The Last Five
Years opened at Off-Broadway's
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Norbert Leo Butz and
Sherie Rene Scott
"A fresh and contemporary musical from
Tony-Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, THE LAST FIVE YEARS
chronicles a young couple's romance in a new and exciting way: her
story starts at the end of their relationship; his begins on the day
they met. Funny and uplifting, the show captures some of the most
heartbreaking and universally felt moments of modern romance."
NEWS
The Last Five Years is having its big UK premiere in London, and the reviews are in!
JasonRobertBrown.com
is online!
JasonRobertBrown.com is JRB's OFFICIAL website.
It's handsome and informative,
there's a weblog (!) and cool song clips (!) and a list
of upcoming performances (that will actually be updated!) and much much
more!
You're going to love it, so go there and bookmark it NOW.
JUNE 10 and 11: Jason Robert Brown and the Caucasian Rhythm Kings at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, CA at 8 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $25 or $35, and you can call (818) 508-4200. The El Portal Theater is located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd.
JUNE 27, 29, JULY 1-3: JRB and the CRK at Le Jazz Au Bar in Manhattan, 8 p.m. You can call (212) 308-9455 to reserve tickets now.
Read Arizona Republic article on Actors Theatre production of The Last Five Years
LFY South Bay Premiere
Musical Stage LA
Haag Recital Hall (Torrance, CA)
February 19, 26, and 27, 2005
The show is directed by Wes Burrell. Design by Vandy Scoates.
Musicians are pianist Rin-rin Yu and South Bay Youth Orchestra cellist Michael Carey.
Charge by phone at 1-800-832-ARTS (2787)
Los Angeles, CA
December 10-19, 2004
The Gene Bua Theatre
Burbank, CA
(323) 481-3038
North Coast Repertory Theatre
Solana Beach, CA
Previews Nov 17-19
Runs Nov 2 through Jan 2, 2005
Union-Tribune review
Starlight on the Lake Dinner Theatre
Decatur, IL
January 6-9, 2005
Jason Robert Brown played a concert at Le Jazz Au Bar on APRIL 26. Carolee Carmello, Brian D'Arcy James, Darius deHaas, Jen Collela, and Julia Murney all performed, and JRB debuted two new songs. In advance of the concert, JRB did an interesting interview with the Manhattan User's Guide .
DeLine Productions
Mountain View, CA
October 14-31, 2004
Adult Contemporary Theatre
August 12-22, 2004
Call (951) 641-4612 or (760) 728-1002 for more information
Arizona premiere of L5Y!
August 20 - 28, 2004
THE VINEYARD PLAYERS
Syracuse, NY
August 13-21, 2004
At The Syracuse Vineyard Theatre
Hudson Shakespeare Company
September 17 - October 9, 2004
Playhouse West
Walnut Creek, CA
June 4-26, 2004
CanStage
April 19 - May 29, 2004
This production received great reviews from the Toronto Star , National Post and AM740 Radio
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
April 28 - May 2
Dobama Theatre
April 23 - May 16, 2004
Pioneer Press review of Nautilus Music Theater production of L5Y
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette preview article on Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh production of L5Y
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
performed
The Last Five Years as a part of their 2003-2004 Studio series
March 24 - April 11, 2004
Reviews:
Riverfront Times
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Their production of L5Y received 2004 NH Theatre Awards for 'Best Musical Direction' and 'Best Play: Musical'
Boiler Room Theatre
Franklin, TN
March 19 - April 17, 2004
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Boston, MA
January 30 - February 21
Boston Phoenix review
Bosotn Globe review
The Laguna Playhouse presented the California premiere of L5Y
January 3 - February 1, 2004.
Read all about it ...
L.A. Times preview article
Orange County Register interview with Jason Robert Brown
L.A. Times review
Orange County Register review
Variety review
Laguna Beach Independent review
L.A. Daily News review
Orange County Weekly review
Back Stage review
NOTE: Jason Robert Brown to perform one-night-only, January 31st,
at the Laguna Playhouse, in conjunction with this production
Theater LaB Houston
January 7 - February 14, 2004
Houston Chronicle preview article
Houston Chronicle review
Ujima Theatre Loft
545 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo NY
January 2nd & 3rd, 2004
Directed by Dan Zak
Starring Sara Schoch and Adam Phillips
http://thedramatispersonae.tripod.com
PCPA TheaterFest to present The Last Five Years
March 11 - April 4, 2004
See pictures from the Blackfriars Theatre production
Congratulations!
The Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of L5Y
has been nominated for the Barrymore Award!
The production received 5 nominations in all, including Joe Calarco for
his direction, Chris Lee for lighting, and Nicole Van Giesen and Wayne
Wilcox for acting. The winners will be
announced at a ceremony on October 27.
City Pages names Nautilus Music Theater's Last Five Years Best of 2003
The
Cabaret Theatre presents L5Y as part of its 2003-2004 season.
The production opened on February 25, 2004.
Fordham University
Rose Hill Campus, New York City
April 1-3, 2004 at 8pm
Hofstra University - The Gray Wig
January 4-18.
Directed by Mark Steven Robinson
Musical Direction by Matt Gallagher
Starring Jonathan Todd Ross and Katherine Bartoldus.
Theatre Memphis To Produce State
Premiere of The Last Five Years
July 25 - August 10, 2003
Booth Productions
July 14 - August 14, 2003
Ogunquit, Maine
At last! The Last Five Years vocal selections have been
released.
They are available for order on
Amazon.com , and are out on shelves. Check Hal Leonard 's site for details.
The Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of The Last
Five Years was voted Best Musical by the Philadelphia Weekly
and made the Philadelphia Inquirer 's list of the top 10 shows
of the year! Joe Calarco was named Best Director of a
Musical by the Inquirer , and received an honorable mention
from the Weekly . The production's stars, Nicole
van Giesen and, were runners-up in the Best Actress and Best Actor
in a Musical categories from the Inquirer , and both got
honorable mentions from the Weekly . Mike Fagin
was runner up for Best Set from the Inquirer , and Chris
Lee was given an honorable mention for Lighting from the Weekly
. Congratulations to all!
Rocky Mountain Repertory
Theatre
Grand Lake, Colorado
Musical Director: Michael Querio
Cathy: Abby Mueller
Jamie: Nick Mannix
Impulse Theatre Co. will perform L5Y September 18-20, 2003 at the Stage Left Theatre
Jason Robert Brown and Lauren Kennedy performed The Last Five Years in
concert at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival June 18 to June 21. For
more information, click
here .
In advance of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival productions of The Last 5 Years and Songs for a New World , Jason Robert Brown did an interview with The Advertiser. The Advertiser also ran coverage of JRB's performances at the Festival.
Yellow Taxi Productions
The Last 5 Years
Nashua, NH
June 5-7, 2003
TheaterWorks in Hartford, CT presented The Last Five Years
APRIL 18 - MAY 25, 2003
Starring Joe Cassidy and Sally
Wilfert, directed by Rob Ruggiero, with musical direction
by Michael Morris
Read the Hartford Courant review
New York Times
review
Berkshire Eagle review
TheaterMania review
Hartford Advocate review
L5Y is currently playing at the Florida Stage in
Manapalan, FL
Read the reviews from the Sun Sentinel , Miami Herald , and the Palm Beach Post
Read The Age review of the
fortyfivedownstairs production of The Last Five Years,
currently being performed in Melbourne, Australia.
The
ROARING LION THEATRE COMPANY in Vancouver, Canada will present L5Y
from 9/15/2003 to 10/03/2003.
Plano Rep presented The Last Five Years from
5/29 - 6/22/03
Numerous pictures from the recent
Philadelphia Theatre Company production of L5Y
can be viewed at the director's website, joecalarco.net
Theatre for Snobs presented the Seattle premiere of The Last 5 Years,
in a production produced by high school students, in a one-night-only
performance on May 22 at the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
The
Philadelphia
Theatre Company production of L5Y, starring Wayne
Wilcox and Nicole Van Giesen (who, you might remember,
understudied Cathy in the New York production) recently concluded its March 14 - April 13,
2003
run .
