Director/musical director Mitchell Old has assembled a talented group of musicians and performers for this exciting and vibrant production of THE LAST FIVE YEARS. This is the debut production of the Mitchell Old Company, and is certainly an impressive achievement, particularly when one considers the average age of those involved, excluding the lighting/sound crew, is just 19 years.
THE LAST FIVE YEARS written and composed by Jason Robert Brown is an emotionally powerful and intimate musical which explores the lives of Cathy Hiatt, played by Hannah Alexander, and Jamie Wellerstein, played by Andrew Schimmer, as they fall in and out of love.
This musical has gained somewhat of a cult following due to its unconventional structure. It chronicle’s the couple’s romance with Cathy telling her story in reverse, from the end of their turbulent relationship, whilst Jamie is telling his story from the spark of his first love for her. Other than when they walk onto the stage to set the scene, they meet and sing together only once as their stories overlap at their wedding, where they plan to spend the next 10 minutes, and every 10 minutes after that, together.
Both performers show a great range of emotions and though coming together only briefly we can feel the love and connection but also the heartbreak between them. In this production both are on stage at the same time, and the action moves from one side of the stage to the other, as they each tell their version of the story.
We ache with Cathy at the start of the show as she sings of the hurt and disappointment when she realises Jamie has left her for good, and her career and aspirations are falling apart.
Jamie then bounces in, full of exuberance at having met someone he loves and has found an agent for his writing – but are things moving too fast?
The lyrics are very perceptive, being at times clever, funny, meaningful and sad as they deconstruct the partnership, step by step, to show all the elements that have turned their love into almost a battlefield, from career success and failure to sexual infidelities and feeling trapped.
The stage hands work very hard in the background to ensure the detailed set works successfully. As each performer sings on one side of the stage, the other half is being subtly altered, ready for the next song, so we experience different rooms in different houses and even an outdoor setting.
The six musicians, Shanela De Mel, Elizabeth Ferris, Michelle Stafurik, “Killer” Zachary Setiadi, Matthew Ling and Monjie Echevarria, are grouped with a violin and two cellos together on one side of the stage, and a keyboard, bass and guitar on the other. A lovely touch is when the lighting focuses on one of the groups, so we can appreciate their accomplished and vital input into the atmosphere and flow of the musical.
The season is very short, with just five performances at the Pioneer Theatre in Castle Hill and is closing this Sunday 14th February 2021. Grab a ticket for this absorbing and highly entertaining night of theatre.
Whether you get to this show or not, be sure to keep an eye out for the next production of this up-and-coming new theatre company – they certainly have much potential to add to the musical theatre scene in Sydney.
