Oscar Productions' THE LAST FIVE YEARS Plays Hollywood Fringe, Now thru 6/23

Oscar Productions presents The Last Five Years, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, directed by Peter Berube, with music direction by Lauren Fraley. One preview performance plays tonight, June 7th at 7:15pm and the show runs Saturday, June 16th, 17th, 22nd, and 23rd at 5:30pm. All performances are presented as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

This is the love story of a talented writer and a struggling actress, and their relationship over the course of five years. The story is told through the emotionally drawing composition of Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, who tells the story of the five year relationship, from intense love to a final, painful separation. However, there’s an intriguing twist: Jamie, the writer, travels forward from first date to divorce five years later, but the Cathy lives the five years backward, from end to beginning. Their journey overlaps only once, signaled by a remarkable duet (“The Next Ten Minutes”). This production stars Aly French and Nate Aylworth.

The Last Five Years premiered in Chicago in 2001 and was then produced off-Broadway in March 2002. Since then it has had numerous productions both in the United States and internationally.

The Last Five Years is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All performance materials are also supplied by MTI, www.MTIshows.com.

The Complex Theatre is located at 6476 Santa Monica Blvd. Running time is 80 minutes (no intermission) with street parking available. (Allow time for street parking.)

Tickets: $15.00. For reservations, visit www.HollywoodFringe.org or call: 323-455-4585.

Nate Aylworth (producer/Jamie) is thrilled to be a producing/ performing “The Last Five Years”! A New Mexico native/ NYC transient / LA transplant, he has performed all over from the Fox Theatre to Carousel Dinner Theatre. Some of his favorite roles include: Peter/Jesus u/s – “Jesus Christ Superstar” – National Tour with Golden Globe nominee Ted Neeley, Wes – “Urban Cowboy” – National Tour, Jon – “tick, tick … BOOM!”, Berger – “Hair”, Chuck Cranston – “Footloose”. Nate founded Oscar Productions to showcase powerful, simple, poignant musical theater. The goal of Oscar Productions is to strive to connect with the audience through meaningful and personal story and song, instead of big budget technical productions, and to foster audience enthusiasm for smaller-scale, quality works. The hope is to bring more quality musical theater in an already emerging L.A. theater scene.

Aly French (Cathy) is a Los Angeles based performer who currently can be seen as Shady Sadie Sinclair in the 1930’s New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and Cabaret show, Vaud & the Villains. She also is a vocalist in the traditional jazz ensemble, The Overstreets. Some favorite past roles include, Laura in A Glass Menagerie, Marta in Company, and Gussie, in Merrily We Roll Along. She recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as a singer in Dia Frampton’s band and also was chosen to sing the national anthem in Texas Stadium for NBC’s Friday Night Lights. Aly graduated from New York City’s Professional Children’s School, trained in Musical Theater at Mountview Academy of Theater Arts in London and is a graduate of Vassar College with a degree in drama and economics.

Peter Berube (Director) graduated from Central Connecticut State University with BFA degrees in Acting and Directing. Through various collaborations, Peter has produced several of his own original productions including feature films (Thanks for Dying), television pilots (The Start-Ups), web series ( Emily, Get a Clue, Buddy Action Therapy), and live shows (Behind Closed Doors: a 2nd Class Cabaret, the Nearly Famous Death Lazzo of Edmund, Crutch, Pitch it, and Once upon a Hotdog Stand). In addition to his own productions, Peter works all over Los Angeles as a director, fight choreographer, teacher, art curator, acting coach, and movement coach for films and theaters. In 2011, Peter was nominated for Best Director by Broadway World Los Angeles for his work on the production of Behind Closed Doors: A Second Class Cabaret.

Lauren Fraley (Musical Director) is originally from Oregon and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California pursuing a degree in Keyboard Collaborative Arts under the direction of Dr. Alan Smith, after completing a master’s degree in the same field in May of 2010. She moved to Los Angeles from Oklahoma City, OK, where she worked as an accompanist and vocal coach, along with completing a master’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Oklahoma. She immediately became involved in the musical theatre scene in Los Angeles by coaching vocalists at USC and playing and music directing productions around the city. Most recently she directed the music for the west coast premiere of Lust ‘n’ Rust: the Trailer Park Musical at the Lyric Theatre in Hollywood.

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