Arts & Entertainment

‘Ordinary’ yet charming

Low-key musical delights with its minimalism

Published

12 years ago

June 12, 2014

Patrick Folliard

Ordinary Days, gay news, Washington Blade

Janine Divita as Claire and Will Gartshore as Jason in ‘Ordinary Days.’ (Photo courtesy Round House Theatre)

‘Ordinary Days’

Through June 22

Round House Theatre

4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda

$25-50

240-644-1100

In the program notes for Round House Theatre’s delightful area premiere of “Ordinary Days,” out composer/lyricist Adam Gwon says the show’s gay character is most like him.

Warren is an optimist. He isn’t terribly put off by rude behavior. For him, a calamity is an opportunity. In jaded Manhattan he might seem an anomaly, yet in Gwon’s charming chamber musical about young people carving out lives for themselves, it’s Warren who embodies the promise and possibilities of Gotham.

“Ordinary Days” is two stories — one about friendship the other love. The first involves nervous Deb (Erin Weaver), a humorless grad student who is unsure what she wants; and Warren (Samuel Edgerly), a happy cat sitter and aspiring artist who canvasses the street handing out flyers with inspiring messages. Two complete strangers. Deb and Warren come together after she loses her thesis notes and he finds them. A hand-over rendezvous is arranged. Warren, ever the romantic, suggests the two meet on Saturday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in front a Monet painting in one of the museum’s myriad galleries. Deb reluctantly agrees. The meeting is amusingly played out in the duet “Sort-of Fairy Tale.”

On parting, uptight Deb feels she owes Warren a thank you. After affirming he’s gay, she suggests a quick 20 minutes at Starbucks, her treat. They sip and chat. Her initial distaste for Warren softens.

That same Saturday, Jason (Will Gartshore) and Claire (Janine Divita) are also at the museum. An afternoon taking in art is part of Jason’s plan to get the couple closer. Though Jason recently moved into Claire’s place, the relationship feels stalled. A painful secret prevents reserved Claire from taking things to the next level.

Almost entirely sung through, Gwon’s 19-song melodic score is filled with the yearning of youth and some more clearheaded thinking prompted by a little maturity. His lyrics are sharp, clever and often funny. Through his songs, Gwon deftly introduces and rounds out complex characters and smartly moves an engaging but hardly groundbreaking plot, which is part of its charm.

Out director Matthew Gardiner’s staging is masterful. Under his sure hand, the perfectly cast, four-person ensemble make it all look so easy, which of course it isn’t. As Jason, Will Gartshore is in gorgeous voice, especially with “Favorite Places,” a sentimental tune in which Jason lists his most prized spots in the city including one he’s yet to visit, Claire’s heart. Janine Divita’s Claire hides her hurt with a hardened veneer. Finally she comes clean with her feelings and reveals the show’s secret with a touching rendition of “I’ll Be Here.”

The eminently watchable Erin Weaver is terrific as Deb, displaying some serious comic and vocal talent with songs like “Don’t Wanna Be Here” and “Calm” (which Deb isn’t). Samuel Edgerly is delightful as the preternaturally sunny and sometimes oblivious Warren. Like his fellow cast members, Edgerly more than does justice to the score. Sole musical accompaniment comes from the excellent musical director/pianist William Yanesh who is seated on stage at a baby grand.

A relatively modest musical, “Ordinary Days” is fun and affecting. Gardiner’s production exudes New York’s energy. There’s the sense of a big city teeming with people in which near misses and accidental meetings can change fates. Misha Kachman’s set is open. A table and chairs, benches and newspaper boxes suggest locations where the characters meet. High above there’s a high balcony from which falls a colorful flurry of inspiring messages.

During his ordinary days as a college student at New York University, Gwon, 34, enjoyed listening to Broadway star Audra McDonald’s first solo album, imagining that one day he would compose for musical theater. Last year McDonald recorded “I’ll Be Here” from “Ordinary Days” on her most recent album, “Go Back Home.”

Gwon’s “Ordinary Days” makes for something special.

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Published

15 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

21 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Theater

National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre

Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster

Published

2 days ago

May 10, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Edward Staudenmayer plays Meyer Wolfsheim in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ (Photo courtesy National Theatre)

‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com

Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.

Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.

It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”

Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).

While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?

EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].

There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.

BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.

STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].

BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?

STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.

Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.

BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?

STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.

Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.

BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?

STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.

BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?

STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.

It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.

BLADE: What was your coming of age like?

STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.

BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?

STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.

BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?

STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.