Review: The Last Five Years at the Tabard Theatre, February 12, 2011

The Last Five Years - Jason Robert Brown's bittersweet two-hander musical with a beautiful and profoundly clever score to die for - is one of the most joyous and yet heartbreaking pieces in the musical theatre genre. It is also unique in that it tells the story partly from the perspective of the man (Jamie) from the beginning of the relationship through to the end, while the woman (Cathy) begins her story with the break-up and narrates events backwards, finishing with when they first met. The complexity of the music and the minimalist subtlety of the piece require clever direction and two incredibly talented performers to pull it off. And the production at the Tabard Theatre is certainly "pulled off" to perfection.

From the first seconds of the show, Ben M. Rogers' split set - complete with two beds, mirrors and photographs of the two lovers - grabs the attention of the audience. And that attention continues to be held by Drew Baker's direction, which is edgy yet never cluttered, allowing the actors and the score to narrate the story and reveal the emotion that lies in the belly of the piece. The moment when Jamie and Cathy's narratives merge together for the only time (in the masterfully written scene/song "The Next Ten Minutes") is particularly magical and special.

In the role of Jamie, Christopher Pym has all the necessary vocal dexterity and beauty in tone to more than handle his songs. And he has both the charm and dramatic magnetism to draw the audience in and make them wait on every breath. Meanwhile, Lauren Samuels sings beautifully and uses all her incredible gifts and timing as an actress to make the audience laugh ("A Summer In Ohio", "Climbing Uphill", etc.) and cry ("I'm Still Hurting"). Both performances are simplistically brilliant and have the most important ingredient required of any dramatic or musical play - credibility.

Perhaps what the writing, the staging and the performing in this musical prove is that you don't need spectacular sets and overblown hype to create a theatrical experience that thrills the ears and the senses. You simply require talent. This is an evening no lover of musical theatre - or even any kind of theatre - should miss.