An original cast recording of the critically-acclaimed new musical Hundred Days was released today on all streaming and digital formats. The release coincides with the quirky musical's first performance at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse. Cincinnati theater fans might be familiar with Hundred Days. In 2015, CityBeat gave it a Critic’s Pick during its stint at Know Theatre.
At the time, theatre critic Rick Pender wrote that the play — which opened Know’s 18th season — ”defies categorization.” Though the production is now longer (75 minutes vs. 90) and tweaked, it’s a dramatic work and Folk Punk concert rolled into one. But it’s also a memoir of sorts for Abigail and Shaun Bengson, who co-wrote the musical with Sarah Gancher. The couple is the focal point, but they’re joined by a band who occasionally chime in with bits of narration.
Within weeks of meeting, the writers fell in love and married (perhaps the OG Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson?). As the story unravels, their future becomes uncertain. What if the person you love dies after 100 days? What if they left you? That’s the basic premise — not to be confused with Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.” You get the point.
“Truth to tell, everything about Hundred Days is ‘with it,’ ” Pender wrote. “The performers and the music are wholly engaging, and the rapturous story they tell is emotionally powerful, exploring feelings and fears we know but seldom speak. Know’s production is stellar.”
Anne Kaufmann, who directed the show when it was at Know, is still its director. Aside from the Bengsons, Jo Lampert, Dani Markham and Reggie D. White make up the cast. The current version of Hundred Days premiered in 2017 as part of the New York Theater Workshop season. This year it has drawn acclaim; it earned a 2018 Lucille Lortel and Drama League Award nom for “Outstanding Musical.”
Though the cast recording album is currently only available digitally, a physical CD version is expected to release later this year. For more information or to order the album, click here. To stream it on Spotify, click below.
