Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Adrienne Warren is breathtaking in the strangely lopsided Broadway revival of THE LAST FIVE YEARS

• By drediman
• April 8, 2025
• No Comments

Earlier this week at the Hudson Theatre, I attended the Broadway arrival of Jason Robert Brown’s pseudo-autobiographical The Last Five Years. Written in 2001, the intimate two-hander musical — which tells the story of Jamie and Cathy, particularly the deterioration of their romantic relationship over the course of five years — has become a favorite amongst musical theater aficionados, and an ideal show for smaller theaters to take on. The main feature of the storytelling is its unique structure — Jamie’s songs are performed in chronological order, while Cathy’s alternating songs are performed in reverse order (only during the wedding day song at the hub of the show do they ever directly duet).

Unsurprisingly, the aspect of the production that stands proud and tall is Jason Robert Brown’s vibrant song cycle-like score, which has never sounded more lushly orchestrated than it does in this revival (Brown provided the updated orchestrations). Too bad, therefore about the muddy miking, which renders the underpowered Nick Jonas as Jamie that much more underwhelming. He does make a valiant go of it, particularly in the acting department. The also attempts to tackle the soaring musical passages as best he can with his pop vocal stylings, if only occasionally succeeding. As Cathy, however, Adrienne Warren (a deserved Tony-winner for her stellar turn in the title role of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) is simply radiant throughout — no shoddy sound design can undermine that fact — both in terms of her acting and singing. As the character “progresses” towards her hopeful youthful self, her vocals take on a grandeur that’s breathtaking to behold as Cathy’s insecurities fade away to be replaced by a triumphant sense of independence. Suffice to say, this mis-match in performance voltage between the two stars has resulted in a rather in a lopsided version of The Last Five Years.

The Broadway revival has been directed by the busy and ubiquitous Whitney White (she’ll be appearing in Macbeth in Stride at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in a few weeks), who clearly attempts to put her own stamp on the material. Unfortunately, her production muddles Brown’s carefully constructed musical, first and foremost by having Jamie and Cathy appear in each other’s scenes/songs, thereby diluting the momentum of the characters’ respective dramatic trajectories. Even David Zinn’s set design, which is comprised of moving platforms and other mobile scenic elements, seems to be a half-baked concept; Dede Ayite’s observantly designed costumes are dramaturgically spot on, however.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Broadway, Musical
Hudson Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through June 22