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Performers make play go right
(by Herb Hammer - November 11, 2010)
THEATER, BY HERB HAMMER
Performers make play go right
It is easier to see what is wrong with "The Last Five Years" than what is right. You can spend a lot of time picking apart this latest offering at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's River Street Playhouse without much trouble.
But Jason Robert Brown's two-character musical has so much going for it, once you struggle through some of the misplaced energy, you find several gems along the way.
Simply put, the play is about a marriage gone wrong. We learn this right away, for Cathy's story begins at the end of the marriage and works its way back to the joyful beginning.
On the other hand, Cathy's husband Jamie's story begins before the wedding and finishes when the marriage collapses.
The gimmick works some of the time, but most often it doesn't. The two characters sing mostly straight out to the audience. Only once are they seen together, and that is at the wedding. Otherwise, one is singing, there is very little speaking, while the other is usually turned in another direction on designer Edmond Wolff's blank set.
Mr. Brown takes us on a character study of two young people who never should have been together in the first place. His songs move from country to pop to rock and an enormous amount of musical styles.
Jamie is a young Jewish novelist on his way to the top. Success comes early. He has dated every Jewish girl in town. When he meets Cathy, not Jewish, he falls immediately in love. Maybe he should have stuck with the Jewish girls, for this relationship is doomed.
Cathy is an actress who goes from audition to audition facing failure at every turn. She loves Jamie right to the very end or, in her case, right from the beginning, since her story runs backwards.
The first staging of "The Last Five Years" was in 2002, before it moved to Broadway, where it received lukewarm reviews. Since its two-month Broadway stint, the show has become popular with dozens of productions turning up nearly everywhere.
Andrew Rothman appears pompous and arrogant as Jamie. But before you blame Mr. Rothman, you realize Jamie is pompous and arrogant. His cleverly written songs indicate his big ego every time out. Mr. Rothman, however, is quite a performer. He's in your face with a whirlwind of songs that nearly bowl you over.
Rebecca Marks, as Cathy, is the sympathetic one, and can she sing. Cathy opens with the desperation song about the guy that got away and then on to the joys of love. Her audition song, plucked neatly from the show "A Chorus Line," is a joy. How did Mr. Brown get away with that?
The two characters often appear to be competing with Dave Kaminkowski at the piano, especially in the early going. This is when the piano nearly drowns out the singers.
Though much of the show has an original turn, it is often hard to follow, with each character going in opposite directions. With the piano showing as much overwrought emotion as the singers, it takes a lot of work to keep up with all Mr. Brown wants to project.
Director Jacqi Loewy holds most of the show together, though Mr. Brown's score and lyrics do not allow her the chance to put her personal stamp on the show.
The final weekend of "The Last Five Years" is coming up, and, if this past Saturday is any indication, the show appears to be selling out.
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