“Ordinary Days,” August 8 through 17

Friday, August 8, through Sunday, August 17

Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL

A lauded musical in which, according to The Sound on Stage, "the songs hit every band of the emotional spectrum," composer Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days enjoys its Quad Cities debut at Moline's Black Box Theatre from August 8 through 17, StageLeft.nyc adding that the show is a "sweet, quietly extraordinary musical that cleanses the soul, lifts the spirit, and reminds you what you love about New York."

Written and composed by Gwon, the sung-through musical Ordinary Days tells the story of four young New Yorkers – Claire, Jason, Warren, and Deb – whose lives intersect in the most amazing ways as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love, and cabs. Through its score of vibrant and memorable songs, the experiences of these dynamic characters ring startlingly true to life. An original musical for anyone who has ever struggled to appreciate the simple things in complex place, Ordinary Days delivers equal doses of humor and poignancy, celebrating how 8.3 million individual stories combine through unexpected means to make the Big Apple such a unique and vibrant place.

Directing Ordinary Days for the Black Box is venue veteran Shelley Cooper, Augustana College's associate professor of theatre arts who has appeared in Hello, Dolly!, Jane Eyre, and Cooper's one-woman show Jenny Lind Presents P.T. Barnum, and previously co-directed last summer's hit production of Songs for a New World. The scenic and costume design are by Black Box co-founder and artistic director Lora Adams, with the built by Michael Kopriva and Kirsten Myers. The show's music direction and accompaniment are provided by Rob Elfine, while the stage manager is Briley Larson witt assistant stage manager Eden Myers, both recipients of an Illinois Art Council Youth Empowerment Grant.

The Ordinary Days cast, meanwhile, is composed of four gifted area favorites: Evan Gagliardo (the Black Box's Songs for a New World), Bradley Robert Jensen (Quad City Music Guild's Kinky Boots), Sara Lounsberry (Music Guild's A Little Night Music), and Kira Rangel (the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's Beehive: The '60s Musical). Kayden Micklos and Jensen Stoneking, Augustana College students who co-starred in Cooper's springtime presentation of The Prom, also understudy and appear in the musical.

In her director's notes for the musical, Cooper says: "Ordinary Days is one of those rare shows that sneaks up on you. It’s simple on the surface – a story of a few New Yorkers just trying to get through the day – but underneath, it’s about all the big, messy stuff we don’t always know how to talk about: love, loss, growing up, starting over… and, yes, trying to chase your dreams in a city that will absolutely test your patience, your budget, and your belief in yourself on a daily basis.

"Through intersecting lives, the show explores the ways we seek connection, carry our pasts, and confront the grief we’re rarely taught how to hold. It’s about the baggage we bring into relationships, the stories we don’t know how to share, and the moments that crack us open – sometimes painfully, sometimes beautifully. As someone who’s tried to 'make it' in New York (and has cried on at least one or 20 subway platforms), I find this show painfully relatable. It’s about how we carry our pasts into the present, how we stumble through connection, and how sometimes the people who change our lives are the ones we almost miss entirely.

“But it’s also funny, hopeful, and full of heart. These characters are awkward and flawed and real – and they’re just doing their best. Aren’t we all? At the end of the day, Ordinary Days is a love letter not just to the city, but to anyone who’s ever felt lost-and still kept going."

Ordinary Days runs at the Moline theatre from August 8 through 17, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $18, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.