Dramaworks to Present THE LAST FIVE YEARS as Their Summer Musical

Jason Robert Brown's international hit The Last Five Years, a poignant and impassioned song cycle that explores the five-year relationship between a pair of twentysomething New Yorkers from heady beginning to heartbreaking end, will be staged by Palm Beach Dramaworks this summer at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. Tickets go on sale Monday, March 16. Opening night is Friday, July 10 (8pm). The show runs through July 19, with specially priced previews on July 8 and 9 (7:30pm). Bruce Linser directs.

i??Casting will be announced at a later date.

The Last Five Years, inspired by the breakup of Brown's first marriage, follows the coupling and uncoupling of Jamie Wallerstein, a Jewish novelist whose career is about to take off, and Cathy Hiatt, a Catholic actress struggling to make it in theatre. The musical presents both their perspectives, but Jamie tells the story chronologically while Cathy begins at the end of their marriage and moves backward through time. The show premiered in Chicago in 2001, and Time Magazine called it one of the 10 best of the year.

The Last Five Years opened Off-Broadway in 2002, and there have since been more than 1,000 productions of the musical throughout the United States and around the world, including England, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Israel, France, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and all the Scandinavian countries. A film adaptation was released in 2015, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.

Jason Robert Brown is a composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director, and performer. The Chicago Tribune called him "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim." As a composer and lyricist, he wrote the complete scores for the Broadway musicals Parade (Tony Award for Best Score), 13, The Bridges of Madison County (Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations), and Honeymoon in Vegas, and contributed songs to Urban Cowboy (which he also served as conductor and arranger) and Prince of Broadway (where he was musical supervisor and arranger). He made his professional debut as a composer and lyricist Off-Broadway in 1995 with the song cycle Songs for a New World, which has received hundreds of productions around the world.

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a non-profit, professional theatre and is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the South Florida Theatre League, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

Evening previews, Wednesday, and Thursday performances are at 7:30PM, and Friday and Saturday at 8PM. Matinee performances are Saturday and Sunday at 2PM. Individual tickets are $60, with specially priced preview tickets at $40, and Opening Night tickets at $75. Discounted tickets for season subscribers are available through June 1 at $50. Student tickets are available for $15, and Pay Your Age tickets are available for those 18-40. Tickets for educators are half price with proper ID (other restrictions apply). Group rates for 10 or more are also available at $40 or $30 for previews.

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org. You can order online 24 hours a day.

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