Kevin Young and Anne Marie Damman star in Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company's production of "The Last Five Years." Photo: Charles Nowak
It's fairly unusual for a musical – or any stage production, for that matter – to end at pretty much the exact point at which it began. But playwright and composer Jason Robert Brown turns conventional storytelling upside down – or is it backwards? – with "The Last Five Years," a simultaneous look at the beginning and end of a five-year relationship. Told primarily through song, Brown's complicated libretto and score are hauntingly beautiful, yet full of vocal and artistic challenges. Such potential difficulties didn't intimidate Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company's artistic director Frannie Shepherd-Bates, however, as theatergoers on a frigid opening Saturday night were treated to a powerful night of theater most won't forget anytime soon.
"The Last Five Years" follows the relationship between struggling actress Cathy Hyatt (Anne Marie Damman) and newly successful novelist Jamie Wellerstein (Kevin Young) from its bright and promising start to its painful and teary finish five years (and a marriage) later. But rather than tell the story in a linear fashion and from a singular point of view, Brown's two-person musical unfolds via two separate tracks: It opens with Cathy following the break-up and moves backward; Jamie's story begins in scene two after their first date and progresses forward. The two sing a duet only when their timelines merge at their wedding mid-way through the play; other interactions are rare and brief.
While the concept takes a few minutes to get used to, the brilliance begins to reveal itself as actions mentioned by one or the other are fleshed out later in the other's march through time. As their stories progress, however, a plain, sad and inevitable truth becomes obvious.
So too does the loving care given to the production by its entire team.
With so little dialogue to help develop her characters, director Shepherd-Bates focuses on the emotional beats within the songs to shed light on their inner thoughts. It's a successful approach, as both Damman and Young are always clear and concise with their intentions and motivations. And scene changes – which could be rather boring and repetitive, since most are nothing more than one actor leaving and another entering – are carefully and thoughtfully planned and executed.
One might quibble, however, with the director's decision to split the one-act play into two. (It breaks the emotional tension that has been building so exquisitely.) Plus, except for the wedding scene, it can be somewhat confusing when one actor becomes part of the other's scene. (Did the storyline merge again, or is it simply a recollection? Because of the actors' focus, it's not always clear.)
Nonetheless, Damman and Young give strong, convincing performances throughout the show – even during the few times they struggle with the notes. (Some of the tunes are reminiscent of Stephen Sondheim's work.) Young is at his best with "The Schmuel Song," a fable Jamie wrote with a meaning Cathy may or may not ascertain. And Damman scored hearty, knowing laughs from industry-folk in the audience with "Climbing Uphill/Audition Sequence."
The music, under the direction of Michael Fiedler, is superb – with probably the best accompaniment of any locally produced show all season. (Four top-notch musicians, plus Fiedler, provide the tunes.)
The show's technical elements are also excellent for a theater of Magenta Giraffe's size, age and budget. Gwen Lindsay's set is a flowing series of calendars that evokes the passage of time, while Rhame Rayes' lights offer a warm glow to the relationship's early, happier years, while a coldness falls upon its dissolution.
REVIEW:
'The Last Five Years'
Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company at The Furniture Factory, 4126 Third St, Detroit. Friday-Sunday through Jan. 23. $25. 313-408-7269. http://www.magentagiraffe.org
