/theater/bengsons-the-lucky-ones-ars-nova.html, Abigail and Shaun Bengson, a married pair of singer-songwriters whove turned their personal stories into theater, most recently in The Lucky Ones.. The storied venue will next present The Tap Dance Kid as part of its Encores! I recognize its a little codependent.. But she thinks of Eden now as a place you have to outgrow, accepting the complexity of life and the presence of darkness without fixating on the darkness. | Dan Meyer More upcoming/ in development: Ohio (piece by piece productions). Sovereignty Hymns features a series of original songs exploring questions about reproductive liberty. Abigail said in a phone interview. 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. The long-running favorite returns to the Orpheum Theatre. programming. My Joy Is Heavy! Then, the pair started to strip the concept back and they arrived at theirpresent concept: "using the theatricality that we gathered and learned along the way, but in service to a humbler story that is hopefully more honest as well," Abigail said. Eliots work. Marc J. Franklin | The Harold Pinter classic opens October 21 as part of the theatre companys Welcome Back season. Here, it's no role at all, but real life and determinations with her husband and son, who makes a couple of key appearances. | Just by being so real and powerful, and serving as kind of an emotional catharsis for our own time of global trauma, "My Joy is Heavy!" April 12, 2022, By Otherwise manning a DJ set that includes an old-fashioned gramophone, Jo Lampert gives an achingly resonant performance as Will's best friend Max, a boisterous and bawdy dude whose devotion to his friend is absolute and tinged with (seemingly platonic) yearning. July 27, 2021. Shaun's contributions include a deft melodic touch, technological prowess and musical ear that allows the inclusion of drums, guitar, accordion, and all manner of other instruments as well as harmony vocals often on backing tapes to give the duo an added grandeur. 2020 Jonathan Larson Grant recipients Abigail and Shaun Bengson share what this grant means to them in a virtual acceptance speech. Their video for The Keep Going Song has been viewed over 4 million times. Some people in the family Ms. Bengson grew up in dont talk to one another anymore, but for the musical the Bengsons interviewed all of them including the older sibling, so-called, who committed the crime. As you may gather from the fact that they are now married and performing together, the Bengsons got over their crisis of faith long enough to commit to a relationship that, life being what it is, will never be a sure thing. 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. paragraph.style.width = '0px'; You join them in an absolutely stunning ride that careens into life themes at every turn. Their theater work includes Sovereignty Hymns (La Jolla Playhouse), The Keep Going Song (Actors Theatre of Louisville), My Joy is Heavy (Arena Stage), Hundred Days (La Jolla Playhouse, New York Theatre Workshop, US Tour), The Lucky Ones (Ars Nova), Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (ATLs Humana Festival; Manhattan Theatre Club), Anything That Gives Off Light (Edinburgh Theatre Festival), Youll Still Call Me By Name (New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow), and Iphigenia in Aulis (Classic Stage Company). Bethany Rickwald Michael R. Jackson, John Gallagher, Jr. & More to be Featured in Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 Concert Series, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tina Fey & More to Celebrate Ars Nova 20th Anniversary at NOVA BALL, Photos: On the Red Carpet for the 66th Annual Obie Awards, Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE SEA at Manhattan Theatre Club, Photos: First Look at WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE SEA at Manhattan Theatre Club, Photo Coverage: The Public Theater Celebrates Launch of 13th Annual UNDER THE RADAR. 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. July 6, 2021. 43K Followers, 2,442 Following, 548 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Abigail & Shaun Bengson (@thebengsons) May 3, 2021. } else { is streaming free on YouTube. Ryan McPhee The previously announced Boy Falls from the Sky, Room, and more have new dates. But its what Im trying to do., One of my sisters, she said, Dont let your fear get in the way of the truth of this, Ms. Bengson added. Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (5/08-5/08), Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum (5/14-5/14), Riverside Center for the Performing Arts (3/15-5/07), Review: THE BODY OF A WOMAN AS A BATTLEFIELD at ExPats Theatre. the Musical!, Tina, David Byrne's American Utopia, Stomp, Jersey Boys, and more. By St. Anns Warehouse will reopen its doors this spring with a pair of concerts from The Bengsons, performing their new work-in-progress The Broken Ear Setlist: Songs from Ohio. The Bengsons nightmare scenario is to have family drama break out in the audience, where they would have to witness it from the stage. Dan Meyer var s = document.getElementById('sleeknoteScript'); // Append the CSS rule to the style element Either way, the closest Ms. Bengson has felt to how she did before her family cracked apart is with the artistic family behind The Lucky Ones, a show that allows her to spend time again in her childhood Eden, if only in her imagination. A few performances deeper into previews, after they had moved back home to Queens, Ms. Bengson sat at their blond-wood kitchen table, a plastic bag of old cassette tapes in front of her. The Broken Ear Setlist: Songs from Ohio features performances by artists including Barrie Lobo McLain, Vuyo Sotashe, and Allan K. Washington. "The most important theme of 'HundredDays' is moving through fear in the name of love," Abigail said. "So letting love win in the battle between love and fear, something we all experience every day. So The Lucky Ones is wounded autobiography veiled in fiction. (Unlike many other such narratives, it's the guy who's wasting away before his time.) | Their first rehearsal turned into their first date, and three weeks later, they were married! | That doesnt mean Broadway productions will reopen this monthbut they do have the state government go-ahead now. The four-week showcase will feature over 450 artists across 160 varied performances. I wouldn't want to forget a moment of it. Meg Masseron The piece is based on the couple's real-life story of how they got together and fell in love. 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. Melissa Kaitlyn Carter is a cheery presence as Sarah's best friend Caroline, and Dalene Mason is mournfully somber as Will's forbiddingly distant father. The story looks at embracing uncertainty, taking a leap, and loving as if you only had a hundred days to live. But open to the possibilities of what will happen - and openness is the vanguard of this duo, who are more honest to their songwriting than many people are to their own selves - they turned on cameras. Not all the songs are like that, certainly; there's a lot of stylistic variety while maintaining a distinctive unified sound. Logan Culwell-Block Stay informed with one email every other weekright to your inbox. But seemingly off-the-cuff stage patter in the beginning later becomes needed background for plot points in the play. Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 will present NEXT@LCT3, a concert series of performances at the Claire Tow Theater. Marc J. Franklin Those interviews became part of the piece. They also star in the show, with a full band and chorus who . By We wrote our first song together on that first night, Abigal said. Blocking belongson the stage,not on websites. "My Joy is Heavy!" You can read more of his theater writing. Care about whats happening in Bay Area arts? A half-hour into an emotionally delicate interview, there was a soft knock on the front door: Ms. Gancher, bringing over some eggs in the shell. Andrew Gans Talaura Harms The message of Each Kindness should be shared to people everywhere, and the music of Rootstock Republic should be enjoyed by all.
Dominic Mckilligan 2021,
Erika Henningsen Resume,
Articles S