Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS from ACT And The 5th Avenue Theatre

Dear Readers, if you’re not familiar with the Jason Robert Brown love story, “The Last Five Years” currently being offered from ACT and The 5th Avenue Theatre, you could get a bit confused watching it.  So be sure to read on to avoid confusion.  But for myself, I’ve seen it a few different times.  I’ve seen it with a larger cast than just the normal two people, I’ve seen a production that chose to change the intent of the breakup, and, of course, I’ve seen the movie.  But the story isn’t what confused me in this production.  No, my confusion came from trying to convince myself that these two people were now or ever in love.  No chemistry.  But we’ll touch on that more later as well.

For now, let’s get into that story.  It’s simple and yet not, as we focus on Jamie and Cathy (Jeffery Wallace and Cassi Q Kohl on the night I saw.  On other nights you could see Coleman Cummings and Keola Kapulani Holt) and their five-year relationship.  The twist is that we see the show from Jamie’s perspective in normal linear time order, from first date to divorce, and in Cathy’s version we see the opposite.  And in this 90-minute (no intermission) show, when we reach their wedding in the middle of the show, that’s the only time they’re in the same time period.  All of which could get confusing if you go in blind and weren’t totally paying attention.  So, there you have it, you have been prepped.

But something else this separation of timelines does to the show, is that Jamie and Cathy are rarely singing to each other.  For the most part, they are singing about the person or to and empty space where willing suspension of disbelief would ask us to know the other person is there.  It adds a level of difficulty to a love story as there is no one to play off.  The actors must present their feelings against no one.  And this is a big problem Kohl and Wallace had.  Even when they were together, I felt nothing from them but especially when they were alone, their performances felt extremely and overtly performative.  Basically, it felt like they were trying too hard to convince me of their emotions.  And that just did not work.  And as I’ve said, I’ve seen the show before and I know it can be done.  Both actors have wonderful voices and nailed their individual numbers, and these are songs I love, so the show worked for me on that level.  But as a love story, not so much.  Director Shermona Mitchell does well with keeping the pacing going and the entrances and exits smooth, I just could have used some more work on keeping the actors grounded in reality instead of “I’m doing a show” reality. 

The set is gorgeous with some interesting color palettes chosen by designer Julia Hayes Welch and augmented by lighting designer Andrew D. Smith.  And I must give kudos to music director R.J. Tancioco and Associate Music Director Michael Nutting and the band as they sounded flawless.  And an interesting choice to have them in pocket areas on stage.  A choice that worked well.

It's certainly a tough show but one I love, and I know it can be done better than I saw last night.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give ACT and the 5th Avenue Theatre’s production of “The Last Five Years” a “where was the love?” MEH+.  Call me crazy but I need some emotion in my love stories.

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