Stirring emotions in Jason Robert Brown’s two-character musical “The Last Five Years”
This odd one-act two-character adult musical was written, book, music and lyrics, by Jason Robert Brown, already well known for such shows as “Parade” in 1999 and “The Bridges of Madison County” in 2014. It initially premiered in Chicago (2001), was shown off-Broadway in 2002, where it received several nominations and won the much-coveted Drama Desk Award for outstanding music and lyrics, and was revived there in 2013, before being made into a film in 2014. This is its first presentation on Broadway.
The unusual setup of the narrative, spread over five years, centers around two characters, Jamie, a young novelist, and Cathy, a would-be actress he has met and married, and who he leaves after five years, each telling the story of their relationship and life together in nonlinear style, he from beginning to end and she from end to beginning. Every moment in their lives is exposed in short-lived sung vignettes they perform alone, except for a couple of duets they share in the middle of the show, describing their personal feelings toward each other and the effect their life together has on them individually. The result is quite surprising, even if it takes a while to get accustomed to this way of telling a story that moves in opposite directions depending on who is revealing its many details.
Matching the various moods in their relationship, the songs take their roots in several musical styles bordering romantic pop, elevated jazz, moody blues, vibrant rock, familiar folk, Broadway, vaudeville, each one underlining the moments of passion, fun, self-esteem, love, hurt, and other emotions the two characters are experiencing about each. Taken as a whole, this score presentation is very rich and attractive, with some numbers particularly proving memorable, like “Still Hurting” and “Climbing Uphill” for Cathy, “Moving Too Fast” and “If I Didn’t Believe in You” for Jamie, and the heart-breaking “Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You” sung jointly by the two of them.
The stage treatment is relatively simple, with the bare scenic designs consisting of a platform, and an occasional piece of furniture. The costumes, particularly those worn by Cathy, are almost standard, the kind of clothes the two partners would wear in normal life over a five-year period.
This simplicity in the presentation forces the audience to focus its attention on the two artists sharing the story and the stage, Adrienne Warren, duly celebrated in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”, her first time on Broadway in 2019, and Nick Jonas, already seen to best effect in “Beauty and the Beast” in 2002, “Les Misérables” in 2003, and the revival of “How to Succeed in Business …” in 2012. Both actors are extraordinary performers and demonstrate their respective talents in this attractively compelling and occasionally emotionally striking musical under Whitney White’s minimal but highly effective direction.
Coincidentally, “The Last Five Years” is lodged two doors away from the one-act two-character “Maybe Happy Ending”, which opened earlier this season, and deals this time with two robots who meet and decide to live together for better or for worse. A nice comparison …
Music Direction: Tom Murray • Choreography: Jeff Kuperman and Rick Kuperman • Stage Design: David Zinn • Costume Design: Dede Ayite • Lighting Design: Stacey Derosier • Sound Design: Cody Spencer • With: Nick Jonas (Jamie), Adrienne Warren (Cathy)
Cover photo: Matthew Murphy