BWW Reviews: Ocean State Theatre's THE LAST FIVE YEARS is a Tale of Two Musicals

Coincidentally, Ocean State Theatre Company happens to be presenting back-to-back productions which are two-person shows. The first one, The Meeting, was a serious drama depicting the fictional meeting between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The second one is their current production of a much different show, the musical love story, The Last Five Years. While the first one had a noticeable but minor difference in the charisma and stage presence of its two performers, the second one is an example of just how obviously wide that gap can become and just how much the difference between its two leads can impact a production.

The Last Five Years, written by Jason Robert Brown, is a very young musical, having been written in 2001. Its uniqueness comes in the non-linear way the love story is told. Featuring that aforementioned cast of two, one man and one woman, Jamie and Cathy, their story is told not just from two different perspectives, but also in two different timelines. She tells the story starting from the end, when the relationship is over, working her way back to the happy, exciting beginning. He does just the opposite, telling the story from the beginning up until its unfortunate end. It is a highly effective and impactful storytelling device, one which Brown employs masterfully.

While the unique nature of the storytelling is one of the musical's strong points, the songs themselves are not always of the highest quality. One noticeable flaw, which was likely not intentional, is that all of her songs are so much better than his. All of Cathy's songs are interesting, entertaining, emotional and tell a clearly understandable and instantly relatable story. Jamie's songs, on the other hand, are often very surface and shallow, not ringing with much truth or carrying much depth. Perhaps this was part of Brown's point, that Cathy, the woman, is the emotional one who feels things deeply, and therefore sings deeply felt songs, while the man, Jamie, is a shallow, surface person who sings mostly shallow songs that aren't full of emotion.

Speaking of that, Brown has also written the characters similarly, with Cathy getting much more depth and development than Jamie. This may, again, have been part of Brown's point, that women feel more and share more of themselves while men are guarded and keep it all inside. Whether it was intentional or not, Jamie comes across as a selfish, self-absorbed man-child, and little else. We never get a real idea of why he is that way or what really makes him tick, what is really driving him deep down inside. At the same time, we get a much better feeling for Cathy's emotional state and the reasons behind it, as well as her dreams, failures, hopes and how she feels about all of them. It's almost as if Brown wrote all of Cathy's material and then realized he still had to write Jamie's stuff, but didn't have nearly as much left in the tank to do so.

Arguably, these differences between the two characters are emphasized by this particular production, especially when it comes to casting. Ocean State Theatre Company's Managing Director Joel Kipper is at the helm of the production, his first mainstage show after directing a number of Family Fest productions. Kipper stumbles a bit coming out of the gate, with two opening numbers that are awkwardly staged for, in a sense, the same reason. Cathy's opening song, the powerful and emotional "Still Hurting" would be better with less unnecessary, unrealistic and silly-looking movement. In that case, less would be more. On the other hand, Jamie's first song, "Shiksa Goddess" would benefit from much more energy and excitement, in whatever way it's manifested by the actor. In that case, more would be more.

After that, Kipper settles things down and seems to grow in confidence, both in his directing and in the work of his actors. He lets their singing and acting do the heavy lifting, keeping the movement and stage business to a minimum. A couple of scenes are staged beautifully and perfectly, but again, they belong to Cathy, while Jamie's scenes are noticeably less strong. Kipper also does not always allow the non-musical moments to really land and sink in. There are some nuances to the relationship which are glossed over or almost left out, leaving the audience without important pieces of information.

The study in contrasts evident in the writing and directing become the most obvious and most damaging when it comes to the two performers, who are both so important and must be of equal talent and ability. As Jamie, David Demato is unfortunately miscast in this production. It may be that Kipper saw in him some potential to really take on the role and knock it out of the park, but the potential just doesn't translate to the stage, at least not in this particular production.

While Demato has an entertaining, boyish charm and certain amount of youthful charisma, he doesn't give the role anywhere near the believable life or emotional depth that it needs. This is partly because his songs, as mentioned above, are mostly surface and shallow, not really giving him the chance to dig deep. Still, he almost never truly lives the words he's singing, at least not in a believable way. When he gets to a song that really is emotional and even heart-breaking, singing "Nobody Needs to Know" at the end of the relationship, the scene is a muddled, confused mess.

Demato certainly gets kudos for giving it his all, he's clearly trying hard, maybe too hard sometimes (some acting moments are unrealistic and over-the-top). In one number, "The Schmuel Song" he seems to relax into the song and focus on the telling of the story he's singing, resulting in his best moment in the show. At too many other times though, his performance, singing and acting, is inconsistent at best and really struggling at worst.

Not helping matters is the fact that Demato is paired with the powerhouse Alyssa Gorgone, a supremely talented professional who seems to be completely in her element in this show. In the show's very first moments, Gorgone sends shivers down the spine of the audience and then proceeds to blow them out of their seats with her vocal performance. She sets the bar incredibly high, making the inability of her cast-mate to reach that bar even more obvious.

What follows those first moments feels like two completely different productions. When Gorgone is on stage, there is far more energy and electricity, the audience loves to watch her and listen to her sing. She believably lives the words of every song, creating wonderful, relatable moments along the way. All of that creates a void when she leaves, and the show takes a noticeable dive in energy and quality. This isn't Gorgone's fault, of course, she is perfect for this role and delivers a pitch-perfect performance.

At the end of the first act, the timelines of Cathy and Jamie meet in the middle and they sing their only song together. The result here is the perfect example of the production's overwhelming flaw. Demato and Gorgone just aren't believable as a couple. They have no chemistry, while the audience wants them to burn for each other, there is barely a flicker, let alone a flame. There are too many moments like that, where the audience just can't buy what is happening on stage.

For Kipper and Demato, there is absolutely potential and possibility on display in this production. Hopefully Kipper will continue to direct mainstage productions, if he wants to. It would be great to see how his directorial vision and abilities grow and develop. For Demato, the right role would no doubt give him an opportunity to entertain and impress an audience. As for this production, there are certainly great reasons to see it, from its unique storytelling to the gorgeous music. And what is probably the best reason, Gorgone's spectacular performance, which by itself may be worth the price of a ticket.

The Last Five Years runs through March 15th at Ocean State Theatre Company, located in Warwick at 1245 Jefferson Boulevard. Performances are Wednesday (except March 4), Thursday, Friday and Saurday evenings at 7:30pm, with matinees on Thursdays (except March 12), Saturdays (except Februry 28) and Sundays at 2:00pm.Tickets are $39 to $54 for all performances. Tickets are on sale at the box office Monday through Friday from 12 noon to 6:00pm, Saturdays from 12 noon to 4:00pm and from 12 noon until curtain time on performance days. Tickets are also available online at www.oceanstatetheatre.og and via telephone during box office hours at 401-921-6800.

Pictured: David Demato and Alyssa Gorgone. Photo by Mark Turek.

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