The joy of finding true love…and the fear that love may not last. What would you do? Speed up time to pack a lifetime into a third of a year? Or would you savor every minute, every second to make every experience linger?

That’s the set up of Hundred Days, onstage to August 4 at MusicalFare Theatre.  From the beginning, Abigail Bengson (played by Samantha Sugarman) welcomes us to this experience, carefully and deliberately telling us that this is a family band. This is more of a song cycle than a musical, with the music driving the story of Abigail and Shaun (Nick Stevens) who wed after a brief courtship to become the Bengsons. They are musicians and they tell their story in song, supported by tremendous cast and on-stage band. Anna Krempholtz (watch how she twirls her flute like a baton), Kevin Stevens in his MusicalFare debut like Sugarman, and Jay Wollin (love the electric cello) under Theresa Quinn’s musical direction give this story its beat.  Music and lyrics were composed by the real-life Bengsons (and the book with Sarah Gancher) using roots, folk, and celtic traditional forms and melodies. The result is both powerful and gentle: lines ebb and flow while the lyrics weave in this wistful love story and what is and may be…or not. Since the musicians are the actors and they don’t leave the stage or rely on props or scene changes, this is all about music and storytelling and this cast does this masterfully. Brian Cavanagh’s lighting adds the drama, particularly in one scene where Abigail’s anticipated grief is bathed in blood-red light. The sisters Drozd – Kari and Susan – styled the cast with a casual bohemian-hippie-chic. Just perfect.

Love, music, music uniting us in love, love reminding us that like music, it’s forever….Hundred Days is both haunting and hopeful and the outstanding performances add the joy.

It runs 90 minutes in one seamless act without intermission. Find tickets and details at http://www.musicalfare.com.