Performed from San Francisco to New York to La Jolla to Florida, it got raves, awards and a cast album. 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. And I can't imagine wanting it any other way. March 4, 2022, By Blocking belongson the stage,not on websites. } From left, Jo Lampert, Ms. Bengson and Mr. Bengson in this poignant 90-minute show at New York Theater Workshop. 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. Ms. Bengson says that she and her husband are both profoundly introverted, but you wouldnt know it from talking with them. Eliots work. James Monroe Iglehart unveils the list of nominees for a season cut short due to the pandemic. And Ms. Bengson, in particular, finds herself opening baggage from her past that would seem to make happiness with someone else impossible. (Unlike many other such narratives, it's the guy who's wasting away before his time.) The first two months of performances take place with social distancing. // Set the style properties for the paragraph element Mr. and Ms. Bengson, known for their eloquent musical contributions to downtown New York theater pieces, are one of those rare couples who really did fall in love at first sight (at a massive anti-folk folk-punk old-timey neo soul band rehearsal). They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rogers Award and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucile Lortel awards. By The personable and talented married singer-songwriter couple, Shaun and Abigail Bengson explore their lives in this uneven concert musical. Dan Meyer Abigail Bengson in Hundred Days In Hundred Days, real-life married couple Abigail and Shaun. It wouldn't affect what would happen one way or another, and it may be healthier in the long run. // Append the CSS rule to the style element Were interested in seeing if we can look at that loss as an opportunity to see the divinity in one another.. This. Get a first look at photos here! To their amusingly and typically chaotic pandemic era home - with instruments, toys, food, books and art strewn all about - they quietly deal with chronic pain (hers) and depression (his). Ryan McPhee Hello friends!Here's our official Tiny Desk Contest 2020 submission!THE BENGSONSAbigail and Shaun Bengson are a married composing and performing duo who have performed across the country and around the world. To whatever degree The Lucky Ones is fictionalized, she finds it really lovely to be working on a true story., I spend so much of my life making up characters or brainstorming situations or coming up with scenarios, Ms. Gancher said. Yet the acceptability of drawing bystanders into ones own art is one of the great ethical debates in any kind of autobiography. "To do the show, honestly, I really have to look squarely at what is terrifying me right now, and there's plenty to be afraid of, and say, 'okay, let's keep moving, let's love each other anyway, let's love the world anyway and see what happens,'" Abigail said. Dan Meyer So, youre welcome, Louie., The Bengsons married 10 years ago, three weeks after their first date. Their notable "Hundred Days," celebrated the meeting of Abigail and Shaun Bengson even as they imagined a time when death would do them part. Marc J. Franklin 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. Their video for The Keep Going Song has been viewed over 4 million times. Anne Kauffman and Caitlin Sullivan direct. Because of past trauma in her life, Abigail said, getting close to anyone in a short period of time brought on an enormous amount of PTSD. By The production runs 90 minutes and has no intermission. For a new series of song-based works from Arena Stage, artistic director Molly Smith commissioned new work from music-minded artists with some experience on stage. But those three weeks in between meeting and tying the knot, the pair told NBC 7 San Diego, was the . Phylicia Rashad and Brandon J. Dirden star in the Manhattan Theatre Club premiere by Tony nominee Dominique Morisseau. Leah Putnam INTO THE WOODS & More Lead 2023 Drama League Award Nominations. The Bengsons drove to Dayton, Ohio, to stay with Shauns parents, and they put together an hour-long concert for the Louisville theater. The task, I think, of storytelling, she said, is the reintegration of the dark and the light going back and saying, Yes, this darkness is here and its true. And, There was light on us once, and there will be again.. See who is performing and learn how to purchase tickets! Even the notion of miscarriage is for some reason socially shrouded in silence, leaving shattered would-be parents to mourn alone. 