Jackie Bonsignore and Jayde Mitchell (Photo by Luis Luque)
Reviewed by Madison Mellon
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Through June 16
Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years is a unique and challenging musical, existing somewhere between a song cycle and a full-fledged musical. It consists of a two-person cast and is almost entirely sung-through. It’s also relayed in non-chronological order. All of this means that the show requires strong, creative direction to function cohesively, along with two actors capable of handling the nuanced material. The production currently playing at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, while not without its merits, is not fully satisfying on either front.
The Last Five Years follows Cathy (Jackie Bonsignore) and Jamie (Jayden Mitchell) as they fall in and ultimately out of love. Cathy tells the story of their five-year relationship in reverse chronological order, while Jamie’s narrative goes from beginning to end. The two characters rarely interact until their chronologies intersect during the middle of the show. At the Sierra Madre Playhouse, this entire premise is spoiled by a pre-show announcement which explains the show’s timeline, presumably to avoid any audience confusion.
Unfortunately, this disclaimer may have been necessary, as the production would have benefited from greater clarity. Director Josh Shaw (who is also credited with set and prop design) seems to lack a specific point of view. The staging, while serviceable, does not give great insight into who Cathy and Jamie are. The show is, in essence, a character study through a series of vignettes — which demands an inventive, interpretative directorial style. Instead, Shaw’s staging often feels hyper-literal. When Cathy refers to Jamie smiling, he looks up and smiles; when she mentions him eating Doritos, he opens a bag and eats. In a show where the characters so rarely interact, it is up to the direction to establish their connection and ensure that each song is effectively communicating the progression of the relationship. This production misses opportunities for greater depth and exploration.
The design is similarly serviceable but nonspecific. It consists of two apartments which set the scene but are somewhat plain and unfinished. Raw edges on the walls are visible, the table’s legs are uneven, and the picture frame on the wall is visibly flimsy when it is handled. While these are just nitpicks, elements like this add up and are consistently distracting. Due to the lack of wing space, the backstage crew is frequently visible throughout the show, sitting half-exposed on the sidelines or while moving set pieces. They are neither hidden nor incorporated naturally. While this is may be due to the limitations of the small stage, these issues could easily be solved by a less literal and naturalistic set with fewer moving pieces.
Within these shortcomings, the performers do the best they can. Mitchell is an energetic Jamie and handles the difficult score well, although his voice and presence sometimes feel too large for the space. He shines most in Jamie’s more understated, emotional moments. Bonsignore is warm and likable and has a lovely voice, although she would have benefitted from a microphone as the orchestra was often overpowering and some important lyrics were lost. The show is double cast, with Margaret Berkowitz playing Cathy and Bryan Mittelstadt as Jamie at select performances.
The Last Five Years is an incredibly difficult piece to make work. It is a show that relies on the audience growing to care about two flawed, often unlikeable characters. It also asks the audience to invest in a relationship between two people who barely interact. The production at Sierra Madre Playhouse is not entirely unsatisfying: the actors are clearly skilled, the orchestra (led by music director Joshua Foy) sounds excellent, and Jason Robert Brown’s layered score and lyrics range from witty to heartbreaking. However, this production is missing the clarity and specificity necessary for this story to be compelling.
Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre. Fri.-Sun., 8 pm, Sat., 4 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru June 16. www.sierramadreplayhouse.org, Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
