An ordinary title for an extraordinary little gem of a musical, Ordinary Days received its first Canberra region performances at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre last week.
Ordinary Days was originally produced and performed by the Pennsylvania Centre Stage at Penn State University, being first developed by New York Theatre Barn in New York City in 2007.
Popular in Universities and small theatres overseas, before this Queanbeyan production, Ordinary Days had only received two short seasons in Australia previously; one in Sydney in 2012 and the other at Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne in 2017.
A group of A.C.T. actor friends discovered this little gem of a show during lockdown and rehearsed it online as a means of keeping in touch. When Jordan Best, the Artistic Director and CEO of the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, learned of their endeavour she quickly snapped the show up for inclusion in her 2024, Q the Locals, series.
A mini-musical in the style of Jason Robert Brown, or Maltby and Shire, a style beloved of cabaret performers because almost every song is a little story in itself that can be successfully integrated, out of context, into a cabaret, Ordinary Days tracks the stories of four young New Yorkers, two already in a relationship, the other pair who meet by chance when one of them loses her notes for her thesis.
Kelly Roberts and Grant Pegg portray the couple whose relationship is tested when they move in together. Vanessa Valois and Joel Horwood play a mismatched couple who discover the power of the attraction of opposites.
Canberra readers will immediately recognise these names as four of the district’s most accomplished triple-threat musical theatre performers. To watch these four apply their individual talents to this wonderfully witty, wise, even touching material, was nothing short of thrilling.
Each provided a master-class in performing this style of material, investing it with subtle nuances and sub-text not apparent in the written script but critical to understanding the character they are portraying.
It was obvious that this production was a labour of love from all involved, because the performances were so nuanced, pitch perfect and beautifully delivered, that the thought and discussion that had gone into building each characterisation, was there for all to see.
This may be the first musical that Chris Zuber has directed, but he already enjoys an enviable reputation through his work as a drama teacher, designer and director of major productions around the city. His understanding of how a musical works is obvious and his attention to detail on every aspect of this production is extraordinary.
His imaginative set design utilising dozens of milk crates to create an evocative environment suggesting the New York skyline, museums, art galleries and apartments for his actors to inhabit, together with his unobtrusive choreography which allows his four actors to create the illusion of a busy city without drawing focus from each other, is masterly.
Subtle lighting and sound design by Zac Harvey and Telia Jansen respectively, were in perfect tune with his concept.
Then speaking of perfect tune; the single musician, seated centre stage at a grand piano, but somehow never drawing focus while virtually breathing with the actors as he brilliantly interpreted Adam Gwon’s intricate, fascinating score, was Matthew Webster, a Canberra based composer, pianist and teacher of international repute, making one of his rare, but always notable, appearances as musical director for a local production.
Such a shame therefore that this season was so brief, particularly in a week when no fewer than five other productions were vying for attention with openings for limited seasons in theatres around the city.
Ordinary Days
The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 253 Crawford Street,
Performance: Thursday 5 September 2024
Season: 5 – 7 September 2024 (closed)
Information: www.theq.net.au
Images: Vanessa Valois and Joel Horwood in Ordinary Days – photo by Rhiannon Sabel | Grant Pegg and Kelly Roberts in Ordinary Days – photo by Rhiannon Sabel
Review: Bill Stephens OAM