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. He became a music teacher in NYC. | 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. Use this COVID-19 protocols checklist before heading September 13, 2021. Dan Meyer var sleeknoteScriptTag = document.createElement('script'); wait for it. By What Are Theatremakers Doing to Present Safe Productions? The stage performers' union will not re-open their audition centers, but is allowing employers to host their own in-person calls. That doesnt mean Broadway productions will reopen this monthbut they do have the state government go-ahead now. Celebrate the return of live theatre with some backstage photos from the companies of Six, Moulin Rouge! He ha (read more about this author). Dan Meyer Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Anns created the Urban Canvas public art platform on their facade, presented a series of pop-up concerts, and streamed a number of international works. Such considerations are usually private matters. They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rodgers Awards and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille. | Logan Culwell-Block Natan Zamansky Like Abigail, the character she plays in The Lucky Ones, Ms. Bengson grew up in an extended hippie family that revolved around a school. February 3, 2022, By The Broadway revival, on hold due to the pandemic, will now begin previews March 9, 2022. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical also features Rhys Whitfield as Raoul. Their first rehearsal turned into their first date, and three weeks later, they were married! Abigail Bengson and Shaun Bengson Emilio Madrid-Kuser. And with those words, Mr. Bengson and his wife, Abigail the other half of the folk-rock duo the Bengsons, the indie-theater darlings who created the show for Ars Nova attempt to draw a cloak of privacy around themselves and the people they love. July 8, 2021. By (ATLs Humana Festival; Manhattan Theatre Club), (New York Live Arts, Jacob's Pillow), and, (piece by piece productions). The subsequent revisions suggest that autobiography is a highly mutable art form. | Tickets are now on sale forManhattan Theatre Clubs New York premiere ofWhere the Mountain Meets the Sea, written by AUDELCO Award nomineeJeff Augustin(The New Englanders, The Morning Show) and directed by Princess Grace Award winnerJoshua Kahan Brody,with music byThe Bengsons(Hundred Days,The Lucky Ones). The musical, based on the blockbuster film of the same name, reopens at a different venue: the Savoy Theatre. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Dan Meyer | By Our memoir pieces need to reflect whats going on in our own hearts and bodies as we process the world, Abigail said. Certainly there are heartbreaking moments in the play, but the overwhelming experience of Hundred Days is one of joy. | I love you, too, Ms. Gancher said, and exited. They begin awkwardly and self-consciously, as if reluctant to commit even to performing. That was 13 years ago, and today, the dynamic duo composes and performs together around the world. Arriving at this realization has been the seed for all sorts of lyric reflections, be it from ancient Greek odists, Renaissance sonneteers or pop balladeers. Anyone can read what you share. But The Bengsons find catharsis and direction through music and convey a triumphant humanity no matter what the obstacle. Id be like, Hey, its Friday, talking about nothing, and then Id sing this heavy piece of music, talking about everything, she said, and she realized thats not so different from what shes doing with the show itself. The stage and screen favorite stars in and directs an adaptation of T.S. Three of their singles have been featured on So You Think You Can Dance (FOX). The previously announced Boy Falls from the Sky, Room, and more have new dates. Dan Meyer 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. The result is a raw and personal expression, wrapped in splendid music and honesty. By More upcoming/ in development: Ohio (piece by piece productions). But those three weeks in between meeting and tying the knot, the pair told NBC 7 San Diego, was the start of something beautiful: a project that would later be titled "Hundred Days," a theatrical piece on the border between a live concert and musical experience. Both Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker have been fighting cases of COVID, which put the Neil Simon revival on hiatus. Sovereignty Hymns features a series of original songs exploring questions about reproductive liberty. styleElement.type = 'text/css'; But three weeks is a long time in the newly discovered country of young love. For the first time since the pandemic shutdown, Actors' Theatre in Grand Rapids, Michigan is returning to its home stage at Spectrum Theater on the Grand Rapids Community College campus. | The production, directed by Anne Kauffman, premieres December 4 after beginning previews November 15. the Musical!, Tina, David Byrne's American Utopia, Stomp, Jersey Boys, and more. Three weeks later, the couple got married. July 27, 2021. Eleven years ago, Abigail and Shaun Bengson met. And each of the songs are terrific; one an apology for how a bad pandemic era had gotten worse, another about light in the darkness, and one that recalls heartbreak but commits to happiness. July 6, 2021. The theatre company expects to resume performances, on Broadway and off, this fall. var s = document.getElementById('sleeknoteScript'); Thats where The Keep Going Song evolved from.