One of the most pleasantly surprising theatre-going experiences of the past year undoubtedly was Roundabout intern-turned-produced-composer/writer Adam Gwon’s Ordinary Days. A musical exploration of four New Yorkers as their lives intersect in moments of connection and chaos in their everyday lives, Ordinary Days was a feverish jumble of neurotic ramblings, witty one-liners, and carefully guarded secrets for fear of vulnerability. There were a lot of times where the show felt strangely disconnected, but there were several moments, tiny glimpses, where everything came together in a moment of truth that would close up just as quickly as it revealed itself. This made the show a very true and admirable representation of a day in the life of a New Yorker—one part chance, one part anarchy, one part pure human need and love.
Gwon has a lot of projects under his belt, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of his work in the near future. His adaptations, in particular, are exciting to me (but that’s also because I love Edith Wharton—who I consider to be the most canonized trashy romance novelist of her time—and his musical adaptation of Ethan Frome makes my heart swell nerdily). But the reason I bring him up and highlight Ordinary Days in particular is because I recently found this video:
Performed my Lisa Brescia, who played the character Claire at the Roundabout production, this video is of the song “I’ll Be Here,” a heartbreakingly gorgeous song that comes near the end of the show. Lisa’s clear, emotionally open delivery paired with the brilliantly crafted lyrics and music recreates the moment I had in the theater… and yes, I will admit I teared up like a baby and had to discreetly wipe my eyes without the old guy sitting next to me noticing.
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