Jason Robert Brown's intimate musical "The Last Five Years" will close at The Media Theatre February 27. The one act show tells the story of an aspiring actress who meets and falls in love with a novelist. At The Media Theatre, Jennie Eisenhower portrays Cathy, the aspiring actress. Wallingford's Marcus Stevens takes on the role of the novelist, Jamie.
"The Last Five Years" uses a unique form of narrative in which Cathy's story is told in reverse chronological order while Jamie's is told in chronological order. The characters do not directly interact except at the half-way point of the musical when they sing a wedding song as their timelines intersect. The show premiered in Chicago in 2001, eventually playing Off-Broadway in 2002 and receiving the Drama Desk Award for Best Music and Lyrics. Variety called the show ‘nearly perfect'. The show was inspired by Brown's failed marriage and is a very personal project by the composer of "Songs For A New World", "13", and "Parade".
With two Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre under her belt, actress
Jennie Eisenhower has a busy career in the Philadelphia region. Her first Barrymore Award was for her performance as Kate in
Andrew Lippa's "The Wild Party" produced in 2005 at The Media Theatre. She won her second Barrymore Award in 2009 for "
Forbidden Broadway" at The
Walnut Street Theatre and has also been seen there in "Caesar's Palace O' Fun", "Fallen Angels", and "Fiddler on the Roof". Additional Philadelphia Theatre credits include appearances at The Arden, The Wilma,
Philadelphia Theatre Company, People's Light, 11th Hour, Theatre Horizon, Bristol Riverside, Act II, Montgomery, and Mauckingbird Theatre where she played the title role in "Hedda Gabler".
Jennie's Off-Broadway credits include The York,
Ensemble Studio Theatre, and MITF. Her film credits include "
Mona Lisa Smile" and the upcoming remake of the comedy classic "Arthur" starring
Russell Brand and
Jennifer Garner. She says she is ‘thrilled to be performing her dream role' and looks forward to working once again with Artistic Director
Jesse Cline. She has also been seen on The Media Theatre stage in "Nunsense", "The Secret Garden", and "Show Boat".
Marcus Stevens, who plays the role of Jamie in "The Last Five Years", is making his Media Theatre debut with this production. He was recently seen at The Walnut Street Theater in "Fiddler on the Roof" as well as their productions of "White Christmas" and "
Forbidden Broadway". His other credits include "Forever Plaid" (
Pittsburgh CLO, "Man of La Mancha" (Sacramento Music Circus), "Comedy of Errors" (Pittsburgh Public), and "Floyd Collins" (Pittsburgh Playhouse). He is a
Richard Rodgers award-winning playwright and lyricist.
For tickets to "The Last Five Years" at The Media Theatre, call 610-891-0100 or visit
www.mediatheatre.org. The musical plays February 9-27 at 104 East State Street Media, PA 19063. The Media Theatre is a nationally recognized, award winning professional music theatre.
Jesse Cline is the Artistic Director. All productions feature a live orchestra under the direction of Resident Music Director Tom Fosnocht.
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