The cast of “Ordinary Days” (pictured above) has been rehearsing for weeks for their musical. The musical will be performed on Dec. 4, 5 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Wadsworth Auditorium and is free to the public (Courtesy of Tristan Strasser).
An intimate, artistic group of friends seems like the ideal cast of characters for the focus of musical theater and psychology double major senior Tristan Strasser’s first musical where he has a directing and co-producing credit. This student-directed musical, “Ordinary Days,” is set to be performed in the Wadsworth Auditorium on Dec. 4, 5 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. with free admission.
Strasser decided that he wanted to direct a musical for Geneseo during his spring 2019 semester.
“I started the process of ‘Ordinary Days’ at the beginning of last semester, just thinking ‘I want to direct a musical,’” Strasser said in an email statement to The Lamron. “Since then, I have become the artistic and musical director and one of the three producers of the production. My vision … will come out in the end product. It is a mixing of the actors, lighting, sound and movement together to create a cohesive end product that is enjoyable for the audience while displaying artistry and the themes of the show.”
“Ordinary Days” is a musical written by playwright and composer Adam Gwon. The plot follows four major characters: Claire, Jason, Deb and Warren.
“Claire, a young woman with a traumatic romantic history is played by Kayla McGallian,” Strasser said. “Her lively boyfriend Jason is played by Carl Treiber. Deb, an overworked grad student, will be played by Sydney Lyons and Warren, the self-proclaimed ‘ambassador for art,’ will be played by Jacob Anspach. The choreographer is Patrick Jones, and featured [are] Rocky Nardone, Gianna Paniccia, Benjamin Bernstein, Samantha Bruno, Marianne Maysuch and Emily Thamm.”
The story takes place in New York City and each character must deal with the various struggles that accompany growing into your 20s and 30s.
“In ‘Ordinary Days,’ I play Deb,” Lyons said in an email statement to The Lamron. “Deb is one of the four leading roles. There are two male leads and two female leads, so even though this is more like a song cycle, since the entire story is told through song, my responsibilities still include rehearsing, memorizing lines, blocking and dances, as well as doing character work.”
Strasser finds that the musical is a light-hearted, enjoyable experience.
“‘Ordinary Days’ is a musical comedy … navigating artistry, love, ambition and a lost notebook as [four young adults] try to find their place in the world,” Strasser said.
Lyons pointed out the application of the musical’s plot to our daily lives.
“The most important thing or takeaway from the show as I see it is that you never know anyone’s story,” Lyons said. “Even when our lives cross, you still never know what [people are] going through or what an ordinary day means to them.”
Lyons is proud of the work that the cast has done to prepare for the musical.
“I think the best part of ‘Ordinary Days,’ as a production, is seeing this be entirely student-run, as there has not been a student-run or directed musical here in years,” Lyons said. “Seeing the director, Tristan Strasser, make his dream of doing this become a reality has been really inspiring and his passion for this project really shines through in rehearsals, which makes everyone in the room want to work harder.”
Both Lyons and Strasser would like to emphasize that this production will be free to the public. The cast, director and producers would greatly appreciate your attendance and support!