'The Last Five Years' Broadway review — Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren fall in and out of love
Read our review of The Last Five Years, the first Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown's romantic drama musical starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren.
It’s been 23 years since The Last Five Years premiered off Broadway. Jason Robert Brown’s musical two-hander has finally arrived on Broadway with pop star Nick Jonas and Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren leading the show. Worth the wait?
The score, as ever, is jammed with gems. But like a troubled couple, the production has issues. Under the direction of Whitney White, Warren and Jonas overdo their performances, pushing too hard too often.
The Last Five Years is an engrossing musical concept, but it’s also a double showcase that’s tricky to pull off. At its heart, the show is straight-up: Cathy, an actress, and Jamie, a writer, meet, fall head over heels, marry, and split. Two people, half a decade, one relationship — over and done in 90 minutes. But no love story is really boy-meets-girl simple.
Brown, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics, knows that. So, he complicates matters by toying with the timeline. For Cathy, whose career stalls, the storyline runs in reverse from the end of the relationship to the beginning. For Jamie, who succeeds wildly and sleeps around, the tale goes from start to finish.
The tonal mismatch of downbeat and buoyant is intentional. She opens with the achy “Still Hurting,” he arrives all giddy that he’s found his “Shiksa Goddess,” and so on. The two meet and harmonize briefly in the middle when they tie the knot. Then she lightens up, and his mood darkens to the final notes.
In The Last Five Years's series of alternating solos, every number mustn't be performed as a showstopper. But that happens here, so the songs became more about the actors than the characters, and the emotional connection dries up — just like tear ducts.
The Last Five Years summary
First seen in Chicago in 2001, Brown’s sung-through musical about love and loss is seen through the eyes of a couple on the rocks. The central themes revolve around love, heartbreak, personal ambition, and the challenges of balancing career and relationships. “I will not lose because you can’t win,” skyrocketing Jamie savagely tells Cathy as her career tanks.
In 2002, Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott starred in the show’s Off-Broadway premiere. Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick played Jamie and Cathy in the 2014 movie adaptation.
What to expect at The Last Five Years on Broadway
The show is a memory musical. Everything happening on stage is actually going on inside the characters’ heads. Except for the wedding scene midway through the show, Cathy and Jamie never actually together, even when they inhabit the same scene. The other’s presence has an almost ghostly effect.
Cathy and Jamie’s dueling time sequences can be confusing. A program insert diagrams what’s being sung at what year for the sake of clarity. In lieu of that cheat sheet, watching wedding rings worn on stage helps delineate where the characters are in their relationship. But not always: Jamie removes his band when he cheats.
The show is popular among schools and small theatres around the world because it requires a small cast and minimal sets. That’s true of scenic designer David Zinn's work on Broadway. Cathy and Jamie’s world is conjured with a few pieces of furniture, projections, and small-scale models of Manhattan townhouses which, like Cathy, get stepped on.
What audiences are saying about The Last Five Years
As of writing, The Last Five Years has a ranking of 66% on the review aggregator Show-Score.
- “I’m a fan of both Adrienne Warren and Jason Robert Brown, and it’s a treat to see her on stage performing one of his scores. Both Ms. Warren and Nick Jonas give good performances, and Mr. Brown’s score is lovely.” Show-Score user MaxD
- “I so wanted to love this. I love the music and the actors did so so well. However, the staging and the story development are at best confusing. Just felt like a concert, not a musical.” Janet Rodriguez on Show-Score
- “Nick Jonas surprised me by how well he played this role. Adrienne Warren is a powerhouse as always. I always look forward to a Jason Robert Brown show. This plot is confusing if you’re not familiar with it.” Show-Score user 7329
Read more audience reviews of The Last Five Years on Show-Score.
Who should see The Last Five Years
- Fans who want to see all of the show’s stars' work will want to see this pair. Warren's credits include Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, for which she won a Tony, and Shuffle Along. Jonas's Broadway credits include Les Misérables and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.
- Musical theatre devotees will appreciate the show for its novel approach to a love story that expands the narrative in untold ways.
- Brown devotees will appreciate his tuneful and clever work in this see and see how themes recur in other shows. Cathy sings about developing “scars” from being with Jamie. That echoes a lyric from “Another Life” from The Bridges of Madison County.
Learn more about The Last Five Years on Broadway
Even with its less-than-ideal staging, the songs in The Last Five Years summon feelings that are all too relatable.
Photo credit: The Last Five Years on Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)
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