The Last Five Years

Repertory Theatre of St. Louis Studio

If you’re a regular listener to Stage Left, the every-other-week film and theatre music show that I host here at KDHX, you probably know that I’m a great admirer of composer Jason Robert Brown. Although still in his early 30s, Brown has already had a traditional book musical on Broadway – Parade, from 1998. And Songs for a New World, his unconventional combination of musical and song cycle, has seen over 50 productions since its 1995 premiere, including one by New Line Theatre here in St. Louis.

Brown’s music is on stage again locally as the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents his latest work, The Last Five Years in the studio theatre. Like Songs for a New World, this two-character chamber musical has a highly innovative structure and almost no spoken dialog. The rather downbeat story – told in one ninety-minute act without intermission - recounts the flowering and withering of a five-year romance between Jamie - a successful writer – and Kathy – a much less successful actress. Jamie tells us his version from start to finish while Kathy tells us her side in retrospect. As Jamie moves forward in time, Kathy moves back and they meet only in the middle for a rapturous duet, “The Next Ten Minutes” – the only time in their relationship when they truly connect.

This may seem like a gimmick and I suppose it is, in a way. But it also allows Brown to present different facets of these characters as their tale unfolds and to show some of the same events through different lenses. Jamie, for example, appears to be shallow and self-involved from Kathy’s perspective and while he is that, he’s also insightful and loving. Kathy, on the other hand, is undoubtedly the wounded soul she presents in her first song, “I’m Still Hurting”, but she also has great strength and insight. I found my sympathy constantly bouncing back and forth between the lovers as their personalities took on added depth. By the end of the evening I felt I had seen a remarkably balanced and realistic portrayal of how something that looked right can turn out so wrong.

All this is wrapped up in a score that touches on a number of musical genres while still retaining its own unique voice. Brown’s melodies are long, loose-limbed and often harmonically rich, rarely breaking up into the conventional patterns of pop, rock and classic Broadway. He will, I think, be one of the next great voices of musical theatre.

This is not easy material to perform. Fortunately Kate Baldwin as Kathy and Anthony Holds as Jamie are more than up to the challenge. Baldwin makes Kathy’s pain believable but she also shows great comic timing in “Climbing Uphill”, a song about an audition from hell that drew laughs of recognition from the theatre folk in the audience (including yours truly). Holds, meanwhile convincingly shows us both Jamie’s charm in “The Schmuel Song” – in which he uses a Sholom Aleichem-esque folk tale to sell Kathy on herself - and his callow self-love in “A Miracle Would Happen”.

Director John Ruocco and scenic designer Narelle Sessions have taken a minimalist approach that allows the music and performances to dominate. The set, for example, consists of little more than a chair and some wood and paper flats somewhat reminiscent of a Japanese lantern, along with a massive sheet of paper that is rolled down to act as a scrim. The apparent fragility of the setting nicely compliments the fragility of the relationship – an analogy that is strongly reinforced when Kathy tosses her shoes through the scrim in anger and despair at her stalled career.

Pianist and musical director David Geist ably leads the small instrumental combo consisting of himself, 'cellist Natasha Rubenstein and violinist Adrian Walker. There were moments on opening night when they overwhelmed the performers, but I expect that this and other minor balance issues will be worked out by the time you read this. They certainly did nothing to detract from my enjoyment of the show.

From all of this, you might think I’m going to recommend that all of you immediately rush out and buy tickets to The Last Five Years. If so, you’d be wrong. Yes, this is a compelling show with much food for thought and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone interested in unconventional and creative musical theatre – but it’s not for everyone. Brown doesn’t wrap up the story neatly and there areas of ambiguity – such as what, exactly, drew these two together in the first place - that are either intriguing or annoying, depending on your point of view. There is also a dearth of hope, which some will find unpalatable. This is definitely not a “first date” show, nor is it recommended for anyone in a troubled relationship.

The Last Five Years is, however, the kind of adventurous, non-traditional fare that the Rep Studio season was intended to showcase and I’m glad to see it on stage. With any luck, this will encourage the Rep to follow the lead of pioneering groups like New Line Theatre and take a look at other shows by the younger generation of composers like Ricky Ian Gordon, Jeanne Tesori or Adam Guettel. The Last Five Years runs through April 18th [2004] call 314-968-4925 for ticket information.

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