As we enter the second year of pandemic, theater companies have largely shifted from live performance spaces to film and video producers. When new work is offered, it streams online, often created by the artists themselves.
For a new series of song-based works from Arena Stage, Molly Smith commissioned work from music-minded artists with some experience on stage. The first, “My Joy is Heavy!” comes from the first rate married couple and musical duo The Bengsons, who have previously channeled their exuberant, personal music through theatrical performances.
Their notable “Hundred Days,” celebrated the meeting of Abigail and Shaun Bengson even as they imagined a time when death would do them part. Performed from San Francisco to New York to La Jolla to Florida, it got raves, awards and a cast album.
Working in the first few months of the pandemic at Shaun’s parent’s home in Dayton, Ohio, they mustered as much uplift as they could for “The Keep Going Song,” a show presented (virtually, of course) through the Actors Theater of Louisville. Its title song captured and likely inspired 4 million viewers on YouTube, and maybe just nudged Smith to tap The Bengsons to create something for the series they’re calling Arena Riffs.