The leafy Milwaukee suburb of Greendale contains one of the area’s most intriguing community theaters, in terms of the productions it stages. For its winter season, Greendale Community Theatre is reviving Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, which it first produced in 2006 under the moniker, All-In Productions.
Sadly, one of the largest Midwest blizzards in years curtailed the production’s run over a long weekend. The Friday night performance was canceled, so an extra production was added on Saturday to accommodate theatergoers who bought tickets for Friday night.
This 2001 musical is an in-depth look at the birth and death of a marriage between two young artistic types. It is loosely based on the author’s own failed marriage, although the characters here are a rising book author (Jamie) and a struggling actress (Cathy).
The Last Five Years debuted in 2001 at Northlight Theatre, located north of Chicago. The original cast included two-time Tony Award winner Leo Norbert Butz (Rent, Wicked ). Butz also starred in the award-winning Off-Broadway production of The Last Five Years in 2002. The show was eventually made into a film, which featured a different actor in the Jamie role. The film also starred Anna Kendrick (“Pitch Perfect,” “Into the Woods”) as Cathy.
In the Greendale Community Theater version, Jamie Mercado and Daniel Persino performed as Cathy and Jamie roles in the version seen by this reviewer. The show was double-cast, so different actors were featured in other performances (see cast list below).
The show’s two actors portray a young couple who go through all the phases of love: courting each other, getting married, spending time apart due to their professional obligations, growing apart and then divorcing. The trick here is that Jamie starts the show at the beginning of their relationship and moves ahead chronologically. Cathy, however, tells her story in reverse chronological order. They alternate songs, with Jamie telling of a lovely young woman he has just met (Cathy) while Cathy laments the end of her marriage to Jamie.
This concept works better on paper than it does on the stage (or in the film). Audiences have to keep track of the evolving events from two wildly different perspectives. Adding complexity to this process is that each character often appears onstage alone. Director Tim Backes devises ways to keep both characters onstage as much as possible, and the result is a good effort.
If nothing else, one can immerse oneself in some lovely music, courtesy of music director Tom Reifenberg and a few musicians. It should be noted that the original production was done with only a piano, acoustic guitar, bass, two cellos and a violin. The show’s small cast and orchestra make this an ideal vehicle for budget-conscious community theaters.
Both Mercado and Persino are immensely likable as the couple. As Jamie, Persino sometimes spins off into fantastical territory (“The Schmuel Song”), which ends with Jamie displaying a watch he plans to give Cathy for Christmas. The practical, less flamboyant Cathy tries to hide her hurt at one of Jamie’s many book-signing sessions. She admirably conveys her character’s conflicts and feelings of isolation in the song, “I’m a Part of That.”
As the gap widens between the couple (both literally and figuratively), Jamie finds himself tempted by women who flock to this up-and-coming author. Cathy, meanwhile, tries to keep her hopes up despite the countless rejections she faces at open auditions.
A successful production of The Last Five Years demands strong voices, since the story is basically told in song. Both actors here are up to the challenge, with Mercado’s vocal range particularly on display.
The only distraction here is the venue itself. The first local production of The Last Five Years was staged in a small theater with a thrust stage. For the current revival, the director attempts to create an intimate atmosphere in a huge auditorium that was designed for student assemblies. The very large stage area is reduced somewhat by a long, raised platform with stairs on each end. Although Five Years typically requires minimal props, it would have been nice to see more elements added (such as one scene that requires a bed). This production leaves a great deal to the audience’s imagination.
Above all, Greendale Community Theatre is to be commended for staging creative, less well-known fare than typical community theater standards such as Neil Simon comedies. Among its past productions are Bat Boy (2011), Songs for a New World (2014, also written by Jason Robert Brown), and Parade (2015). In doing so, it is offering an engaging variety of entertainment. Community theater allows patrons to appreciate the artistic talent within their own geographic area, and Greendale’s version is an excellent example of that.
