VARIETY
The Last Five Years
(Northlight Theater, Skokie, Ill.; 350 seats;
$45 top)
A Northlight Theater presentation of a musical
in one act with book, music
and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Directed
by Daisy Prince.
Jamie - Norbert Butz
Kathleen - Lauren Kennedy
By CHRIS JONES
As he proved with "Songs for a New World," the enormously talented Jason
Robert Brown is singularly adept at creating suites of gorgeous numbers
in a
variety of musical idioms. And smart cabaret singers everywhere will
be
fighting to get their hands on the lush melodies and emotionally resonant
lyrics contained in Brown's latest pocket musical, "The Last Five Years."
But if this premiering show is to thrive long-term in the legit arena,
it
needs a lot more work on narrative and character.
Premiering at the Northlight Theater in suburban Chicago under the helm
of
Daisy (daughter of Hal) Prince, and featuring Gotham-based thesps,
"The Last
Five Years" is a relationship-driven two-hander that lasts about 80
minutes.
Brown plays his own score in concert with a small ensemble.
The emotionally intense piece follows Jamie, a young Jewish novelist
(played
by Norbert Butz) who meets, marries and divorces Kathleen, a Catholic
actress (Lauren Kennedy), over the course of five years.
The first-blush-to-agony range of the narrative means the song-list
moves
freely from the optimistically upbeat ("I Could Be in Love With Someone
Like
You") to the personally apocalyptic ("I Could Never Rescue You").
But there's an additional angle in play here. Jamie's version of the
relationship is told in chronological order, from boy-meets-girl to
boy-has-affair. Kathleen's version goes in reverse. With the relationship
in
tatters, she begins her singing at the top of the show with a piece
called
"Still Hurting" and ends at the point where the two are about to meet.
In other words, "The Last Five Years" is like two separate musicals
told in
an alternating fashion. With the exception of the point where the two
narrative trajectories overlap (the wedding, appropriately enough),
all of
musical numbers are solos. The show is basically an alternation of
insights.
This unusual structure works surprisingly well and allows Brown to plow
the
well-hoed -- but ever-popular -- field of the contemporary relationship
while adding something of a fresh perspective. Most of the numbers
are
terrific -- especially a sweet ditty called "The Schumel Song" that
Jason
composes for his sweetie at Christmas. There's also a soaring ballad
called
"If I Didn't Believe in You" and any number of other pleasures. Brown's
musical and lyrical chops are in top form here.
But the characters are a problem. Successful Jamie is far more fleshed
out
than loser Kathleen, who spends far too much of the first hour whining
about
her flailing career or complaining that she does not get enough attention
from her busy, busy man. An insecure "Audition Sequence" is obvious
fodder
for cheap laughs and needs to hit the cutting-room floor.
Conversely, Jamie goes directly from the wedding to a song about finding
other women attractive -- if we're to care at all about this self-absorbed
upstart, he needs at least one number in between.
These problems, perhaps, flow from making both of the characters artsy
types
-- which limits the universality of their angst. Jamie's always kvetching
about the need to spend time with his agent. Kathleen doesn't want
to do
another show in Ohio -- perish the thought. For general audiences,
these
issues may feel less than compelling.
The sweet-voiced Kennedy could dig a littler deeper into her emotional
psyche, but Butz's work already is strong. And Prince's imaginative
production has all kinds of potential. Beowolf Boritt's deliciously
ironic
setting features an empty wedding scene (chairs and flowers, etc.)
set on a
vertical plane so that it hovers over the unhappy couple.
With some additional numbers and more attention to the nuance of character,
Brown could smooth over the disconcerting but pervasive feelings of
mild
sexism and showbiz insularity. But most of all, the book needs more
surprises that reflect the uniqueness of real-life relationships rather
than
conventional wisdom.
The numbers are ready to be rolled out -- they just need a book to go
with
them.
Musical direction, Tom Murray. Sets and costumes, Beowolf Boritt; lighting,
Chris Binder; sound, Rob Milburn, Michael Bodeen, Ray Nardelli. Artistic
director, B.J. Jones. Opened, reviewed May 23, 2001. Running time:
1 HOUR,
20 MIN.