BWW Interviews: Romantic Favourites with the Cast of Angelwalk's ORDINARY DAYS

Angelwalk Theatre is kicking off their 2012-2013 Season with a joint production with The Winnipeg Studio Theatre – the romantic musical Ordinary Days.  Hailed by Remotegoat London as ‘one of the best musicals I have seen all year’, Ordinary Days tells the story of Deb, a woman who loses the notes to her graduate thesis and then starts a chain of events that turns the regular lives of four New Yorkers into something completely extraordinary. 

The show stars four of Canada’s brightest up and comers, Justin Bott, Jay Davis, Connie Manfredi and Clara Scott as the New York twenty-somethings looking for love in a complicated world.  With music and lyrics by Adam Gwon and orchestrations by Joseph Aragon, the show promises to entertain and inspire – while providing the audience with some much needed hope.

BWW took some time to chat with Justin, Clara and Connie about romance in today’s popular culture, and more specifically, what films and musicals most strongly resonate with them (and which ones they think can kill romance altogether).  What ensued was a hilarious discussion on the types of material that can help you fall in love, and what to avoid if you want your fairy tale ending:

Connie Manfredi

I think for me the most romantic musical is The Light in the Piazza.  I think Italy is the most romantic country in the world.  The show is set there, sung in the language and from the moment you enter the theatre you feel the spirit of Florence and the love-filled journey Clara is about to embark on.  Plus there’s all those nude male statues…

As for least romantic, I think I would have to go with In My Life.  A musician with Tourette’s syndrome and a journalist with obsessive compulsive disorder.  Giant lemons? That’s what the show is about.  For reals.  Cue romance? Not so much…

With regards to movies I love Once, when the piano comes out and the big red bow and he’s not there… If you see Once on a date you will hold hands with the other person and probably have at least three tear filled kisses.

Annie, on the other hand, is not my idea of a romantic movie.  No orphan, no matter how cute or full of chutzpah, will get you a second date.  All Annie will give you is confusion because you’ll leave the theatre thinking its Christmas.

Clara Scott

I think the worst date movie I was ever taken to see was Hotel Rwanda.  I got super into it and was uber-devastated by the story line.  Remember the part when Don Cheadle tries to defend himself with the shower head? You laugh at how idiotic it is, but then you cry at the hopelessness of it all? Oh my goodness was I ever a mess! My mascara was running and I was embarrassed by how emotional I was.  As a result of being so upset, I hogged the popcorn.

I’m also not a fan of the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  It just isn’t my sense of humour.  Bad show for a date, and it’s a very long musical.  Great songs though. 

The best romantic scene in a movie for me is the love scene in I Am Love.  Perfection.  Tilda Swinton is so versatile.  For a date movie it’s fun to play it safe and go for an action movie or a huge musical, but I think it’s also great to go and see a student flick or a small cast production.  I really like verbatim theatre, site-specific and one-to-one performances.  It’s all about the cool experiences!

Kelly Cameron's love affair with the theatre began when she was just five years old, on an outing to see the Original Canadian Cast of Les Miserables at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. She instantly fell in love, and since then has been lucky enough to be involved in various theatre activities and productions, including a regional production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and a local production of Where the Sidewalk Ends. She has also received training from various teachers throughout Southwestern Ontario in both piano and voice, and competed in vocal competitions for which she received a few awards. Her writing career started almost by accident, when she had the opportunity to become a ghostwriter for up and coming businesses. She continues to do this, writing the content for all sorts of companies who are starting websites and looking to find their voice. Her passion and love for theatre led to her becoming involved with BroadwayWorld where she is thrilled to be writing for the Toronto contingent of the rapidly growing website. When she isn't at the theatre, you can generally find her firmly planted in front of her trusty Blackberry - tweeting, Facebooking or partaking in other such social media activities to ensure that those who want to know are kept apprised of everything that Toronto theatre has to offer. Other interests include movies, art, music, shopping, fashion and martial arts with the occasional foray into the world of finance. Follow Kelly on Twitter at @broadwaybabyto Creep her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelly-Cameron/500187141

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