A Quick Question about Last Five Years

[SirLiir]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 1:53am

Why did it close off Broadway so fast (in like 3 months?)? Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott were phenomenal in it and the music was fantastic (thank goodness for the CD recording ^^). The show seemed to have a lot of potential and definitely would have gotten Norbert and Sherie Tony nods (and a win for Norbert me thinks). Was it just too small for a Broadway stage? I heard rumors that the wife of Jason Robert Brown was suing or complained because the show echoed their troubled marriage. Was that a factor in its incredibly premature demise?
They (producers, etc) seriously should have tried to make it into a feature film. Its the perfect length, cheap to film (just 2 actors!) and the music...heavenly. It certainly would have been a great fine screen debut for Norbert and Sherie as well.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 1:59am

i don't know ryan. would love to see it onstage. just have the cast recording. movie with Norbert and Sherie would be awesome!

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:06am

I think the music and the CD are good, but I can see the wife's point of view, I do feel the show is sided towards the male character ( in this case the composer.)

[nodaybut2day2007]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:27am

I'm definatly going to have to disagree with you there. I think the show, IMO, lets the audience sympathise more with Cathy than Jamie. So I don't really believe that 'rumor' about JRBs wife suing, and if she did then thats just ludacris.

On the note of a movie. I think it would be utterly fantastic as a movie. I would pay alot to see Norbert and Sherie on screen and on video forever.

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:41am

Supposedly, the reason of the dispute was that the show was incredibly close to their actual relationship...
I watched the show knowing this, so that's why I felt manipulated toward the male character as in "this happen to me"...

[SirLiir]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:42am

In my opinion (any other opinion is welcome) I dont know if being a guy has anything to do with it, but I always felt more for Jamie than Cathy. JRB to me seem to paint Cathy as jealous and spiteful of Jamie's success while she wasted away during theather in Ohio. Jamie was more a victim of his success and desire, which is kind of understandable for a 24 yr old to succumb too. Cathy seemed so unsupportive that she drove him away BUT he did not help his cause by giving into temptation. But hey, thats why its a great show. It really makes you feel for the characters. It also has two fantastic scenes: The Next 10 Minutes scene is such a powerful and tragic scene even though its a time of celebration in their lives. It has one of the best musical pieces I have ever heard. I also found the last song Goodbye to Tomorow/I could never rescue you to be one of the best endings to a musical in a long while. Its such an incredible song with 2 very different emotionns vying at the same time, creating a very surreal and moving piece. -runs off to listens to the soundtrack-
Updated On: 9/23/05 at 02:42 AM

[bjivie2]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:47am

The reason the show didn't go to Broadway is interesting. It was originally planned to open at Lincoln Center for a limited engagement, but then there was the legal dispute with Jason's ex-wife. I guess Lincoln Center didn't want to be in the middle of that, so they dropped. Then a commercial producer picked it up and ran it Off-Broadway. I'm not sure why it didn't run longer Off-Broadway.

Someone correct me, please, if what I just said is wrong.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 4:38am

no that sounds right. i know there was a dispute with JRB's wife at the time.

and with whose side? I don;t know. I can really see Cathy's side more cause maybe I am a girl and I would side with her. although she did push him away a little, they could have caught it before it went too far and brought it to therapy or something. but he went the other way and slept with someone. Not the best thing to do. and also, (I've never seen the show. only have the recording, so if I am wrong, tell me) it seems to me that he knew he had done something wrong and could not forgive himself and so leaves her. It doesn't seem like she leaves him. I'm guessing she guesses what happens but, doesn she really ever know about the whole affair?

i don't know.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 6:18am

The Last Five Years is a musical Roman a clef about Brown's first marriage to an actress named Kathleen (last name escapes me). She thought it was a bit too realistic and threatened legal action. In the original out-of-town production, I believe, the character's name was actually Kathleen, and then changed to Catherine (and "Cathy", for short) when it moved to New York.

I don't think this had anything to do with the show's short run though. Too bad. I think it's one of the best musical theatre pieces of the past decade.

[SirLiir]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 11:41am

Very interesting Melissa. Its such a shame really. That show had a lot of Tonys going for it. It was a huge plus that Sherie Rene Scott and her husband own a recording company so that a cd could be made.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 11:54am

i'm to believe that it had a limited run. that's the only reason it didn't run longer. it's not considered a flop because it's run had a definite closing from the beginning.
(correct me if i'm wrong here.)

