Ashley Fox Linton & Louis Pardo to Lead Rubicon Theatre's THE LAST FIVE YEARS

Rubicon Theatre Company of Ventura has just announced the director and cast for the company's mainstage production of The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown's emotionally powerful, intimate pop musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in love and try to hold on to each other when life leads them in opposite directions. Rubicon's production will be helmed by Rubicon Resident Artist Stephanie A. Coltrin, who won an Ovation Award for Miss Saigon in L.A. The role of up-and-coming novelist Jamie Wellerstein will be played by Louis Pardo, whose credits include the National Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley and work with South Coast Rep, San Diego Rep, and Musical Theatre Guild. Ashley Fox Linton stars opposite Pardo as Cathy Hiatt, an aspiring young actress. Fox Linton's credits include Glinda in the Broadway National Tour of Wicked and Cosette in Les Miserables.

The Last Five Years takes audiences on a journey from elation to heartbreak and from heartbreak to elation. Jamie's story is told chronologically; while Cathy's is told in reverse order. The couple's stories intersect on their wedding day.

Says Coltrin, "I have been longing to direct a production of this musical since I first heard the original cast CD. The score is thrilling, and with its myriad of contemporary styles, it speaks to both older and younger audiences."

"The story itself is also something we connect to at almost any age," continues Coltrin. "Most of us recall the sense of exhilaration we felt in the moment we thought we were meeting 'the one.' But we also know that exhilaration can shift profoundly and permanently when one person's life starts moving faster than the other.

"Jason's ingenious construct allows us to experience the highs and lows of crucial points of the marriage so that we eventually understand what the characters themselves don't realize - that these two people were never in the same place to begin with."

The Last Five Years is part of Rubicon Theatre Company's 17th mainstage season, entitled "The Search..." The production opens January 24 at the company's home at 1006 E. Main in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District, with low-priced previews beginning January 21. For tickets and information, call (805) 667-2900 or go to www.rubicontheatre.org.

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