Christine Wade and Ryan Lee Photo by Jolie Morehouse Olson

What is atypical of Elision's past work, at least the dozen or so I've had the pleasure to see, is Hundred Days' rock and roll spirit, with music and lyrics by Abigail and Shaun Bengson, who perform together in concert and in theatre works as The Bengsons. The Bengsons write songs in idioms ranging from folk rock to blues rock to emo rock–nothing too hard core but a marked departure from the more rarified motifs more commonly heard on Elision's stage, or its occasional standard show-tune score, such as Ruthless.

The rock score makes sense for Hundred Days. The show–a one act running about 80 minutes–is a musical memoir of the Bengsons' whirlwind courtship (they were married within three weeks of their meeting) and first months of marriage, so of course it draws on the sounds that they create together. To be clear, this is not a song-book show dropping in pre-existing tunes from the couple's files, but a set of original songs composed to tell their very personal story, with a book by Sarah Gancher.

Hundred Days is narrated in present tense by its two primary characters taking turns at the helm. This is done in the context of a staged performance by their band , which they refer to as a "family band," though aside from the fact that its two front-persons are a married couple, the other family connections are never explained. No matter. We are told that the events of this story happened about ten years before, and since Hundred Days had its world premiere (in San Francisco) in 2014, that dates the story to roughly 2004. It takes place in New York City, mostly in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, across the East River from Manhattan, with a fraught excursion to Coney Island and a glimpse of Shaun's small-town origins in the mix.

Shaun (Ryan Lee) and Abigail (Christine Wade) are musicians who meet at what is described as an ordinary rehearsal of a newly formed "massive anti-folk, folk-punk, old timey, neo soul band." Their mutual attraction is immediate and intense. A shared meal in a diner booth after that meeting spurs Abigail to break up with her boyfriend. This is not so easy, as she has been living with him, so she brings herself and her belongs to Shaun's apartment. This thrills Shaun, except that his best friend Max is at that very moment in transit cross-country to become Shaun's roommate. But love, the conquering emotion, is not to be denied.

Their life is romantic and playful, but marred by a dagger hanging over Abigail's head: a prophecy that came to her in a dream when she was fifteen years old. It starts with a date in a diner booth and ends with a doctor telling her that the man she loves will die in one hundred days. Irrational, sure, but Abigail lives with this fear, which in her mind has become a certainty. This explodes in her head when Shaun is hospitalized after being injured in a car crash. Abigail cannot bear to face what she fears will happen. But, since it is now about twenty years since these events and we know that the Bengsons are still together, still creating and performing together, we can rest assured as we watch and listen to their journey.

The songs are tight, intelligent pieces, easy to listen to and in a couple of cases, easy to get hooked on. At different times during Hundred Days I was reminded of the Duncan Sheik songs in Spring Awakening, or Sara Bareilles's songs for Waitress, or the Green Day of American Idiot–all great company to keep. The band is terrific, six pieces –seven when Ryan Lee's Shaun joins in on guitar–that deliver the music with great energy, with Wade Harrison doing his reliably excellent work as Elision's music director.

The songs are primarily delivered by the two leads, Wade and Lee. Wade is a mainstay at Elision, where she is managing director and vocal director, as well as performer. I am accustomed to hearing her beautifully toned voice wrap around more gentle fare, but not the full-out gutsy rock treatment she delivers here, and she hits the mark. She ably conveys Abigail's anxiety and the emotional turmoil of wanting her beloved while fearing the prophecy that spells his doom. Lee has a pleasing voice and appealing, self-effacing manner. He is persuasive in conveying Shaun's elation to have found a true love, and his gentle acceptance of Abigail's fears. Shaun is a steadier character than Abigail and, accordingly, Lee's vocals have a more subdued quality, while still conveying Shaun's heartfelt investment in this relationship.

Wade and Lee harmonize well together, and are joined in most songs by band members to beautiful effect. In several songs, the band members take center stage. Violinist Joni Griffith steps out in "Wrong Parade," singing on behalf of the best friend Max, who is left out in the cold when Shaun lets Abigail take was supposed to be Max's place in his apartment. Griffith sings with grit and ferocity, and whips her fiddle-playing into a fiery tempest. Accordionist Emily Hensle, with a smokey, evocative voice, and keyboardist Benjamin Emory Larson, his voice sweetly soothing, each handle solo vocal turns beautifully.

Lindsay Fitzgerald has directed Hundred Days to feel like a band concert, with the two leads' narratives deftly integrated between numbers. The show has little in the way of a set–risers of different heights for the band, with oriental rugs providing color and softening the sounds. Various light fixtures hang down over the stage as if to indicate all manner of light shining on the unshakeable love that binds Abigail and Shaun. The stage lighting, designed by Laina Grendle, is effective with primary color hues when the band is the focus, and a gentler mix when the focus is on Shaun and Abigail's story. No costumes other than the somewhat grungy look befitting a rock band performance.

Though it is a modest theatre work, Hundred Days was conceived with quality and authenticity, as evidenced by its 2017 New York Theatre Workshop production having been nominated as outstanding musical by both the Lucille Lortel and Drama League awards. It has been performed at theatre companies throughout the country. When it comes to small, quirky, off-the-radar musicals, Theatre Elision has no peers, and so it is with their vibrant production of Hundred Days.

Hundred Days, runs through March 22, 2025, at Theatre Elision, Elision Playhouse, 6105 42nd Avenue North, Crystal MN. For tickets and information, please visit www.elisionproductions.com.

Music and Lyrics: Abigail and Shaun Bengson; Book: Sarah Gancher; Director and Set Design: Lindsay Fitzgerald; Music Director: Harrison Wade; Vocal Director: Christine Wade; Sound Design: Andrea Johnson; Lighting Design and Stage Manager: Laina Grendle.

Cast: Joni Griffith (violin/ensemble), Emily Hensley (accordion/ensemble), Benjamin Emory Larson (keyboard/ensemble), Ryan Lee (Shaun/guitar), Christine Wade (Abigail), Harrison Wade (bass/ensemble), Rae Wasson (cello/ensemble), Miles Whealy (drums/ensemble).