Mallory Newbrough and Nate Promkul in Hundred Days at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. Photo by Alberto Romeu.
By Oline H. Cogdill
Love—no matter how strong, how all-encompassing, how overwhelming—can never last forever, even if we are sure it will. Death, a forced separation, a mental breakdown—all kinds of things can conspire to end that most wonderful of emotions. Love, and all that comes with it, is the foundation of the indie-rock musical Hundred Days, enjoying a high-energy, entertaining production through Aug. 4 at Actors Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables.
A hybrid of a concert with bits of a traditional musical, Hundred Days works as a musical memoir as it tells the story of real-life couple Shaun and Abigail Bengson, who wrote the musical with the book by Sarah Gancher.
Mallory Newbrough and Nate Promkul in Hundred Days at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. Photo by Alberto Romeu.
While the musical explores the dark edge of love and how we hold onto it, Hundred Days is full of wit, lively songs, exuberant performances, and a top-notch band with a story clocking in just under 90 minutes. David Arisco’s deft direction is accented by on point musical direction by Dominique Scott.
The Bengsons have one of those love at first sights stories. Within the hour of meeting, they visit a diner where during a meal they instantly fall in love, decide to move in together, basically blowing up their lives. Abigail moves her stuff out of the apartment she shared with her kind of fiancé while Shaun has to tell his best friend who is driving cross country to stay with him. Yet, neither Shaun or Abigail doubt that the have found “their person,” the basis of “Vows,” the first song.
Three weeks later, Shaun and Abigail marry, and form a band.
Mallory Newbrough, Melanie Vitaterna, Nate Promkul and Stephen G. Anthony in Hundred Days at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. Photo by Alberto Romeu.
Whirlwind romance aside, both come with baggage that led each to move to New York City. Abigail alludes to when she was a teenager and her family was destroyed by violence and mental illness. She doesn’t go into a lot of detail, and the audience doesn’t need to know more to understand the pain in the songs.
After rear-ending a UPS truck, Shaun ends up in the hospital where the couple is informed that he only has 100 days to live. It’s unclear if this is real or one of Abigail’s nightmares manifested, built from her childhood trauma. The diagnosis also seals what Abigail says at the beginning: “Being alive, means being in grief.”
Melanie Vitaterna, Mallory Newbrough, Dennis Fuller, Nate Promkul, Jenn Chandler and Stephen G. Anthony in Hundred Days at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. Photo by Alberto Romeu.
Regardless, this turn of events makes for an emotionally engaging musical with solid songs about love, the uncertainty of life, fear and making every day count. The Bengsons decide to make every day stretch as if it was a year. They will “memorize moments,” celebrate Halloween in the morning, Christmas in the afternoon, birthdays at night and fit in other holidays and milestones.
Melanie Vitaterna, Mallory Newbrough and Nate Promkul in Hundred Days at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. Photo by Alberto Romeu.
Actors Playhouse’s Hundred Days is graced by superb performances by Mallory Newbrough as Abigail and Nate Promkul as Shaun. Both actors’ talents have been showcased in numerous South Florida productions. Newbrough has earned two Carbonell Awards, two Silver Palm Awards, along with a few nominations while Promkul has received a Silver Palm and two Carbonell nominations.
In Hundred Days, the far-ranging vocals of Newbrough and Pomkul nail the songs that include folk rock, folk punk, ballads, pop and a bit of hip hop. One can hear the love in each of their voices and the grief in Newbrough when she laments what life without Shaun would be like, and if she can handle it. Newbrough is constantly in motion, jumping around the stage, whipping up the musicians and herself with a kinetic spirit.
Newbrough and Pomkul also have an undeniable chemistry making us believe they truly are a couple. Newbrough and Pomkul impeccably recreate the story of the real Bengsons, who have performed their musical numerous times, including in 2019 at the Arsht Center.
Newbrough and Pomkul, who also plays acoustic guitar, are supported by Stephen G. Anthony as Reggie on vocals and bass; Jenn Chandler as Colette on vocals and cello; Dennis Fuller as Danny on vocals and drums; Melanie Vitaterna as Barrie on vocals and accordion. These actors-singers make a tight band.
Stephen G. Anthony and Melanie Vitaterna in Hundred Days at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. Photo by Alberto Romeu.
Hundred Days benefits from the intimacy of Actors Playhouse’s Balcony Theatre space. The colorful set is the performance space for a band, with scenic and set design by Jodi Dellaventura. Ellis Tillman’s costumes showcase the characters, especially Newbrough’s punk outfit. Eric Nelson’s lighting design and Reidar Sorensen’s sound enhance Hundred Days.
Hundred Days was performed in 2019 as part of the Theater Up Close series at the Arsht. In that production, the real Bengsons performed as themselves. In the Florida Theater on Stage review, critic Bill Hirschman said “|The show, which has a decidedly fringe-y feel to it, premiered in 2014 and has been through a few iterations since, including a run at the New York Musical Theatre Workshop. What that has wrought is a quiet, gentle hand on the shoulder of anyone trying to come to terms with living fully in the shadow of mortality.”
The message of Hundred Days centered on the power of love and taking chance on love ends Actors Playhouse’s 36th season on a high note.
Hundred Days runs through Aug. 4 at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables. Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. Running time approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. Tickets are $40 to $75. For information call 305-444-9293 or visit www.ActorsPlayhouse.org.
