It’s a sweet slice of life in the Big Apple.
The musical “Ordinary Days” opens April 10 at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles. Performances, which run through May 3, are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays.
“It is a sweet little contemporary musical written by an up-and-coming young theater writer who wrote both the music and the lyrics,” Director Richard Pahl said. “For all the people who think there’s not good music being written, there are some astonishingly beautiful melodies in this.”
Written by Adam Gwon, the critically acclaimed comedy follows four “young-ish” New Yorkers whose paths eventually cross, and shows how they are finding their way in New York City, Pahl said. All of the dialogue, he said, is presented through the music in the score.
“It is essentially through song, so it’s pretty much non-stop music,” Pahl said. “And there’s only four people in the cast. So we did have to find four actor-singers who can handle a lot of material. And I’m confident we did that.”
Cast in this production is Tony Calzaretta of Schaumburg, Kevin Chlapecka of St. Charles, Katie Bates of Mequon, WI, and Cynthia Fortune-Gruel of Batavia.
The cast started rehearsals full-time on March 16. Prior to that, the actors had one meeting together.
“It’s really a tribute to the skill of the cast. I think they all love the show. A couple of them knew the show before,” he said. “When we had the very first sing-through, three of them were essentially off book — off script.”
“Ordinary Days” marks Pahl’s return to directing at Steel Beam Theater. In 2003 the Elgin resident directed three productions: “Sylvia,” “Closer Than Ever” and “The Dining Room.” During his hiatus from Steel Beam, he served on the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission and ran the play-reading program, he said.
More Top Picks Best Smart Garage Door Openers For Homes
When asked to submit a short list of shows he would be interested in directing at Steel Beam, “Ordinary Days” was at the top of the list, he said.
“You mean besides the beautiful music?” Pahl said when asked why. “I love a show that makes you laugh and makes you cry. If a playwright can put comedy and drama and mix them up and touch you in different ways, that’s the first show that appeals to me. Something to appeal to the senses, appeals to the emotions. Something that makes me care about the characters.”
The musical is written so it can be staged many different ways, he said. The original New York production in 2009 was done very simply, on a shallow stage with some modular pieces with big walls of light behind it, he said. And then there was a West Coast production that was more elaborately staged.
“It looks beautiful on the Steel Beam stage. We also are using some modular pieces — some pieces that suggest New York City,” Pahl said. “It’s got sort of a beautiful symmetry to it.”
Pahl said the musical is appropriate for teenagers and older.
“There’s really no questionable subject matter. There’s a little adult language that is not unexpected from New Yorkers,” he said. “If you hang out on the streets of New York or ride the subway, you’re going to be prone to the occasional outburst.”
The show runs approximately 90 minutes, without intermission — something that seems to becoming a trend in live theater.
“It’s become more and more common in recent years,” Pahl said. “I think theater is losing patrons to TV, to movies to mini-series. I think maybe the 80-90 minute time frame is more competitive to some of that stuff. Maybe it will give the theater an edge.”
Anyone who is interested in new musicals, clever comedies and songs with “lovely melodies” should come see the show, he said.
“Anyone that is interested in new musicals, in lovely melodies, in comedies — they should come see it,” Pahl said.
Kathy Cichon is a freelance writer.
‘Ordinary Days’
When: April 10-May 3
Where: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles
Tickets: $23-$28
Information: 630-587-8521 or steelbeamtheatre.com