Last 5 Years question

I know that "I Could Be in Love with Someone Like You" was replaced by "Shiksa Goddess" after it left Chicago. Rumor has it that it Mr. Brown cut the song because his ex-wife threatened to sue if it wasn't removed. Is that true? Or did he simply like "Shiksa Goddess" as a better fit for the show?

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Yes, it's true. It was said that Kathy had to be changed a bit to be less resembling his wife (because she claimed the character was blatantly her) so they took out the Irish references.

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Someone was talking to me one day when a production in my hometown was up and mentioned the replacement of I Could Be... by Shiksa Goddess due to the huge resemblance in JRB's marriage. Seems true...who knows for sure though.

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I don't know the exact wording, but here's more or less the deal.

After the Chicago run of "The Last Five Years", Jason Robert Brown's ex-wife did in fact threaten to sue for breach of a nuptial agreement saying that he couldn't use her or their personal life in his shows. The song that she had the biggest issue with was "I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You", where Jamie sings about Cathy.

JRB's ex-wife, being Irish Catholic, thought the song hit too close to home (I don't remember all of it, but it's not about Jewish girls he's dated, it's about Cathy who he is dating, who is Irish Catholic). So they dropped the song.

"Shiksa Goddess" has the exact same form and (I believe) tempo as "I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You", because they had already done the blocking to the first song.

His wife later dropped the lawsuit and agreed to let him put the song back in, but by that time it was already just part of the show, so nowadays, the second song is "Shiksa Goddess".

The parallels between JRB's marriage and the show exist, but unlike with A Chorus Line, it's a much more loosely based work. I doubt much of it was intended to be cathartic or revelatory. I think he just had that sort of thing on his mind at the time.

The reason I know all of this is because Jason Robert Brown spoke at my school at one point, and someone brought up the exact same question. A couple of people (my friend next to me, in particular) were saddened to hear that "Shiksa Goddess" was essentially written as a form exercise, but that's the truth.

[EDIT] What was "I Could Be In Love With Someone" about and why was it objectionable to his ex-wife. Isn't there a line in "Shiksa Goddess" where he sings "I could be in love with someone like you

This was intentional. In "Nobody Needs To Know", he says the exact same line, and it has completely changed meaning. Such parallels are where the true artistry and craft of the show lies, as I'm sure everyone knows. If I recall, JRB's biggest contention with "Shiksa Goddess" is that since the line is only said near the end, it's much less likely that the audience, seeing and hearing the show for the first time, would remember the line when it comes up again in "Nobody Needs To Know".

A valid fear, but I think that most people would remember it (ah, the high note. <3 Norbert), and if they don't, then it's just a treat for those people who see the show more than once, or listen to the OCR. It's not SO essential that the show falls apart if that connection isn't made, anyway.

Updated On: 4/1/05 at 02:30 AM

Probably to reflect the change from clearly Irish-Catholic to more generically non-Jewish.

Otherwise, I'd guess that they just decided that Cathy Hiatt rolled of the tongue easier.

Great response, Karlean. Thanks! Now I have to listen to my CD again to hear that line repeated. I never noticed it before! Actually I find the show pretty even in its treatment of the two characters. Jamey is no angel; right away he's thinking about cheating on his wife. So in the end, I don't think the ex Mrs. Brown could feel that TL5Y is biased in her ex-husband's favor. I commend Mr. Brown in being willing to write Jamey as a less-than-perfect husband.

That's the cool thing about the show is that there's no real winner or loser in the show. I guess if you look at it structurally Jamie would seem to be the bad guy since we last see him cheating on his wife and then right after that we see innocent Cathy meeting him for the first time. But then if we look back, Cathy is always complaining and somewhat stiffling of Jamie's career.

Who was he married to, anyways?

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Oh yeah, I remember him talking about Thirteen. What's it about again? When is it coming out?

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I've heard both songs and I prefer "Shiksa Goddess".

Got this from Google:

"Before coming to New York, this production ran into problems dealing with Brown's ex-wife, Theresa O'Neill, who threatened to sue Brown due to the plot of the musical paralleling their own troubled marriage. Lincoln Center Theatre originally was to produce the musical at it's Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, but later dropped it due to disagreements between the theatre and the artist. Marty Bell and Arielle Tepper picked it up only days later and with some small changes in the female character, minimal lyric changes, and a song dropped (only to be replaced by a new song), the show commenced performances in early February at the Minetta Lane Theatre. After a short preview period, the show opened to positive-to-mixed reviews."

I prefer Sherie.

BTW, isn't the character's full name Catherine?

Whatever the case, "Shiksa Goddess" is one of my favorite songs in that show, so I'm ok with it

Sorry to be a sticker, but it is Catherine, not Kathleen. You can check the MTI Casting information at their website. Anyway, you were fortunate to have seen the original Chicago production!
Last Five Years Cast of Characters