Original Cast of Ordinary Days
I’m Trying
[CLAIRE]
Um, what is this?

[JASON]
Oh, come on!
A childhood memento
Let’s put it there on the shelf

[CLAIRE]
How ‘bout the back of the pantry?

[JASON]
My brother made it himself

[CLAIRE]
Good thing your brother doesn’t live here

[JASON, spoken]
Hey, do you think we could clean out some of the stuff in your closet?

[CLAIRE, spoken]
What stuff? Didn’t we make room for all your things? Look, your drafting table fits perfectly over there

[JASON, spoken]
Honey, what is all this old junk? Do you really need it?
[CLAIRE, spoken]
Just things I want to hold on to

[JASON, spoken]
Oh, come on. Old birthday cards, ticket stubs, I’ve never even seen you wear this sweater!

[CLAIRE, spoken]
I want to keep it, okay?

[JASON]
Hey, let’s take the day
Just unpack
We’ll both be given more space
Once everything is in its place

[CLAIRE, spoken]
Oh my God, Jason

[JASON, spoken]
What is it?

[CLAIRE, spoken]
You kept this?

[JASON, spoken]
Of course I did
[CLAIRE]
"Top Ten Things To Do In New York Before You Leave It."

[JASON]
The cover story in this magazine
I threw it in the trash

[CLAIRE]
And I said, “Go retrieve it
Nine of those things are things you’ve never seen.”

Number Ten, eat a bagel

[JASON]
That’s the one I’ve done

[CLAIRE]
Number Nine, root for the Mets

[JASON]
Does this go on?

[CLAIRE]
All the way to Number One

[JASON]
Number Eight insists we go to Brooklyn
[CLAIRE]
To see where they make beer!

[JASON]
Number Seven calls for

[CLAIRE]
Trapeze lessons!

[JASON]
She grabs my hand
And suddenly we’re at the pier

[CLAIRE]
They’ve got a tent set up right by the river
This whole circus thing, who knew?
You go in a classroom for an hour
And they show you what to do

[JASON]
Then, one at a time
They make you climb
So high into the air
And as I go up
It’s hard not to throw up
But I’m trying

[CLAIRE]
Every week we pick a number
And work our way on down the list

[JASON]
Broadway shows

[CLAIRE]
Botanic gardens
A tour of City Hall

[JASON]
There wasn’t one we missed

[CLAIRE]
Number Three describes some cooking classes
At the Institute Francais

[JASON]
I’m allergic to the French, you know

[CLAIRE]
He makes a face
I sign us both up anyway

[JASON]
She’s got a knack for flipping over omelets
She becomes the teacher’s pet

[CLAIRE]
Meanwhile, he’s got yoke stuck in his egg whites
And he’s getting quite upset

[JASON]
I am not upset
I’m simply letting
Breakfast stir my soul

[CLAIRE]
So he can’t cook

[JASON]
But honey, look:
I’m trying

[CLAIRE]
In my head, I draw a map
That shows the whole entire city
I put a mental pushpin
At the places where we laugh
Like Number Four, that fancy store

[JASON]
The salesman who ignored us

[CLAIRE]
Or Number Two

[JASON]
The zoo!

[CLAIRE]
And that giraffe

[JASON]
It was fun, you know, to see the city
I would do it all again
But that was what, a year ago?
And all those places...
Well, we haven’t been since then

[CLAIRE]
I remember when we finally got finished
The Number One thing to do
I hadn’t been to Central Park in ages
So I’m soaking up the view

We’re just standing still
The city’s silhouette against the sky
And I think
“Why can’t this moment last
Instead of slipping into the past?”
I want to keep
That moment with me
All of the time
And heaven knows
That I'm...

[JASON, spoken]
Hey. Let me be your tour guide this time. I know exactly where to find Number Eleven

[CLAIRE]
I’m trying