'The Last Five Years'...In Only Eight Days???

Putting together a musical with only two actors that spans a period of five years is no easy task. Now, do it with only eight days of rehearsal!  Argh!

That's been the bulk of my existence at  since the closing of Forever Plaid on May 15...and The Last Five Years begins on May 26...crazy fast!

The show itself is really beautiful.  I was fortunate enough to see the show following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 while I was living as a student in New York.  The tourists weren't coming to the city and my school was offered free tickets to The Last Five Years...well, lucky me!  The show quickly became one of my favorite musicals of all time, and the role of Jamie became a dream role for me.

And now, I'm getting the chance to play the role that I've been hoping to play since 2001. It's been 10 years in the making and now it's about two days away!  Talk about STRESSFUL!  I want to be perfect, and confident in every aspect of the role—but my nerves are at the limit and Jamie sings A LOT!  Learn the notes, learn the music, learn the monologues....ACK!

But, along with Director Dan Cooney and co-star Thalia Schramm, not to mention countless others who have devoted their time, energy and passion to this project, we are just about ready.

The show is written in a very unique way.  Cathy, a struggling actress, begins the show at the end of her relationship with Jamie and tells her story backward in time, ending with their first date. Jamie, a Jewish writer on the verge of big-time success, moves forward in chronological order, starting the show after first meeting Cathy.  This presents one of the most challenging issues of this piece – since the characters are experiencing moments of their relationship at different times, they do not interact with each other except for one pivotal moment in the middle of the show, when Cathy and Jamie’s stories intersect during their wedding. 

As an actor, it feels like I'm in a one man show with a co-star that only appears in one scene, but the feeling is mutual for Thalia.  We're sort of on our own when we're on that stage because we are almost always re-living different moments in our characters shared relationship.  It's tricky.

Tricky...but beautiful.  The show is incredibly moving, comical and heart breaking, light hearted and heavy, all at the same time, which is why I loved it so much when I first saw it.  It brings up many emotions, and shadows so many relationships these days.

At its core, The Last Five Years is a story about falling in and out of love, and which one of us can't connect with that?

Show Info:

The Last Five Years plays a limited eight show run at The Encore Musical Theatre Company in downtown Dexter, May 26 through June 5.  Adult tickets are $22 and senior tickets are $19, available by visiting The Encore's website at http://theencoretheatre.org or by calling the box office at 734-268-6200.

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