The Last Five Years
Lawson Taitte
Dallas Morning News/WFAA.com
The buzz about The Last Five Years has been humming for years. Jason
Robert
Brown was writing a musical about the breakup of his marriage
a
"divorcical," as it was known on the street.
The show got great reviews in Chicago, but its progress to Lincoln Center
was impeded by a lawsuit launched by Mr. Brown's ex-wife. Finally it
opened
at a small off-Broadway house.
It's probably the best new musical New York will see all season.
Norbert Leo Butz (Thou Shalt Not) and Sherie Rene Scott (Aida ) alternate
songs for 90 minutes. He's going forward in time, she backward. She
complains of his endless self-involvement. He blames the marriage's
failure
on her jealousy of his success and her own tentativeness about her
career.
Mr. Brown's songs traverse a huge stylistic range, from pop and early
rock
to klezmer and near-operatic complexity. The performers are terrific,
and
the composer himself leads the six-piece band that includes enough
strings
to make the accompaniment sometimes sound like chamber music.
This time Mr. Brown has created a story that a lot of people will identify
with and given it music that is at once challenging and accessible.
Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (off-Broadway). $20 to $60.
Ticketmaster.