ORDINARY DAYS by Adam Gwon (Angelwalk). At Toronto Centre for the Arts Studio Theatre (5040 Yonge). To Sunday (December 9). $25-$45. 416-872-1111. See listing. Rating: NNN
Over the past three years, Angelwalk has specialized in bringing off-Broadway musicals to Toronto. Its memorable productions of Songs For A New World and I Love You Because… proved it can impress without a big budget. However, there’s only so much the company can do with the dull plot and serviceable tunes of this middling offering from contemporary New York City composer and lyricist Adam Gwon.
The biggest weaknesses in Gwon’s attempt to dramatize the “ordinary” are its cliched and uninteresting story and characters. Four young, white, privileged 20-somethings living in NYC struggle with First World problems: eternally unfulfilled grad student Deb (Connie Manfredi) loses her research notes and must befriend happy-go-lucky flyer guy Warren (Justin Bott) to get them back, while yuppie couple Jason (Jay Davis) and Claire (Clara Scott) have a relationship meltdown over divergent tastes in fine art and wine. Cry me a river. These “ordinary” urban middle-class North American problems are really boring.
On top of this, Gwon’s songs are disappointingly standard. Despite solid vocal performances, these by-the-numbers ballads are in desperate need of some distinctive hooks (it’s tough to tell them apart), and the lyrics too often sacrifice wit for a convenient rhyme.
That said, hardcore fans of this niche genre will still enjoy parts: Manfredi turns downer Deb into a pretty amusing character with some well-delivered sardonic one-liners, and she and Bott make their modern-day odd-couple friendship feel genuine and endearing.
While Angelwalk may have taken a slight misstep with this middle-of-the-road pick, the company remains headed in a promising direction.
