Sierra Stages to Present Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST FIVE YEARS, 4/28-5/8

There are two sides to every love story, as evidenced in the upcoming Sierra Stages production of "THE LAST FIVE YEARS", an emotionally powerful and intimate musical about the ups and downs of a relationship and marriage between two 20-somethings (Cathy, an aspiring actress, and Jamie, an aspiring writer) over the course of five years in New York City. The show plays for eight performances only from April 28 through May 8 at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley, and is directed by Susan Mason, with musical direction by Ken Getz, who conducts the 6-person band. The cast includes local actors Jonathan Hansard and Tinley Ireland.

"THE LAST FIVE YEARS" is written and composed by Jason Robert Brown, one of the leading composers and lyricists writing for the American musical theatre today. He has been hailed as "one of Broadway's smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim." His other theatre works include "Parade" (which won the Tony Award for Best Score in 1999), "Songs for a New World", "13", "The Bridges of Madison County", and "Honeymoon in Vegas".

"THE LAST FIVE YEARS" is both instantly accessible for the audience, and extremely difficult for the performers, according to musical director Ken Getz. Getz says, "It's funny, sad, touching, and sweet, all in the space of 90 minutes. We have a knockout cast, a great director, and a professional band recreating the original orchestrations, which include two cellos, violin, bass, guitar and piano."

"We've been planning for a production of this show for at least the last three years, and finally the stars aligned and everything came together," says Sierra Stages board member Peter Mason. Mason says, 'THE LAST FIVE YEARS' is a musical that appeals to both musical theatre folks and non-musical theatre folks alike, largely owing to the intelligence and unique voice of Jason Robert Brown. The 14 songs that make up the show are strongly rooted in the tradition of the American musical theatre, but they also have a strong 'pop' component in their structure, subject matter, and sound. Add to this, a universally recognizable story about two people trying to make a relationship work and Brown's unique and fresh way of telling this story, and the result is a thrilling piece of theatre that should satisfy audience members with a broad range of tastes."

Though Brown claims "THE LAST FIVE YEARS" is not autobiographical, the story is loosely based on his first marriage. Of the reverse chronology used in the show (as the story begins, Jamie is at the beginning of the relationship and Cathy is at the end - through inter-cutting scenes, Jamie moves forward in time as Cathy moves backward), Brown has said, "it seemed like the perfect way to tell the story, both because it solved the problem of the audience getting ahead, and because on a metaphorical level, it said exactly what I wanted the show to say: these are two people who were never really in the same place at the same time."

"THE LAST FIVE YEARS" is Brown's most popular musical theatre work. The show has risen to cult fame since its world premiere in 2001 outside of Chicago, where it earned much critical acclaim, broke box office records, and Time magazine named it one of the top 10 shows of 2001. The show debuted Off-Broadway in 2002 and earned Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics. Over the next decade and a half, enthusiasm for "THE LAST FIVE YEARS" has grown with thousands of regional and worldwide productions. In 2013, Brown himself directed a successful Off-Broadway production, and in 2014, a film starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan, was made and released. Interestingly, there was a production in Sacramento earlier this year, and beginning May 11, A.C.T. will mount its own production in San Francisco.

Performances of "THE LAST FIVE YEARS" are Thursdays at 7 PM. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM. Both General Admission and Reserved Seating tickets are available. For tickets and information, visit www.SierraStages.org or call Sierra Stages at 530.346.3210.

Following "THE LAST FIVE YEARS", Sierra Stages presents another cult favorite "LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS" from July 14 through August 6 at the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City, and a quirky, contemporary comedy "DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE" from September 29 through October 16 at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley. A 3-Show Season Pass and Sierra Stages Memberships may be purchased online at www.SierraStages.org or by calling Sierra Stages at 530-346-3210.

Sierra Stages is a tax-exempt nonprofit community theatre based in western Nevada County with a mission to provide quality productions that are affordable and accessible to everyone. Since it began in 2008, Sierra Stages has presented 27 plays and musicals and has been recognized by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance with six Elly Awards and 53 Elly Award nominations. The annual Elly Awards honor outstanding achievements of community theatres and artists in the greater Sacramento area. For more information about Sierra Stages, visit www.SierraStages.org.

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