The thing about the law suit, i though that when it was going to be originally produced, the story was a little bit too much like the actual lives of jason r. brown and his wife. he used their actual names, and she didn't want that to happen. so that's when it was changed. but notice how jason can replace jaime and "mrs. jaime wellerstein, that's me!" could fit as "mrs. jason robert brown..."

so yeah. that's what i think it was. again, i'm not stating this as fact, because i don't really know.

nonetheless, it's a great show that i love very much. no matter what.

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 11:55am

The beauty of the show is that each audience member brings his or her own perspective and interprets the story differently. Personally I lay most of the blame at Jamie's feet. Is this because I'm a woman? I don't know. I do think that Cathy has faults and shares in the blame, but it's primarily Jamie's fault. It's funny Liir, I've always thought that JRB was kinder to Cathy because Jamie was based on him.

ETA: Everything I've read had indicated that Lincoln Center dropped the show because they were afraid that JRB's exwife could sue them too. I also read an interview with him not long ago where he talked about changing certain things in the show to make it less like real life.
Updated On: 9/23/05 at 11:55 AM

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 11:59am

The legal troubles of the show moved it off of Lincoln Center's slate, which moved it to "for profit" land. I think the small scale and possible legal issues caused the show to lack the appeal it needed from investors for a broadway mounting. (It is so intimate and short I can hardly imagine it playing a broadway house anyway.

I am a male, but have always felt Cathy is the person in the show you sympathize with. I may idenitify with Jamie at times but he is plainly wrong and hardly ever presented as a sympathetic character in the later songs.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 12:08pm

I think also as an audience member we superimpose ourselves into those characters and that is whom we identify with. Now that being said, I still think that in writing Cathy is who the audience feels most towards. We like Cathy but it is very hard to like Jaime. This is one of those shows that direction and acting play an enormous part of how the plot comes across. Just standing there and singing isn't gonna cut it in a show like this

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 12:17pm

Yodamarie, exactly!

Very true Wonderboy. I have seen two productions of the show. In the first Jamie was alright and really pulled the comedic parts, but was overmatched acting wise by the later scenes. The Cathy I saw was marvelous, so empowered and desperate at the same time. At that show it was obvious Cathy was the one you root for, the one with depth, etc.

Then I saw it again, in an overall dreadful production, and it was very different. Neither Jamie nor Cathy were able to pull off the characters (they were also both far too young) but Cathy was considerably worse. She "just stood there and sang" and it was impossible to feel any connection to her. You were drawn to Jamie, who was passable, and even led to buy SOME of his bull.

[Tenorman]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 12:21pm

I actually played Jaime in a production of LFY! It was an amazing experience. What we found/thought was that the reason you sympathize with Cathy in the end is because of the direction her story goes. Jaime's story causes everybody to remember his acts of discretion - so you remember - BAD JAIME! Both Characters were very flawed people, we had to realize that to do the story/show justice. But I think the human flaws of these people is what really appeals to audience in the end. It's not a happily ever after love story! I wish it was still running on Broadway - would love to see a movie with Norbert and Sherie!!!
Updated On: 9/23/05 at 12:21 PM

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 12:26pm

Funny that you say that Tennorman because many articles I have read say the opposite, that it is harder to sypathize with Cathy because her "depth" comes so early in the show you forget about it, and it is easier to follow Jamie's path as he because desperate and unhappy.
I actually agree with you, though.

Both caracters are very round they are both very likeable and very flawed. I also love that is possible to argue all these points both ways. And the music is just fabulous!

I would love to have any chance to see Norbert as Jamie. I think there is no chance of a movie, as great as that would be. Maybe some kind of reunion concert in 2007?

[SirLiir]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 12:38pm

As the topic shows, the musical really allows for different interpretation. I can very well see why Cathy deserves more sympathy but I still see Jamie's ide more. Cathy was VERY unspportive of his career which was making his dreasm come true while she was stuck climbing uphill. She also claimed how she wanted more and would not be content to be a simple housewife, living on the genuis' heels. BUT Jamie was wrong too. First, in the delightful brillant but incredibly long way to make apoint song about Schuel, he promised to give her unlimited time. Nope. Then he started to flirt with the other ladies. No no no. Then adultery was really his greatest mistake but by that time, he was out of love with her anyway. It is fun to discuss different perspectives though so thanks everyone for the replies so far. I wonder though if I can ever see it again, I am curious to see how an actor other than Jamie would fare, because I suspect some of Norbert's stage charisma may unfairly influence my decision.
BTW The movie can still happen. They just have to change the age from 24 to 30 lol because if you havent noticed, Norbert has not exactly aged flawlessly. I think the chances are better now that both stars are Tony calibur actors and with such a small budget and such, it would turn a profit and most importanty, get their names out in the public so other people can appreciate them.

