“Two artists and one piano reimagine The Last 5 Years”. That is the thesis statement for the current production playing at Taproot Theatre’s Isaac Studio Black Box. Though it sounds simple, one could not imagine a tougher mountain to climb. Jason Robert Brown has written and composed a beautifully heartbreaking exploration of a five-year relationship between Cathy Hyatt (played by Katherine Strohmaier) and Jamie Wellerstein (played by Aaron Lamb). The show begins with Cathy who is mourning the end of her relationship. She then continues backwards through the love story, ending where it all began. Jamie, conversely, moves in typical, chronological order through the romance, ending at the end. Their timelines cross only once and lead to the sweetest piano duet ever. While the cast of two along with Director (and Scenic Designer and Costume Designer) Linda Whitney do many wonderful things in the production, they fall a little in conveying the tricky passage of time. Coming into this show with no understanding of the framework would make for a very confusing night of theater.
The Last 5 Years is already a pretty stripped down piece of musical theater. It only has two characters, a fairly small orchestra, and usually requires very little in the way of set pieces. This production has managed to simplify the show even further with one piano on a rotating stage and an orchestra made up entirely of the two actors. They do employ some screens in the background with ever-changing images to help establish the location and mood. These screens are entirely unneeded and, at times, distracting. The two actors, along with the expressive score, do all that the images could do and so much more.
With such a minimal production what is really on display is the gorgeous score and the incredible talents of Lamb and Strohmaier. The two have been planning this show since 2005 when, as roommates, they would play through the score every night. That is basically the only way this Herculean effort could be pulled off. Both are exquisite pianists as well as accomplished performers. Strohmaier, as the struggling actress Cathy, is beautiful and achingly vulnerable. She makes her way through incredibly demanding vocals without losing any of the pathos needed for the character. On the other side of this ill-fated coin is Lamb as the up-and-coming author Jamie. Lamb brings a nervous, almost nerdy energy to the character that is both welcome and unexpected. He has some serious vocal chops which should not be underestimated. There are a few times, however, it feels as if he is trying to fit his classical voice into a more contemporary box.
These two performers have taken a show that is infamously hard to play and incredibly challenging to sing and decided to do both for 90 minutes straight with no break. Just making it to the end of the show alive is an accomplishment. They manage this and so much more. Our hearts break from the opening song and even the joyful moments are tinged with sadness knowing the inevitable end of the relationship. You probably won’t leave the theatre with a renewed faith in the lasting power of love but you will take with you a beautiful story, dazzling songs, and two stellar performances 12 years in the making.
The Last 5 Years is playing at Taproot Theatre in the Isaac Studio Black Box through October 7 in an extended run. Tickets are available online at l5yseattle.com and l5yseattle.brownpapertickets.com, by phone at 800.838.3006 or in person 9am – 5pm every day at the Brown Paper Tickets Box Office, 202 Nickerson St. Seattle, WA.