L5Y

[JakeB]

Posted: 12/4/03 at 1:12pm

Just wondering what is missing from the CD regarding spoken parts of The Last Five Years? Was there anything in between songs? Anything during songs which they've missed out (for example, the instrumentals in Still Hurting and Movin' Too Fast)?

Cheers, J.

[krisjoseph]

Posted: 12/4/03 at 1:56pm

There's almost nothing between the songs (or during them), aside from little incidentals and snippets of one-sided conversations. During "See I'm Smiling", for example, Cathy is continually talking on the phone, trying to get hold of Jamie. There is also one "monologue" for Jamie, which is essentially him doing a reading from one of his own books. None of the text provides significant additonal information, IMHO.

I put monologue in quotes above because that passage, like all the text in the show, is purely incidental and does not drive the development of the characters (in my opinion a true monologue should involve some change or development in a character, or it's pointless). That all happens through song in this show... and what you get on the CD is basically the raw material for the show itself.

Interestingly, the stage directions in the script are rather "pregnant" (i.e. they imply a lot of activity/expostion that is not otherwise expressed in song or text), leaving a great deal of work to be done with creative staging.

I have found the full libretto to be somewhat helpful for imagining how the music can serve as the source for a full production, but most of that information is, as I've noted, in the stage directions.

[DavidMegg]

Posted: 12/4/03 at 2:46pm

I agree with Krisjoseph, but I thought the minimal dialogue before and during (and I do mean MINIMAL!) "I can do better than that" is really cute and funny.
They're in a "car" driving to Cathy's hometown and there's really funny "Hey, that's my exit" (on the highway) and they swerve, a la My Best Friends Wedding with Juila Roberts and Cameron Diaz.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 12/4/03 at 4:11pm

Cathy and Jaime's phone conversations are also cut from the CD. They don't really "drive the development of the characters" but they do certainly provide some insight on how they feel.
I.E. Jaime's on the phone with Rob before he sings "Moving Too Fast" and you can tell he's more excited about the idea of tellin people "Hey, Im moving in with a girl!" versus "Hey, Im getting closer to the woman I love."