Read the Philadelphia Inquirer review here
Read the Delaware News Journal review here
Read the Philadelphia Weekly review
here
The Last 5 Years made its post-New York debut at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre
February 7 - March 10, 2003
The
production was directed by Mark Mezadourian Hughes and musical directed
by Darcy Danielson
Wade McCollum and Melinda Parette starred as Jamie and Cathy
READ the
review in the Mail Tribune
Er, this site is about an upcoming Korean production of L5Y by a company called Seensee. I think.
Lauren Kennedy's solo
album, featuring the music of Jason Robert Brown, has been released on
the ps classics label , and
is now available through their website and in stores.
Read the song list
here.
Syracuse
Stage, in conjunction with Syracuse University, will be doing L5Y
as a part of its "After Hours" series on
February 27 - March 2, 2003
Marissa McGowan and Josh Young will star, Jessica O'Sickey directs, and
Mary Sugar will provide musical direction.
More information will be available soon at
UpAndRunningProductions.com .
Jason Robert Brown wins
the Drama Desk awards for
Outstanding
Music and Outstanding Lyrics!
The Drama Desks also honored record producer
Bill Rosenfield (a driving force behind the recording of all of
JRB's musicals, including L5Y) with a special achievement award "for
his contributions to the preservation of musical theatre recordings".
*The Last 5 Years has its final
performance at the
Jason Robert Brown did two shows at The Cutting Room
in NYC on June 18 and June 25. Compared
to his previous concerts, this one was pretty simple, with just
guitarist Gary Sieger and bassist Randy Landau (both of the exceptional
Last 5 Years band) accompanying him.
It
was a great showcase for their individual talents (they each got to do
some terrific solos on their respective instruments), and it was also a
nice chance to
see JRB sing a lot of his own stuff – “She Cries”, “King of the World”,
“Nobody Needs to Know”, “The Old Red Hills of Home”, “Moving Too Fast”,
and, of course, the encore “Someone To Fall Back On”.
He also did a few unrecorded songs, including
“I’m in Bizness” (from the yet-to-be-produced Moneyman
), “I Could Be In Love with Someone Like You” (cut from L5Y), and a
couple other gems that you probably haven’t had the pleasure of hearing
before.
Lauren Kennedy, L5Y's original Kathy, joined the trio,
dueting with Jason on “I’d Give It All For You”, and singing solo on
the beautiful “I Will Follow” and the heartbreaking “Letting You Go
Away From Me.” She’s working with Jason
on a solo album of his songs, and you can find out more about that at www.laurenkennedy.com .
Playbill.com: Last Five Years in Last Two Weeks ; Thunder Comes Knocking at Minetta Lane's Door
Broadway.com:
The Last Five Years to Shutter May 5
The Last 5 Years cast
recording is now available at a music store near you!
(And if it's not,
for some reason, order it here now!)
You can listen to clips from the cast album here
Broadway.com: Ken Mandelbaum reviews the cast album
TheaterMania.com:
A review of the L5Y cast recording
Billboard: L5Y
recording review
TalkinBroadway : L5Y recording review in
Sound Advice column
CDNow Review: The Last 5 Years cast album
Musical Stages: The Last Five Years CD review
Sydney Morning Herald: L5Y CD review
The Last 5 Years cast recording debuts at
#18 on Billboard's
Top Internet Albums
chart!
