Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ at Het Amsterdams Theaterhuis!

Orange Theatre Company (Amsterdam's English Language Theatre Company) brings us a beautiful rendition of The Last Five Years, a classic in musical theatre, written and composed by Jason Robert Brown.

Starring Grant Alexander Brown as Jamie and Charlotte Dommershausen as Cathy, the cast of two, in a direction of Elyse O'Shaughnessey, bring us an emotional story of their relationship. The storytelling is very smart, as we start with Cathy's version at the end of the 5 years, and continue with Jamie's version at the beginning. The narrative of both parties is gracefully intertwined, like a dialogue in time.

The score is not only vocally challenging, also the musicians have there work cut out for them. And boy, theatre magic is made. Especially the epilogue song: Goodbye until tomorrow/ I Could Never Rescue You hits you right in the soul.

Charlotte as Cathy was not only vocally sound, her emotional journey through her life with Jamie was elegant and well-layered. Grant Alexander's Jamie was playful and full of humor, yet with a palpable anguish and anxiety for adulthood. Love the acting choices and emotional direction choices.

In this little blackbox theatre, the ever re-occurring truth has once again been proved. You don't need a larger than life decor, unnecessary gimmicks and hoopla and a million euro investment. This remains to be shouted and screamed from the rooftops these days.

You need a great script and a smart and gorgeous musical score and a reason to tell the story. Add talented cast, crew and musicians and there we have it. The reason why theatre is life, love and everything in between.

Go see it quickly if you have a chance, very short run!

More info: www.orangetheatrecompany.com

Photo credits: Arjen Veldt Fotografie

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