Nate Promkul and Mallory Newbrough in "Hundred Days" at Actors' Playhouse. (Photo by Alberto Romeu)
The task facing Actors’ Playhouse Artistic Director David Arisco might seem daunting to many: take six actors who never performed together as a band and turn them into a cohesive live band in just about three weeks.
Mission accomplished? We’re about to find out. Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables is about to open its professional production of “Hundred Days.” The musical, according to its website, is “an uncensored, exhilarating, and heartrending true story about embracing uncertainty, taking a leap, and loving as if you only had 100 days to live. With magnetic chemistry and anthemic folk-punk music, creators and stars (real-life couple) Abigail and Shaun Bengson explore a fundamental question: how do we make the most of the time that we have?”
“Hundred Days,” which lasts about 90 minutes without an intermission, will run from July 17-Aug. 4 in Actors’ Playhouse’s intimate Balcony Theatre space. The production will start previews on Wednesday, July 17, and officially open on Friday, July 19.
Under Arisco’s direction, and musical direction by Dominique Scott, the show stars Mallory Newbrough (lead vocals) as Abigail Bengson and Nate Promkul (lead vocals/acoustic guitar) as Shaun Bengson. In addition, Stephen G. Anthony (bass) will portray Reggie, Jenn Chandler (cello) will portray Colette, Melanie Vitaterna (featured vocals/accordian) will appear as Barrie and Dennis Fuller (drums) will play Danny.
The six cast members perform as a live band. They act, sing, and play their own instruments.
Melanie Vitaterna, Mallory Newbrough, Dennis Fuller, Nate Promkul, and Jenn Chandler. (Photo by Alberto Romeu)
The creative team comprises scenic design, set dressing, and properties design by Jodi Dellaventura, lighting design by Eric Nelson, costume design by Ellis Tillman, sound design by Reidar Sorensen, production management by Carlos Correa, and production stage management by Naomi Zapata.
Arisco, who has enjoyed a long and diverse career in the performing arts, says that he had never heard of “Hundred Days” or the Bengson couple’s band until fairly recently. One day, a representative from a show licensing company was visiting Actors’ Playhouse and told Arisco about “Hundred Days.” Arisco recalls being intrigued and telling the representative to send him the script.
That night, Arisco listened to the music and says he instantly fell in love with the score. It carries a “very different sound,” Arisco says. “The music grabbed me,” he added. Needless to say, Arisco decided to include “Hundred Days” in Actors’ Playhouse’s 2023-24 season.
Arisco refers to the show as an indie rock concert style play. You might also call “Hundred Days” a concert that behaves like a play, Arisco added.
The show includes dialogue, music that sets the tone for scenes, and songs, according to Arisco.
“It’s a very abstract piece but all the pieces come together very nicely,” the veteran performer and director says.
Speaking of coming together, the cast “gelled immediately,” Arisco says.
“It’s been a real task, but the cast has been so great at accepting every challenge,” he says. “They really are a wonderful group. I love this cast.”
The music in “Hundred Days” is easy to listen to but it includes difficult harmonies and actors must sing it in different ranges, Arisco says. In addition, actors performing in “Hundred Days” must prove to be triple threats: they need to act, sing, and play instruments effectively.
During the first week of rehearsals, the performers spent many hours working only on the music. Then, Arisco says he “layered in the acting moments” and eventually pieced it all together.
In addition to praising the cast, Arisco complimented Scott for his work as music director.
“Dom has done an incredible job,” Arisco says.
Jenn Chandler (cello) will portray Colette in Actors' Playhouse "Hundred Days." (Photo by Alberto Romeu)
Scott, who began his career at Actors’ Playhouse at age 11 by playing in the Children’s Choir in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” agrees that “Hundred Days” presents challenges. In particular, it’s a challenge to listen to other people’s music (that of the Bengsons), distill what they did, and then make it your own, as this cast has tried to do.
Scott says that part of his work involves ensuring that a rich, full sound emanates from the stage even though just six performers occupy it. It’s not like 15 or 20 performers are singing and playing, Scott adds. Also, his responsibility has involved making sure that the music is “comfortable” to audience members’ ears. The sound should be exciting, crisp, and clear, Scott adds.
The sound might also seem different. Indeed, instruments such as accordion, cello, bass, synthesizers, and drums don’t typically go together, Scott says. But the Bengsons have combined these instruments “very elegantly,” in a way that Scott says he’s never heard.
Scott, who had never heard of the piece, says if he had to compare “Hundred Days” to another show, the first obvious comparison would be “Once.” That piece is a 2011 musical based on the 2007 film of the same name. In “Once,” the love of music draws together an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant. Over one week, an unexpected friendship and collaboration evolves into a powerful, complicated love story underscored by emotionally-charged music.
