WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 21, 2017 39
BUZZ
Ridgewood couple turns their
love story into a musical
BY KATRINA MEDOFF
KATRINA@BOROMAG.COM
@KATRINAMEDOFF
Abigail Bengson had experienced
a prophetic dream involving the
love of her life and a diner booth
during a tumultuous time at age 15. So,
years later, when she fi rst got to know
fellow musician (and her future husband)
Shaun Bengson over a meal at an Astoria
diner, she knew something was right.
That night, she broke up with her fi ancé.
For the Bengsons’ second date, Abigail
moved into Shaun’s tiny Astoria
apartment.
And now, a decade later, the married
couple (who double as a band
called The Bengsons) are telling their
love story on stage in Manhattan in
a piece called "Hundred Days." It’s
not so much a play or musical as a
“theatrical concert,” as director Anne
Kauff man describes it. Abigail and
Shaun Bengson perform as themselves
on stage, taking the audience
through their first few months
together using original folk-punk
songs (and their gorgeous, versatile
voices). The cast is fi lled out with a
few other performers, all of whom
play instruments and sing backup,
and sometimes ask questions or make
comments about the Bengsons’ story
as they tell it.
“The entire cast is truly our band.
It’s a show told deeply with music
and concert tools,” Abigail Bengson
said. “We’ve really focused on using
the tools that are naturally onstage
when you play in a band.”
Lest you think the Bengsons’ love
story will be all sunshine and roses,
there was a second part to Abigail’s
prophetic dream. We won’t reveal
any spoilers here, but soon after
meeting, the couple was spurred to
live their entire lives together in just
100 days before a tragedy that Abigail
had foreseen.
Their real-life story may seem
fantastical — a sense that is enhanced
by the enchanting music and some
ethereal additions to the simple stage
setup — but the sense of fate is enough
to give the audience goosebumps.
“I truly did have a very specific
dream at a diffi cult time in my life
that told me among other things that
I’d fi nd the love of my life in a diner
booth. I did!” Abigail Bengson said.
The Bengsons now live in another
Queens neighborhood: Ridgewood,
which many of their artist friends
and collaborators also call home. They
even live across the hall from Sarah
Gancher, who wrote the book of “Hundred
Days” with the couple.
Since the Bengsons describe in the
show how they fi rst came to start a
band together, the audience feels that
they have not only learned about the
couple’s romantic journey but also
gone on a musical journey with them.
“Our fi rst gig was at this really crappy
venue in Chinatown, but it got better
from there,” Shaun Bengson said.
It certainly did get better, with
“Hundred Days” playing at New York
Theatre Workshop, which has produced
more than 100 new, fully staged
works including “Once,” “Peter and the
Starcatcher” and “Rent.”
“We feel really proud and lucky to
be at NYTW,” Abigail Bengson said.
“They really push their artists to innovate
and tell their truth.”
Shows run through Dec. 31, and you
can fi nd more information at hundreddays.
org.
Photos by
Joan Marcus