For the information of those poor souls who missed The Last 10 Years: The Music of Jason Robert Brown concert on April 15th, here is the song list:
Music of Heaven (Jason Robert Brown and Ensemble)
The River Won't Flow (Brooks Ashmanskas, Keith Byron Kirk,
Jessica Molaskey, Andrea Burns) - Songs for a New World
Moving Too Fast (Norbert Leo Butz) - The Last 5 Years
Stars and the Moon (Jessica Molaskey) - Songs for a New
World
I'm in Bizness (JRB and Ensemble) - Money Man
Christmas Lullaby (Melissa Errico) - Songs for a New World
King of the World (Keith Byron Kirk) - Songs for a New
World
And I Will Follow (Sara Ramirez)
I'm Not Afraid of Anything (Andrea Burns) - Songs for a New World
Flying Home (Adam Pascal and Ensemble) - Songs for
a New World
A Summer in Ohio (Mario Cantone) - The Last 5 Years
Old Red Hills of Home (JRB) - Parade
I'd Give It All For You (Brooks Ashmanskas and Andrea Burns) -
Songs for a New World
This Is Not Over Yet (Norbert Leo Butz and Jessica Molaskey) -
Parade
Goodbye Until Tomorrow (Sherie Rene Scott) - The Last 5 Years
Coming Together (Adriane Lenox, JRB, and Ensemble)
Someone to Fall Back On (JRB)
The Musicians: Jason Robert Brown, Tom
Partington , Dean Thomas, Gary Sieger, Randy Landau, Sal Spicola, and
Christian Hebel
The Ensemble: D.B. Bonds, Roger
Butterley, Julie Dingman, Jill Geddes, Randy Redd, and Nicole Van Giesen
Check out the pictures from The Last 10 Years concert at Broadway.com
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Norbert Leo Butz
Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Sherie Rene Scott
Outstanding Music - Jason Robert Brown
Outstanding Lyrics - Jason Robert Brown
Outstanding Orchestrations - Jason Robert Brown
Outstanding Set Design of a Musical - Beowulf Boritt
New York Times:
"Hard Times for Cast Albums, to Broadway's Regret"
Playbill:
Q&A with Lauren Kennedy
Here's a site worth checking out: ModernBroadway.com
L5Y has received an Outer Critics Circle
nomination for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical
A Yahoo Group
has been created for fans of L5Y
The Last 5 Years received two Lucille Lortel Award nominations
for OUTSTANDING MUSICAL and OUTSTANDING ACTOR (Norbert Leo Butz)!
Playbill Online: Andrew Gans briefly discusses The Last 5 Years in
Diva Talk
Jason
Robert Brown wins the 2002 Kleban Award for his lyrics for The Last 5
Years!
The Last 5 Years was recorded on March 11th. The cast album will
be released on Sh-K-Boom Records on APRIL 16. Visit Sh-K-Boom.com
for details.
Pictures from the recording session at
Playbill.com
Broadway.com:
Ask a Star
Jason Robert Brown answers readers' questions
Interview with Norbert Leo Butz on
TalkinBroadway.com
Playbill Online:
Photos from L5Y opening night
Photo Op: The Last Five Years
Broadway.com has a bunch of pics from opening night
(Sorry, can't link to this one directly - you'll have to find it on
Broadway.com's site yourself)
The Last Five Years officially opened in New York on Sunday,
March 3, 2002.
The Reviews:
Toronto
Star:
'Inventive musical rises above its production'
Dallas
Morning News:
The Last Five Years
Good
Times Magazine:
The Last 5 Years
USA Today:
'Last Five Years' Speeds by Quickly
The Village Voice:
Pairing It Down
Newsday:
'5 Years', Two Careers, One Romance'
New York Post:
'Last 5' Doesn't Add Up
Associated Press:
'The Last 5 Years' a Sweet Tale
The New York Times:
Novelist and an Actress Share a Leaky Boat
Variety:
The Last 5 Years review
New York Daily News:
Two Come Apart at the Songs
Back Stage:
The Last Five Years
Star-Ledger:
Musical appealing despite gimmicky setup
Web Reviews:
Associated Press feature
on The Last Five Years
Article on Sherie Rene Scott on
TheaterMania
Interviews with Norbert Leo Butz on
Playbill Online and
TheaterMania.com
The New York Times:
Interview with Jason Robert Brown, Daisy Prince, and Millie
creative team
From Variety:
"Tuner 'Years' back under knife"
This is mostly just a repeat of the
unverified rumors that were going around back in the fall. But it
does discuss some of the recent changes made to the show, apparently
done to ward off a lawsuit by Jason Robert Brown's ex-wife.
