The Department of Theatre at Hope College will present Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon on Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17, and Thursday-Saturday, April 22-24, at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance will be presented on Sunday, April 18, at 2 p.m.
Virtual tickets are free and open to all, but pre-registration is required via tickets.hope.edu. Out of an abundance of caution due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no in-person audience.
Directed by Professor Daina Robins, “Ordinary Days” is a comedic musical about four New Yorkers who have yet to meet each other. Their lives intersect in unexpected ways as each looks for what everyone desires in life: love, happiness, success and taxis. Robins describes her attraction to the script:
“Due to pandemic precautions and protocols, the department had to cancel its plans to produce a large-scale musical this spring. Instead, we found this small piece with a piano-only score. It is a funny and moving exploration of four young adults figuring out life in the Big Apple. In many ways it celebrates the small, ‘ordinary’ aspects of life -- something with which I identify after this year of isolation and limited activity.”
In addition to Robins, the production team includes Michelle Bombe, professor of theatre and department chair, as costume designer; Sarah VandenBrink, assistant professor, as music director; and Eric Van Tassell, assistant professor, as scenic and lighting designer. Staff members Jane Bosko, Ken Chamberlain, Stephen Krebs and Darlene Veenstra serve as accompanist, sound designer, technical director and costume shop manager, respectively. Several students also serve on the production team: stage manager, sophomore Annika Dekker of Grand Rapids; assistant stage managers, freshmen Abigail Doonan of Kalamazoo and Cecilia Casper of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; and properties manager, freshman Carole Chee of Grand Rapids.
The cast includes senior Madison Meeron of Oxford, juniors Emma Clark of Dewitt, Emi Herman of Waukegan Illinois, and Sam Joachim of Dearborn; sophomore Cameron Baron of Chicago, Illinois, and freshman Grant McKenzie of Western Springs, Illinois.
Updates about the production are available through the Department of Theatre’s social media (Hope College Theatre Department on Facebook; @hopetheatredept on Instagram).