The Last Five Years is a song cycle by Jason Robert Brown about the five-year rise and demise of the marriage between Jamie Wellerstein (played by Steve Copps), a writer, and Cathy Hiatt (played by Kelly Copps), an actor. Steve and Kelly Copps are a married couple in Real Life.
Jason Robert Brown goes Merrily We Roll Along–the Stephen Sondheim musical told in reverse chronological order–one better. Cathy appears at the start of the musical as a broken-hearted wife whose marriage has ended. Jamie shows up as Cathy leaves the stage as a twenty-something writer looking for someone like Cathy five years in the Past. In alternating scenes, Cathy tells her story in reverse chronological order while Jamie tells his story in chronological order. The pair meet together for a duet in the middle of the musical and then the stories go their separate ways.
If you haven’t experienced a Jason Robert Brown musical, the songs are basically musical monologues sung by the characters to tell their stories and move the action along. In a post-musical session, Steve Coops told the audience he found Jason Robert Brown’s songs “dense.” I agree.
The Last Five Years with its twin trajectories–one going up with optimism and hope–the other going down with heart-break and disappointment–concludes with a bittersweet ending. GRADE: B+
MUSICAL NUMBERS:
- “Still Hurting” – Cathy
- “Shiksa Goddess” – Jamie
- “See I’m Smiling” – Cathy
- “Moving Too Fast” – Jamie
- “A Part of That” – Cathy
- “The Schmuel Song” – Jamie
- “A Summer in Ohio” – Cathy
- “The Next Ten Minutes” – Jamie & Cathy
- “A Miracle Would Happen/When You Come Home to Me” – Jamie/Cathy
- “Climbing Uphill/Audition Sequence” – Cathy
- “If I Didn’t Believe in You” – Jamie
- “I Can Do Better Than That” – Cathy
- “Nobody Needs to Know” – Jamie
- “Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You” – Jamie & Cathy
Not only have I not “experienced a Jason Robert Brown musical,” until this moment I’d never heard of him. (Ditto for the actors.) So you went out in the winter to see this? Jackie has a general rule – no shows when it is cold enough that you need a winter coat. We have been to an occasional concert in early December – Steve Earle’s benefit concerts – but we don’t like to schedule concerts or shows until April. We came home from Florida early enough in March to see Levon Helm concerts at the Beacon twice, ca. 2010, and had to deal with snow and freezing temperatures.
Jeff, Diane and I rarely go to night performances. We had about a 100 feet to walk from the Rogue to the performance center (and back) so the cold was manageable. Jason Robert Brown’s plays show up here from time to time. Worth a look and listen.
Five years just seems like too abbreviated a timeframe to meet, fall in love, marry, and fall out of love. But, then again, I’m an old lady, and five years seems like a blip to me.
Deb, the husband’s writing career takes off, and the wife’s acting career falters. That causes some of the problems in the marriage. And, of course, the husband cheats on his wife…
Would someone tell the men of the world that looking like a tramp does not enhance their appearance!? Shave or grow a damn beard! As for the play, I’m sure I’ll never see it!
Bob, I’m with you on guys who don’t shave. They just look seedy.
Thank you. I thought I was the only one who hated the stubble-face look. It REALLY needs to go away.