[showmethetony]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 12:51pm

i saw an incredible production of this show a while back. i don't think it is necessary to really blame either party for what happens to their relationship. as a human being who has been in love, who has experienced desire, who has dreams and goals and a drive to pursue them - i felt it was possible to relate to both characters in this story. i don't think it has much to do with the gender of the character - I didn't relate more to Cathy b/c I'm a woman. however, i have felt that frustration of wanting something so badly and feeling like you are constantly "climbing up-hill" to get it...and it can be difficult when your most intimate partner in life is soaring up so breezily...you feel left out and left behind. that being said I've been on the side of that relationship as well - i've had times in my life where things have happened smoothly and quickly and successly while those i loved were struggling and it can be just as frustrating from that point of view - there is a struggle between enjoying your own good fortune and remaining humble and being supportive...i think what i love most about this show is that the characters are very human and very real and it isn't so much about who is to blame as it as about the fact that life happens and we each have choices to make and how individual struggle can make or break a relationship...especially when that struggle is of a professional nature b/c so much of our lives are caught up in how we spend our days - our "purpose"...kudos to JRB for capturing that.

[robbiej]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 1:02pm

It was not originally slated for a brief run. It did, indeed, flop.

I hated it. HATED IT! The show, I felt, was overproduced. There was an odd, almost Greek amphitheatre-like sculpture that represented where the wedding ceremony took place that was place on its side. It wasn't particularly pretty and we didn't need set pieces like that at all. The Monopoly cars just confused me.

Butz I found to be unsympathetic. His Jamie was abrasive from the get-go. I simply couldn't connect with him at all. Scott would never be confhused for a shrinking violet that would disappear into the walls at an audition, no matter ow badly she sang. She was too striking, too much a presence to actually be Cathy.

THAT SAID, a friend burned me a copy of the cast recording. After refusing to listen too it for a while because I hated it that much, I put it on and didn't take it out of my discman for two months. Stripped of its distracting visual elements and featuring terrific vocal performances that didn't feature the personality traits of both actors that I thought were unhelpful to telling the story, I thought it a stunning musical work.

[mirramar]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 1:42pm

I'm seeing a small production of "The Last 5 Years" this week.

Ok, that's all I have to contribute!!!!

[joniray]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:29pm

RobbieJ, I didn't hate it as much as you did, but I certainly wasn't crazy about it mostly for the same reasons you state. Also, I found some of the songs were allowed to meander a bit too much which tired my ear in the theatre. (I thought Schmuel would never end!) However, I also have come to enjoy the score a lot more via the recording.

A couple of things I wanted to add to the thread: A few people has seemed to be insinuating that the show was originally slated to be on Broadway by being done by Lincoln Center. If memory serves, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, Lincoln Center originally planed on doing this show at the Mitzi Newhouse, so it was slated to be an Off-Broadway show all along.

As far as the lawsuit is concerned. I remember reading that Brown's wife had it written into the divorce settlement that Brown was not to write any show based on her or their marriage/relationship and he went ahead and wrote one anyway which is why she took legal action. He deliberately breached their agreement.

As far as the off-Broadway run, it was an open-ended run and it did close at a loss. As for why, it just wasn't that well received. The reviews and word of mouth were both mixed on it. The recording and the two-person cast however insured that it would be done in practically every regional/community/college theatre for years to come.

Oh, and Robbie, the Cars! Oh my God I had completely forgotten about the cars! What WERE those about? Thanks for the chuckle
Updated On: 9/23/05 at 02:29 PM

[TicketsPlease]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:45pm

actually, her real name is Terry :)

[robbiej]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:46pm

I'll never forget those cars.

Ya know...I'm not stupid. I would have gotten the fact that they were riding in a car just from the lyrics. And even if I didn't, who cares...get the f*cking cars off the stage.

It feels great to finally get that off my chest.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/23/05 at 2:51pm

Ugh, I hate that. The good production of the show I saw left all of the settings and interactions to the audience. The characters were never on stage together and it was all very abstract and marvelously staged.
It sounds like the off-bway show had the same awful trappings of the other production I saw, where they tried to "show" everything. Jamie was driving a car (well it looked like he was driving a bus) and interacting with Cathy in the scene, and I kept thinking "Put her in a chair, and get him OFF the stage!"

I never intended to imply Lincoln Center was producing the show on Bway. It was off, and I think the small scale precluded any chance of a transfer, but I think the chance was lessened by the move to the "for profit" theatre.