Hundred Days Brings a Soaring Folk-Rock Love Story to Keegan Theatre
Before the first note is played at Keegan Theatre's production of Hundred Days, the stage itself announces that audiences are in for something special. Instruments wait among nearly fifty glowing lamps, candles, and coffeehouse rugs, while Polaroid snapshots strung on fairy lights frame the space like pages from a couple's scrapbook. It feels less like a traditional musical and more like an invitation to an intimate evening with a band that has a story to tell, and over the course of 75 minutes, that is exactly what this show delivers. Hundred Days is making its DC-area premiere at Keegan's Dupont Circle home and runs through November 15, 2026.
The show was created by Abigail and Shaun Bengson, the married duo behind the folk-punk family band The Bengsons, who wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the book with Sarah Gancher. It is drawn from their own lives. The two met in a New York diner, fell headlong in love, moved in together, formed a band, and got married, all within three weeks. Hanging over that whirlwind romance is a recurring dream Abigail has carried since childhood, a premonition that she will find the love of her life only to lose him after one hundred days. Rather than letting that fear keep her from love, the story asks how two people can choose connection precisely because they know time is precious. After evolving through several productions, the show became a hit Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in 2017 and has since been staged by theatres across the country.
The music is the beating heart of this production, and critics have been unanimous in their praise for it. The Bengsons' score is a rousing mix of stomp-and-clap folk rock that fills Keegan's 120-seat theatre with pure, joyful energy from the opening number to the finale. High-spirited showstoppers like "Marching in the Wrong Parade" and "Lift Me" are balanced by tender, elegiac songs such as "Three Legged Dog" and "Bells," and the anthemic title song transforms Abigail's fear into a statement of purpose. Under the musical direction of Lucia LaNave, the onstage band of actor-musicians plays with real gusto, powered by Jared Kirschenbaum's driving drums and featuring rich harmonies and big, thrilling vocals throughout.
Kylie Clare Truby leads the company as Abigail, and her soaring voice is one of the evening's great pleasures, moving effortlessly from raucous belting to passages as gentle as a feather while bringing an exuberance that lifts the entire piece. Bradley Foster Smith plays Shaun with a dry wit that offers a lovely counterbalance, and he shifts from an easygoing, unassuming presence into fiery intensity when the songs take hold. Lydia Gifford stands out as bandmate Barrie, lending strong vocal support and a captivating presence on accordion, and the full ensemble, which includes Daniel Ayoola as Reggie, weaves through the story as additional characters and keeps the stage alive with energy. One of the production's most affecting passages comes late in the show, when Abigail and Shaun sit face to face and finally allow themselves to imagine the decades they might share together.
Director Christina A. Coakley, working with choreographer Kayla A. Warren, makes the most of a single, evocative setting, smoothly moving musicians on and off the stage as the story unfolds. Helen Hayes Award-winning scenic designer Josh Sticklin has created a bohemian folk artist's dream of a room, and Alberto Segarra's lighting design strikes a striking balance between rock concert and theatrical storytelling, at its most magical in moments that mimic the flash of a camera capturing a memory.
For anyone who loves folk music, heartfelt true stories, or simply an evening of live music performed with passion in an intimate setting, Hundred Days is a joyful and moving experience.