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Shifting gears from night to night is one of the challenges of being a writer who sees a lot of shows. Perhaps that is why The Last Five Years came as such a pleasant surprise. After big productions like Sweeney Todd earlier in the week, it was time for something more intimate, more sublime.
This chamber musical – for lack of a better category – is a bittersweet delight for all young lovers, past, present and future. Who hasn’t fallen in love. And then broken up. It is a timeless tale – only the details vary from couple to couple.
The Last Five Years is a multi-faceted little gem with a big musical heart. It might even have been called Back to the Future if that title had not already been used for a film. That’s because the central idea behind this show is that the two lovers are relating their affair from two completely different directions. He (Jamie) is remembering their relationship from the early days to the end. She (Cathy) begins at the end, and works her way back to the beginning. The entire show takes place in a room with no door. With them – upstage – are an unobtrusive string trio, piano and guitar.
This inner room is psychological – it never changes and the couple never leaves it. Perhaps it is to suggest that despite their ultimate breakup, they never stop thinking of each other. In fact, as director Anders Cato suggests in his notes, our significant relationships never go away, they are always part of our memory.
The program gives a timeline of the songs with the pair meeting briefly and lovingly in the middle. He proposes, rings are exchanged, they kiss, they embrace, they dance, then they go on relating their separate tales. The moment when their story paths cross is magical, as it is in real life. On either side are fourteen songs by Jason Robert Brown. He is part of the new generation of songwriters.The story is based on his own life and relationship. It hurts him, he says, to watch good productions of his own show, he says, because it is about his failed marriage and it drives a knife into his heart.
Julie Reiber is making her BTF debut at Cathy having earlier played Elphaba in Wicked. She has a solid stage presence and supple voice. There was some difficulty making out her lyrics, not sure why. She seems to have good diction, perhaps the amplification was a bit muddy. I chalked it up to aging ears.
Also making his BTF debut as Jamie, Paul Anthony Stewart tears up the stage, especially in the first half as he falls in love and can’t contain his exuberance. For the first half hour Stewart channels the great method actors of old, fidgeting, flipping, flopping, and using his whole body to convey his growing excitement over life and love. Reiber initially seems tame, even depressed, compared to his antics, acting mostly from the shoulders up, but then I remember she is at the end of the relationship, he at the beginning. Reiber gets to be the lively one in the second half, as he tones it down. The contrast of emotions was an interesting concept to watch evolve.
It does seem that the apportioning of songs was a bit unfair with hers often ending with a whimper and his with a bang, though both had their turns with show stoppers.
As Cathy, Reiber belted out the full throated, maximum throttle show stopper “I Can Do Better Than That”. It was exhilarating and exciting to see her given a chance to really strut her stuff.
As Jamie, Stewart had his showoff number too, in “Shiksa Goddess”. Then again, there was not a song that he delivered that did not impress.
The music ensemble under the direction of Rick Bertone was elegant and created a sound that, while distinctive, never overshadowed the singers. Strings are the best instruments to convey love, and loss.
If the purpose of the costumes was to make the lovers look average, they succeeded. Likewise the room was pretty nondescript, and perhaps this was exactly what the production was going for – it was about the relationship, the feelings, the thoughts in each person’s mind that was the story, not the set, lights or costumes.
The essence of the story was that Cathy was frustrated in her professional life, while Jaime achieved his dream to become successful as a writer. As the demands of a book tour and literary politics took more of his time, Cathy was increasingly disturbed that he was not completely hers and became passive aggressive. She sang about how he kept secrets from her, while he was concerned that she wanted the one corner of his mind that he kept for himself.
These difficulties are familiar, and made The Last Five Years ring true as an honest tale. It not only gave the evening a haunting quality but confirms a universal truth. Relationships are hard to get right.
Berkshire Theatre Festival presents The Last Five Years. Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown. Directed by Anders Cato. Musical Direction by Rick Bertone. Scenic Designer – Lee Savage , Costumer Designer – Laurie Churba Kohn, Lighting – Jeff Davis, Sound – Janie Bullard. Cast: Jamie Wellerstein – Paul Anthony Stewart, Catherine Hiatt – Julie Reiber. June 22 – July 10, 2010 on the Main Stage in Stockbridge, MA.
The reason the reviewer had trouble understanding the lyrics was not his “aging ears” but the horrible sound system. Sitting in the fourth row I could hear nothing at all from the actors themselves; only the overly loud and distorted speaker somewhere up above. It was more like a conference call on a speakerphone than.a performance. These actors appear to have decent voices, and this is a smallish theatre, not a stadium. Turn off the damn mikes and let us hear them!
I was in a bad mood from the beginning, with the opening song celebrating the protagonist’s contempt for Jewish women, whose main failing seems to be their “funny” names. Hatred of Jews and Judaism isn’t any more attractive when it comes from Jews themselves.
The “shiksa” herself is imprisoned in a corset-like costume, while the male lead strips down to his underpants onstage for no apparent reason other than titillation.
The concept for this play is great, and perhaps other productions are more fun. For me, this was a long ninety minutes.
We agree whole-heartedly with the review by Charlie B. Each of the points he made is valid and needs to be addressed by Berkshire Theater Company.
I’m sorry, but I’ve got to disagree with the string of bad reviews about the show. I agree Cato’s direction wasn’t complex enough to keep our interest for ninety minutes, but the performers onstage were brilliant. I felt like the actors really saved the show. Besides their amazing vocal ability, they were able to add a subtle layer of emotion to their acting, not often seen in musicals today. This is a pretty tough musical to perform as it is without solid direction and I feel those technical elements weren’t there for first time viewers of the musical to have their interest sustained. I had the best seats in the house when I watched them, and I actually believe that their performance was more compelling than the original cast.