The cast album is expected to be on the Sh-K-Boom
label
Playbill Online: Last Five Years begins
previews in New York
From Playbill Online:
Photos from the press preview
Check out the Official Web Site for The Last Five Years
- very nice. They've got a message board, some Mp3s you can
listen to, and lots of info about the show.
The Last Five Years cast album is scheduled to be recorded in February
The
Last Five Years was named one of the ten best theater experiences
of 2001 by Time Magazine
:
"Composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown
(Parade) does his best work to date in this melodic and elegantly
crafted chamber musical, in which a couple simultaneously tell the
story of their relationship-one from start to finish, the other from
finish to start. Daisy Prince's inventive production opened at
Chicago's Northlight Theater and will face the New York critics early
next year."
The show was #4 on The Chicago Tribune's list of the top ten
productions in Chicago in 2001:
"An imaginative new two-person musical
romance inventively conceived by composer Jason Robert Brown,
skillfully directed by Daisy Prince, played and sung with great
emotional resonance by Norbert Leo Butz and Lauren Kennedy, and
presented by the enterprising Northlight Theatre."
Lauren Kennedy is working on a solo album
featuring the work of Jason Robert Brown. You can hear a couple
clips, including one of "Goodbye Until Tomorrow" on her web site
.
Listen to a June 12, 2001 radio interview
that Jason Robert Brown did in Chicago, along with fellow composers
Michael John LaChiusa and William Finn
The Last Five Years has been nominated for three Joseph Jefferson
Awards:
NEW WORK - Jason Robert Brown
ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE (MUSICAL) - Norbert Leo Butz
MUSICAL DIRECTION - Tom Murray
Jason Robert Brown is a recipient of a 2000/2001 After Dark Award for
his Outstanding Music & Lyrics for The Last Five Years.
The show concluded its run (including a 1-week extension) at the
Northlight Theatre on July 1st.
The New Y
ork
Times reported on The Last Five Years' possible
future at Lincoln Center Theatre.
The show got national attention with an article in
TIME Magazine
*The Band*
JASON ROBERT BROWN
Conductor/Piano
DOROTHY LAWSON
Associate Conductor/Cello 1/Percussion/Celeste
GARY SEIGER
Acoustic Guitar
MAIRI DORMAN
Cello 2/Percussion
RANDY LANDAU
Electric Bass
CHRISTIAN HEBEL
Violin/Percussion
ORDER
THE LAST 5 YEARS
CAST RECORDING HERE
The World Premiere of THE LAST FIVE YEARS took place at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, Illinois from May 16 to July 1, 2001. The production starred Norbert Leo Butz as Jamie and Lauren Kennedy as Kathleen.
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Preview article: 'Tony Winner debuts musical at Northlight' Chicago Tribune Review: 'Last Five Years gives romantic tale unique spin' Article: Jason Robert Brown |
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Daily Herald review:
'Love story 'Last Five Years' puts whole new twist on time'
The Wall Street Journal:
'Matrimonial Warfare'
SONG LIST
(from the World Premiere
production)
Scene One - Still Hurting (Kathleen)
Scene Two - I Could Be In Love with Someone Like You (Jamie)
Scene Three - See I'm Smiling (Kathleen)
Scene Four - Moving Too Fast (Jamie)
Scene Five - A Part of That (Kathleen)
Scene Six - The Schmuel Song (Jamie)
Scene Seven - A Summer in Ohio (Kathleen)
Scene Eight - The Next Ten Minutes (Jamie & Kathleen)
Scene Nine - A Miracle Would Happen (Jamie)
Scene Ten - Audition Sequence (Kathleen)
Scene Eleven - If I Didn't Believe In You (Jamie)
Scene Twelve - I Can Do Better Than That (Kathleen)
Scene Thirteen - Nobody Needs to Know (Jamie)
Scene Fourteen - Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You
(Kathleen &
Jamie)
The Last Five Years
Music and lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
Direction: Daisy Prince
Sets and costumes: Beowulf Boritt
Lights: Chris Binder
Stage Manager: Patty Lyons
Music director: Tom Murray
Casting Director: Mark Simon
Off-Broadway production photos by JOAN MARCUS
Photos from Northlight production by MICHAEL BROSILOW