L.A. Last Five Years...A Second, more critical look...

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/18/05 at 4:01pm

Well, I went back and saw The Last Five Years at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood last night and I have to say that my recommendation (posted earlier this month) is now offered with several major reservations. The strong points remain the show itself with its unique look at a relationship gone sour from opposing points of view and opposing time sequences. The music/lyrics are as powerful as ever. Such a gorgeous, though also often very funny, score! I still like Stef Tovar as Jamey. He is dynamic and funny and sexy and sings well (though nowhere near as well as Norbert Leo on the OCR, but then again who can?) Like Norbert, he's a bit old to play a 23-28 year old, but that's a minor criticism. The staging/set however is quite boring compared to a near-perfect production I saw in the San Diego area last December. It's a plain cabaret type set, and the show deserves better than that. The big problem remains Tricia Small, as Cathy. Yes, she is a good actress, but this is a SINGING role, and as the critic for Backstage West has so accurately written: "Perhaps it was an extremely off night for her, because there is no other explanation for how a producing-directing team would cast a performer incapable of hitting or sustaining almost any notes in her upper range. Small's voice cracked or unpleasantly warbled during every song. " This is exactly how I felt the first time I saw it, but I hoped it was opening night jitters. The interesting part of this is that I overheard the director talking with a friend when I saw it the first time and seems that Ms. Small loves the show and really wanted to do it, and because she (or I'm assuming she and friends) had the means to produce it, she got the rights and asked him and Mr. Tovar to be part of the production. Apparently (though it's just 2nd hand info, so don't quote me) no one "hired" her to do this. A moral can certainly be learned from this story. So to those of you who may have been persuaded by my earlier post to go see the show, if you don't mind shelling out $19 for a 1/2 price seat, it may be worth your while. As I said earlier, tickets can be had at www.goldstarevents.com. But if you want to wait for a stronger overall production, you might want to do so. It's your call.

Updated On: 3/18/05 at 04:01 PM

[mallardo]

Posted: 3/18/05 at 4:05pm

Thanks for the warning! I am now reconsidering my plans.

[hedwig14]

Posted: 3/18/05 at 5:05pm

I have to say, I read your post with great regret. I was so looking forward to catching this show, but now I may just skip it and just listen to my OCR.
Thanks for the info, eslgr8.

Posted: 3/18/05 at 8:03pm

Yes, thanks for that warning...If you want a great evening this Saturday night in Los Angeles......

Susan Egan is performing with our chorus, West Coast Singers at Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood, 6:30 PM. Open Absolut Bar, Silent Auction, the works. Just $25 tax deductable bucks!

Link it here for info...Tix can be had at the door.
Susan Egan and West Coast Singers

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/18/05 at 8:27pm

Now Susan Egan would make one great Cathy!!! Unfortunately I'm seeing Floyd Collins tomorrows (well, not that unfortunate because I'm really looking forward to it), but Barnsdale Art Park is a great locale. (Just realized you're the same Singingbackup that used to have yourself as your avatar! Wishing you a great concert and my best to the divine Miss E.)

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/18/05 at 8:39pm

In the interest of fairness, here's what the LA Times said. Obviously they had much less of a problem with Tricia Small that Backstage West and I did. I wouldn't say don't see it. Just go without expecting great singing from Cathy.


"In "The Last Five Years," Jason Robert Brown sets himself and audiences a dualistic challenge. This romantic 2002 two-hander by the Tony-winning composer-lyricist of "Parade" traces a modern relationship from first date to breakup and back again, at once.

It opens in despair, as aspiring WASP actress Cathy (Tricia Small) discovers her husband has left her, in the ballad "Still Hurting." She proceeds to move backward through time. Ambitious Jewish writer Jamie (Stef Tovar), extolling his just-met "Shiksa Goddess," goes chronologically forward.

Only at the stunning marital centerpiece, "The Next Ten Minutes," do Cathy and Jamie directly interface, after which his bravado sours, her bitterness dissipates.

First seen locally at Laguna Playhouse last year, "Last Five Years" has an inbred drawback in its "she sings, he sings" structure. What floats us past this is Brown's gorgeous score, as incisive and melodic as any he has written.

Director Calvin Remsberg's chamber staging honors intimacy. Skillfully using the El Portal studio venue, Remsberg mainly keeps things fluid. Tom Griffin's superb musical direction and Kristie Roldan's lighting design make the most of the resources. Uneven casting prevents total surrender. Tovar initially oversells but relaxes into Jamie's self-importance, riveting by the climactic "Nobody Needs to Know." Tricia Small perilously forces her slender chops around Cathy's writing, and choices are vague at best. Both wear head mikes, dubious in a tiny space with a string-laden combo upstage. Still, if sometimes only 2.5 of "The Last Five Years" register, Brown's prodigious talent remains to satisfy the faithful.


— David C. Nichols
March 18, 2005"