"The Last Five Years" by Bunce Performing Arts and Hidden Gem Productions at the Phoenix Theater

Jason Robert Brown's two-person musical The Last Five Years is beloved by musical theater nerds, for it's ingenious structure (one person tells the story chronologically and the other backwards, meeting for one moment in the middle) and the cycle of songs that tell the full story of a relationship - beginning, middle, end. It's not infrequently done (most recently seen at Lyric Arts earlier this year), but it's also not easy. Neither character is particularly likeable, which can cause frustration. But maybe they're not supposed to be likeable, just flawed messy humans like all of us. A lovely new production of The Last Five Years runs just one more weekend, as part of a Collaboration Series by Bunce Performing Arts, which specializes in free outdoor summer musicals. For this show they've partnered with new company Hidden Gem Productions and first-time director/producer Luke Peterson. The simple staging really allows JRB's gorgeous songs to shine, as performed by two talented new-to-me singers who bring out all of the emotions. I've seen The Last Five Years six times now, and this was one of my favorite productions. You can see it this weekend at the Phoenix Theater (yes, it's still open despite the construction on Hennepin - I recommend parking on 26th).

The premise of the story is simple, but told in a complex way. A man and woman meet, fall in love, grow apart, and split up. The unique thing about this familiar story is that one half of the couple tells the story (through song) chronologically, while the other half is simultaneously working through the story backwards from the end. The show begins with a heartbroken Cathy singing about the end of her marriage and a newly lovestruck Jamie singing about this girl he just met. The two timelines cross in the middle when Jamie proposes to Cathy, and continue on to their ultimate conclusions - Cathy happy and hopeful at the beginning of the relationship, Jamie sad and conflicted at the end. It's quite fascinating to watch a relationship grow and disintegrate at the same time, and see how much these two people love each other but realize that they just can't make it work.*

The beauty of the piece is in its sparseness. It doesn't fill in all the blanks, it doesn't give us all the details. But Jason Robert Brown is so gifted in capturing the emotions of a moment in a single song, that the show is almost like a dozen little stories all woven together. You may not know everything about these characters, but you know who they are, thanks to the brilliantly written songs.* Director Luke Peterson has staged the piece almost as a memory play. On the stage are boxes and chests and furniture and memorabilia, with the actors wandering around the space like they're wandering through an attic, or their memory, wistfully picking up an item here or there. This gives a bit of distance to the story, so that it ends not just with melancholy but also acceptance (set design by Michael Haas and Luke Peterson).

Jamie Marshall and Jillian Bader (photo by BTE Media)

Jamie Marshall and Jillian Badar actors are relatively new to the #TCTheater scene, and both give really lovely performances. They sing beautifully, bringing out all the nuances of the score, and their harmonies on the few songs in which Cathy and Jamie are in sync are gorgeous. They also both portray the full range of emotions of these characters; Jillian is a sympathetic Cathy (I'm always on Cathy's side), and Jamie almost makes me like the character of Jamie (who will always come off as a bit of a jerk). They're accompanied by a six-piece orchestra led by Music Director Sean Barker sitting just behind the curtain at the back of the stage. They sound gorgeous and I only wish that we could see them, if only for the curtain call. The actors are miked, but in such a way as to be unobtrusive; the singing still sounds as if it's coming from the actors, not blaring out of a speaker in the corner.

The Last Five Years is a uniquely beautiful piece, and it's always fun and interesting to see different takes on it. I was quite impressed by this one. See it for yourself through September 8 at the Phoenix.

*Plot summary borrowed from my reviews of previous productions.