As Arisco did, Scott praised the cast. It has been “truly amazing to work with this group,” he says. “We’ve really assembled a wonderful, wonderful group.”
This production also marks Newbrough’s first time working on “Hundred Days.”
“I’m having an incredible time,” she says. “This show is very unique and beautiful in so many different ways.”
In addition, the piece is “so much different” than traditional musical theater, Newbrough says. In fact, she recently performed in classic shows that fit in that category, specifically “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Carousel.”
“This is a whole different ballgame,” Newbrough says, referring to “Hundred Days.”
It’s a story of grief, death, and love told through a concert-like play, Newbrough adds. (Unlike many musicals in which audiences are witnessing the story unfold in real time, the characters in “Hundred Days” are retelling their story, according to Scott).
Newbrough describes “Hundred Days” as a “dream-like, nightmare-like journey into the mind.”
“It’s a pretty intense piece that explores the answer to ‘What do you do if you find out you only have 100 days left to live,' ” she says.
Newbrough says her role has presented her with quite a task. In particular, Abigail Bengson “has a phenomenal voice.” She does “vocal gymnastics,” demonstrating a “beautiful, deep,” low alto. But her voice also swells “all the way to the heavens at (the) top of her lungs.”
“I’m doing my best to do her justice,” Newbrough says, noting that her character sings 85 to 90 percent of the score. To keep her voice strong and healthy, she has been gargling with apple cider vinegar, drinking a lot of tea, and staying away from alcohol. In addition, Newbrough says she has been careful to not “overdo it.”
Melanie Vitaterna, Mallory Newbrough, Dennis Fuller, Nate Promkul, Jenn Chandler, and Stephen G. Anthony in Actors' Playhouse production of "Hundred Days." (Photo by Alberto Romeu)
If you live in South Florida, the chances are good that you have witnessed Newbrough’s work on stage. With “Hundred Days” she is returning to the stage after having recently portrayed Olive in Actors’ Playhouse’s production of “A Rock Sails By.” Other Actors’ Playhouse productions that have featured Newbrough include “Now and Then” and “Murder on the Orient Express.”
In 2018, Newbrough earned a Carbonell Award for her portrayal of Janis Joplin in “Beehive.” Also, the local performer netted two Silver Palm Awards for her work as Bette Midler in “Bette & Barry: from Bathhouse to Broadway,” Marta in “Company” and Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” for which Newbrough also received a Carbonell nomination. Her second Carbonell award came in 2022 for her portrayal of Mrs. Wormwood in “Matilda the Musical.”
In “Hundred Days,” Abigail Bengson is plagued by an upsetting past, and it has affected her current mindset. Newbrough notes that, in the musical, her character tells her husband, “Just so you know…everyone I love gets sick or dies or goes mad.”
By contrast, Shawn radiates positivity, Newbrough says.
“He comes up with this beautiful resolution to live each day as though (one has) 100 days to live,” Newbrough says.
Fellow South Florida performer Nate Promkul will portray Shaun. Promkul says that the show carries a “beautiful message.”
The local performer says that for his role, he had to learn not only spoken lines and lyrics, but guitar parts. And Promkul, who has been playing guitar since he was 13, hasn’t played the instrument during the past five years. But he added that it’s like riding a bike: once you’ve done it, it comes back naturally.
Promkul says this production seemed daunting to him at first. But once everyone “got into a groove, everything really came naturally.”
“Dom made it easy,” he says.
While Promkul is no stranger to South Florida stages, “Hundred Days” marks his first time working at Actors’ Playhouse.
“I’ve been looking forward to working with Dave for a long time,” says Promkul, whose past South Florida credits include Gabe in “Next to Normal,” Prince Eric in “The Little Mermaid” Anthony Hope in “Sweeney Todd,” and Musidorus in “Head Over Heels.”
Promkul is a Silver Palm award winner and a two-time Carbonell nominee.
What does he want audiences to know about “Hundred Days?’
“It’s a beautiful show with beautiful music and (a) beautiful message,” Promkul says.
Melanie Vitaterna, Dennis Fuller, Mallory Newbrough, Nate Promkul, and Jenn Chandler. (Photo by Alberto Romeu)
If You Go:
- What: “Hundred Days.”
- When: July 17-Aug. 4. Evening performances will start at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with matinees at 3 p.m. Sunday. A special weekday matinee is set for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24.
- Where: The Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables.
- Tickets: Prices range from $40 to $75. You can purchase tickets by calling (305) 444-9293, visiting www.actorsplayhouse.org, or at the box office. The theater company offers 10 percent off all weekday performances for seniors and $15 student rush tickets to any performance 15 minutes before curtain with identification. Group discounted rates are offered for 10 patrons or more through the group sales department. You can reach it at (305) 444-9293 ext. 2 or on www.actorsplayhouse.org.
