THE LAST 5 YEARS Musical in 1 Act: Book, Music and Lyrics by: Jason Robert Brown Originally presented at Northlight Theatre Company, Skokie, Illinois. Minetta Lane Theatre, New York - 3 March, 2002 . Closed 5 May, 2002 (73 perfs) The Last Five Years Awards Seven Drama Desk Award Nominations Outstanding Musical Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Norbert Leo Butz Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Sherie Rene Scott Outstanding Music - Jason Robert Brown * Outstanding Lyrics - Jason Robert Brown * Outstanding Orchestrations - Jason Robert Brown Outstanding Set Design of a Musical - Beowulf Boritt One Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical Two Lucille Lortel Award Nominations SYNOPSIS A contemporary song-cycle musical that ingeniously chronicles the five year life of a marriage, from meeting to break-up... or from break-up to meeting, depending on how you look at it. Written by Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Songs For A New World) The Last Five Years is an intensely personal look at the relationship between a writer and an actress told from both points of view. The show is presented in "forward time" as we follow the story of their relationship from Jamie’s perspective, starting with their first meeting and following through with their wedding and ultimate breakup. At the same time, Cathy relates the story in "reverse" - starting with their breakup and moving backwards in time until their first meeting at the end of the show. Made up mostly of solo turns, with beautiful music and alternately humorous and heartfelt lyrics, it is only in the middle of the show that Jamie and Cathy come together as Jamie proposes and the two are wed. Musicals about relationships are nothing new, but The Last Five Years manages to reinvent the familiar formula and offers up one of the brightest, freshest scores of the new century. Story Cathy and Jamie’s relationship has lasted five years. As the story begins, Cathy is at the beginning of the relationship and Jamie is at the end. With inter-cutting scenes, we watch Jamie move forward in time as Cathy moves backward. Cathy has just found a note from her husband, Jamie, signifying the end of their marriage. While she still struggles with their break-up, she feels he has easily moved on without her. Five years prior, Jamie has just met Cathy. He is soaring from the high of it. He recounts his past relationships, feeling as if he’s been waiting for her all his life. Cathy (moving backwards) is hopeful for the healing of their marriage. Jamie has come to meet her in Ohio where she has been working as a performer. She believes he will see her show and they will be able to spend time together. Though it’s her birthday, she is let down when he has to leave earlier than expected for a party back home. After their first date, Jamie has made a phone call to a potential literary agent—a contact made through his college professor. Unbelievably, this agent seems interested in his work. He is 23 years old. Soon his career
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