Review: The Last Five Years at the Phoenix Stage Company

I attended a performance of The Last Five Years at the Phoenix Stage Company last weekend.  The “core team” of our Maple Hill School Dinner and a Show group came along.  Dinner at Bellissimo was wonderful, as usual, and the welcome at the theater was warm. Nothing beats the free popcorn and we were grateful for the warning that there would be no intermission. We settled into the comfy new purple chairs* and caught up with some fellow patrons.  It seems that every time we go, we run into some old friends!

The small stage was divided down the middle physically and metaphorically. Windows hanging at a wide angle, matching black-covered chaises and stools mirror each other. Since this is the first musical produced at the Phoenix, I couldn’t wait to see how they had crafted a pit for the musicians. They managed to hide the seven musicians listed in the program behind a black divider quite impressively. All I could see from my front row seat was the top of the head of the musical director/keyboard player and the occasional tip of the violin bow.

One person in our group was concerned that she might not understand what was going on in the cycle story where almost everything is sung, a la the wonderful Jesus Christ Superstar that I recently saw at the Warner. I could relate to her fear but I did my best to reassure her that she would be fine and reiterated what I had read in .

She needn’t have worried. While we probably didn’t get every parallel and we already knew that the marriage was doomed, we thoroughly enjoyed the musical. We compared notes on the way out and agreed that only one of the songs left us a little confused. One suggestion I would make is that it would have been helpful to have a list of the songs included in the program; of course, there was no intermission during which to check it.

The actors did an amazing job of mastering the complicated and extensive musical score, each song more challenging than the last. Many styles of music were covered and the sheer volume of the lyrics would test most singers. Emily (Dann) Dietrich has a wonderful voice and the acting chops for a convincing Kathy, a struggling actress. She quietly pulled off a costume change onstage and was radiant in the lovely costumes. My favorite of her songs was the comical “A Summer in Ohio” when she regaled us with her tale of woe about appearing in summer stock in, you guessed it, Ohio. She was great when she got to say the lines of her conversation with her agent on her cell.

Michael L’Altrella also aced the part of Jamie, a Jewish writer on the rise and a bit of a cad. I especially enjoyed his take on the song “Shiksa Goddess,” and his little dance in “The Schmuel Song.” Apparently, “The Last Five Years was inspired by Brown's failed marriage to Theresa O'Neill. O'Neill threatened legal action on the grounds that the story of the musical represented her relationship with Brown too closely, and Brown changed the song ‘I Could Be in Love With Someone Like You’ to ‘Shiksa Goddess’ in order to reduce the similarity between the character Cathy and O'Neill.” I learned that little tidbit on Wikipedia. 

We laughed, we cried, as we listened closely to the lyrics.  I also determinedly tried to connect the opposite stages of the failed relationship and was even successful at times.  One could enjoy the show without trying to do so because the music and emotions carry the audience through the 97 minutes effortlessly. The band, under the direction of Aaron J. Brunel, was wonderful. The sound system, which was never necessary in this intimate theater, was appropriate for the space.

The cast switches on June 17 to Alyssa Fontana and Dan Porri (who was in the pit playing bass at the performance we attended.) Yes, I am going to see this cast as well, probably by myself this time. I will be the one jotting down notes in the dark so I can post a follow-up blog on the similarities/differences in the performances. I have been told that each cast has a different take on the music and the musicians change with each performance. If you like to hear some of the music before you see a musical as I do, listen to the May 28 podcast by Backstage Johnny (who was seen in the audience) with the co-directors of the production and hear some of the songs performed by Sheri Rene Scott and Norbert Leo Butz (original cast of Wicked who just won another Tony for Catch Me If You Can.) The few bad words had to be edited for radio.

I have never been disappointed with any of the productions at our only Naugatuck theater.  I can’t believe that they are coming up on their one-year anniversary. Go see this production before it is too late! 

*My youngest son and I helped unpack the chairs on the day they arrived. The color was chosen because they match the carpeting that was left behind when the former tenant vacated. They were originally ordered by a church that subsequently changed their mind, so the price was right!