Catherine and Jamie are a couple in New York. Catherine is an actor and Jamie is a novelist. Jamie is New York Jewish and Catherine is a Gentile from Ohio. As you might guess, The Last Five Years is a look backward on a marriage, a courtship, a relationship that doesn’t feel all that different from others, though it gives us details. Written and composed by Jason Robert Brown, it is a careful, warm, intelligent depiction of two souls connecting, with no explanation, per se, of why it didn’t last. Brown wants us to engage with the substance of Jamie and Catherine’s intersection, without getting caught in the trap of assigning blame or fixing on a crucial mistake.
Brown spins his narrative in the realm of recollection, but it doesn’t follow a straight path backwards. It hops around. An angry song after being abandoned on a birthday might be followed by a phone call from an agent, or nervous stream of thought while dressing for the wedding. Events are clustered to demonstrate joy in the depths of sadness or small disappointments that nonetheless leave their mark. By giving each equal (though distinct) emotional weight, the experience is consistently surprising, it confounds our expectations of linear logic. And certainly love so often suggests a more intuitive kind of reasoning?
Brown is unconventional in his approach to the music as well. With wry, quirky songs featuring “Catherine, the Shiksa Goddess,” or a crazy, goofy singing clock, or an audition that goes terribly wrong, he takes us to a milieu that feels fresh and rich with humanity. There are frustrated, persistently sad pieces that feel like pop arias, and elated, giddy pieces that feel playful. The instruments (cello, piano, guitar, violin, bass) are understated and contemplative, but not submissive or sketchy. Monique Abry and Seth Womack are inspired in this difficult show, with only two characters, and songs that are often long, meandering and introspective. (Considering the nature of this musical, this is, of course, perfectly appropriate.) Brown has written a wide spectrum of often nuanced emotions and Womack and Abry inhabit them with grace and precision. There are moments that bring us to excruciating grief, and others filled with nostalgia and regret. Abry and Womack invite us into this story of palpable warmth, rage and sorrow, without hesitation or facility. The Last Five Years feels so genuine, so on point. So focused.
Water Tower Theatre presents: The Last Five Years. Playing June 8th – July 1st, 2018. 15650 Addison Rd, Addison, Texas 75001. 972-450-6232. www.watertowertheatre.org.