Just Another Day is a romantic comedy that celebrates the resilience of love with hilarity, pathos, and meaning.
Written and performed by Dan Laurie, who many will remember from his role as the dad on The Wonder Years, stars alongside Patty McCormack (The Bad Seed) who portray a couple in their seventies that meet daily on a park bench to exchange wits and barbs, wax nostalgic about old movies — and to try to remember how they know, and love, one another.
The chemistry between the two is palpable, and you would be inclined to believe that the two were an actual couple, which made their interactions all the more authentic.
The play is well-written and embodies the real-life day-to-day struggles of people living with dementia.
Through their shared love of old Hollywood movies, which are projected on a screen throughout the show, the audience is transported through great love stories that have transcended the test of time. With each encounter, you can feel them growing increasingly fond of one another.
“The characters are two former comedy writers who now have dementia, so every day they meet, they write comedy, and they fall in love again,” explains Lauria.
“I want the audience to understand that the creative spirit never dies,” he says. “All the other plays I’ve seen or read have to do with how the family deals with dementia. This is the only play on this subject I know of that is not about the family or the hospital conditions. This play is about the creative spirit that lives on no matter what.”
The simplistic setting of sitting on a park bench. Just the two of them create an intimate environment to get to know them.
Although we are reminded they living in some sort of facility, the annoying ringing of the bell indicates they are not alone, are displaying that they are getting agitated, and ultimately signals their time together is limited.
You can feel the joy of their connection through reminders that they should know each other, but in some way are still strangers, and the growing excitement they feel once they meet the next day gives a glimpse that living with dementia, although debilitating, isn’t a death sentence.
The two never missed a beat when reminising over old movies while acting out scenes and tossing around names of their favorite actors and actresses brings them closer to each other in a thoughtful way.
In a lot of ways, this body of work is therapeutic for those experiencing a loved one navigating through dementia and how to cope with them.
And just like the timeless love stories from the past, true love never dies, even when you can’t remember it.
Just Another Day should most definitely be added to your “must-see” list before it closes on September 28.
Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru Sept 28. Runtime: one hour and 45 minutes with one ten-minute intermission. https://odysseytheatre.com
