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the last five years

‘The Last Five Years’ Review – Dare to Defy Productions – The Way They Were

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Welcome back? As various re-openings occur throughout the city despite the ongoing presence of COVID-19, Dayton’s 2020-2021 theater season officially launches with Dare to Defy Productions’ vocally superb presentation of The Last Five Years. Jason Robert Brown’s heartwarming yet heartbreaking 2002 musical continues through July 11 at The Brightside Music and Event Venue.

Brent and Abby Hoggatt star as Jamie Wellerstein and Cathy Hiatt in Dare to Defy Productions’ presentation of “The Last Five Years.” (Contributed photo)

Set in New York City and simultaneously told chronologically and in reverse, this breezy, intimate, compelling, and smart one-act two-hander details the humorous yet troublesome relationship between struggling actress Cathy Hiatt (full-throttle Abby Hoggatt) and aspiring novelist Jamie Wellerstein (endearing Brent Hoggatt). The engaging, relatable story of optimism and woe begins with Cathy’s sorrowful reflections at the end of their marriage while Jamie’s perspectives joyously start not long after they have met. The couple only meets in the middle at their wedding, exquisitely represented by the gorgeous ballad The Next Ten Minutes. Over the course of 16 skillfully detailed and descriptive songs, an entire relationship arises with an emotional resonance that cuts to the core, proving the cold hard fact that some soulmates come with an invisible expiration date.

My journey with this material dates back to the spring of 2001 when I saw the original production at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, Illinois outside Chicago. The show was so fresh that during a post-show talkback Brown realized he made a significant error in Cathy and Jamie’s timeline, proving the challenge that comes from attempting unorthodox storytelling. And for all of the brilliance overflowing throughout Lauren Kennedy and Norbert Leo Butz’s performances, they were not an actual complex married couple. They were simply great actors interpreting a complex married couple. I mention the original production to specifically highlight how rare it is to see The Last Five Years elevated by the presence of real-life spouses, a substantial reason why the performances of Dare to Defy resident ensemble members Abby and Brent are not only outstanding but undeniably special.

Under the gentle, fluid, flashback-inspired direction of Mackensie King, who previously helmed this show for Dare to Defy in 2015, Abby and Brent, layering their work with authentic love, wonderfully embody Cathy and Jamie’s enjoyable idiosyncrasies and destructive despair. Whether conveying the difficulties Cathy endures while longing for a professional breakthrough or the conflicted betrayal weighing heavily on Jamie’s mind having slept with another woman, this dynamic duo leaves nothing undone. And musically, they soar. At the outset, Abby marvelously sets the tone with Still Hurting and winningly lightens the mood with A Part of That, A Summer in Ohio, When You Come Home to Me, and Goodbye Until Tomorrow. Brent’s delightful charm fuels Shiksa Goddess, Moving Too Fast, playful Schmuel Song, and colorfully conversational A Miracle Would Happen, but he’s equally adept stretching his acting muscles delivering the angrier, wounded If I Didn’t Believe In You and Nobody Needs To Know. Still, there is one number in this production deserving of utmost attention. Sometimes musical theatre only requires a terrific actress to sit in a chair and belt her heart out. As so, Abby’s phenomenal rendition of I Can Do Better Than That, reverberating through The Brightside’s rafters and probably out onto East Third Street, is a stunningly impactful moment worthy of an encore.
Elsewhere, King, who also serves as sound designer, assembles a fine artistic team including music director Norman A. Moxley II and lighting designer Derryck J. Menard. Moxley’s lovely five-piece orchestra consists of pianist Dean Brown, bassist Phillip Detty, violinist Josh van Tilburgh, cellist Tom Watts, and guitarist David Wells. Brown (driving the Billy Joel-esque groove of Moving Too Fast) and van Tilburgh (beautifully stirring the emotional undercurrents of The Schmuel Song and I Can Do Better Than That) excellently repeat their duties from the 2015 production.
Medically, I can’t say if it is in your best interest to see The Last Five Years. Dare to Defy has gone to great lengths in their social distancing precautions, but the choice to attend is yours. However, professionally and theatrically, I can assure you the production is worthwhile. After all, Abby sings the hell out of the score.

The Last Five Years continues at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at The Brightside Music and Event Venue, 905 E. Third St., Dayton. The production is performed in 85 minutes without intermission. Tickets are $18-$25. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to the Black Lives Matter Movement. For tickets, visit https://broadwaytrivia2d.simpletix.com/e/55037. Seating is limited.

In addition, Dare to Defy has created the following safety plan for actors and audience:

  • Six (or more feet) between each ticket group
  • Capping ticket sales 18.5 percent of venue’s audience capacity
  • All audience members required to wear masks
  • No intermissions/longer intermissions
  • Extra sanitizing before and after shows. (The Brightside has purchased a sanitizing spray machine that quickly sanitizes the air and surfaces for added safety).
  • Checking temperatures at the door
  • All tickets must be purchased online to ensure a completely no-touch ticketing process
  • Spacing the audience more than 35 feet away from the actors
  • The blocking of the show is close and intimate in a safe manner
  • All crew will be masked and socially distanced

 

‘The Last Five Years’ Review – Dare to Defy Productions – Falling In and Out of Love

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Jason Robert Brown’s incredibly emotional and warmly intimate two-person, one-act musical “The Last Five Years” receives an endearingly performed, vocally splendid treatment courtesy of Dare to Defy Productions inside the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Center.

 
In just 80 compelling minutes, “Last Five Years,” delicately directed with contemplative touches by Mackensie Vonderbrink, paints a fascinating portrait of twentysomething lovebirds in New York City particularly torn apart by differing career paths. Jamie Wellerstein, an emerging writer taking the publishing world by storm, and Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress longing for her big break, happily meet and eventually marry, but simply cannot make their relationship work. In a clever use of unorthodox storytelling, Brown tells Jamie’s story in standard, chronological fashion while Cathy’s journey progresses from heartbreak to joy. This conceptual device can be confusing, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the material, but it isn’t burdensome. In fact, the opportunity to piece together the entire journey from both perspectives is a fun challenge allowing the action to unfold with attention-grabbing fluidity without fear of becoming stagnant. The dual stories, vividly detailed and remarkably engaging in terms of relatability, appropriately intersect at Jamie and Cathy’s wedding, but separately entice throughout with terrific, character-driven panache by Wright State University acting/musical theater students Ian Benjamin and Kelsey Pohl.l5y
Benjamin, very memorable last season as Thenardier in WSU’s “Les Misérables,” is a strikingly sharp, mature Jamie, impressively navigating the difficulty of appearing adorably lovestruck, energetic and humorous, lovingly supportive, tearfully ashamed, and boldly committed to moving on without seeming arrogant, misunderstood or ambiguous. Musically, Benjamin specifically brings lighthearted spunk to the jaunty “Moving Too Fast” (featuring tremendous piano accompaniment by musical director Dean Brown) and fills the melancholy “Nobody Needs to Know” with ample heartache. Pohl, an awesome Kate last season in WSU’s “The Wild Party,” brilliantly conveys Cathy’s agitation, disgust, hurt, and hopefulness. In particular, her marvelously refreshing rendition of “I’m a Part of That” clearly finds Cathy questioning her place in Jamie’s life. Pohl’s lyric-driven finesse continues with exceptionally honest, wonderfully conversational, encore-worthy versions of “A Summer in Ohio,” “Audition Sequence” and “I Can Do Better Than That.” Due to the considerable technical complexities of Brown’s enthralling, melodic score, a mild hybrid of Stephen Sondheim and Billy Joel sensibilities, it’s great to see Benjamin, Pohl and pianist Brown skillfully rise to the occasion.

 
In addition to scenic designer Chris Harmon’s efficient platforms and large clock reiterating the material’s passage of time, the beautiful contributions of violinist Josh Van Tilburgh, bassist Parisa Samavati and cellist Rebekah Thompson greatly accent the proceedings. However, unfortunate sightlines occur for patrons seated toward the rear of the Mathile due to some numbers performed at the front lower level of the stage.

 
Even so, Dare to Defy, quickly becoming a musical theater force in the Gem City, delivers another hit.

 

“The Last Five Years” continues tonight at 8 p.m. in the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Center, Second and Main Streets, Dayton, and Tues. Jan. 6 at 7:15 p.m. at Mimi’s Cafe, 4402 Walnut St., Beavercreek. Tickets to tonight’s performance are $20, and can be purchased by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or visiting www.ticketcenterstage.com. For more information about the Mimi’s Cafe presentation, visit www.d2defy.com.

 

In related news, Dare to Defy’s 2015 season includes “The Songs of Hair in Concert” (March 13 and 14), “Assassins” (July 17-25), “Into the Woods” (Sept. 5 and 6), and “Godspell” (Oct. 9-17).

TIFF 2014 – Day #5

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Noah+Baumbach+While+Young+Premiere+Arrivals+aA14qv9ZudIlMonday, September 8, 2014!

Hello!

It was another late night…and another early morning…but the first film I saw after waiting in line for Wednesday’s public tickets was the new comedy from Noah Baumbach – WHILE WE’RE YOUNG.  I loved it!  Unfortunately, most of the films I saw today do not have trailers yet, so still photos will have to do.

Full of keen observations on generational differences between 40-somethings and 20-somethings, WHILE WE’RE YOUNG is one of the funniest, most charming comedies I have seen in years!  In its third act, the film goes into some deeper territory, but it was all material that I found directly relatable…and I loved it. The film stars Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried, and Charles Grodin.  It hasn’t been picked up yet American distribution, but I’m certain it will!

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OCTOBER GALE is a new thriller starring one of my favorite actresses – Patricia Clarkson (directed by Ruba Nadda, who directed Clarkson in CAIRO TIME).  It’s the story of a woman, while still getting over the death of her husband, visits her Autumn, remote island cottage.  While there, a mysterious man with a gunshot wound washes onto her shore, and it’s quickly made clear that someone will soon arrive to finish the job.  I liked the tone and pacing of this film quite a bit…until a single moment when I thought the script took a ridiculous turn.  Clarkson saves this film to some degree…but saving it completely would have required a rewrite.

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I have bad news for the folks who are terribly anxious for THE LAST FIVE YEARS.  This is a film version of the off-Broadway musical by Jason Robert Brown.  Though the adaptation is quite faithful, it’s also quite uncinematic.  The lead performances by Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan are beautifully sung and full of charisma, but the film failed to get off the ground for me until there was a fun, playful song about working summer stock in Ohio (it was the first time that the camera work came alive and played with location, etc.).  All this said, the people who are terribly anxious about it will love it regardless – as the director barely played with any of the material (it’s as straight-forward as possible – aka hardly exciting on screen at all).

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PASOLINI is a film about the famous director’s last days starring Willem Dafoe, directed by Abel Ferrara.  Dafoe is incredible in this film, and the material with Pasolini commenting on his feelings about humanity and  our drive for materialism were quite compelling (so much so that I want a copy of the screenplay).  That said, I found the film to be a little jumbled (and even slightly confusing sometimes…as Ferrara made a decision not to give us subtitles during some rather difficult moments).  We get to look at  the film Pasolini wanted to make next and hear about the novel he never published – all before his murder by a hustler.  It’s a tough film, but I think people who give it a chance may be inspired to learn more about this iconic filmmaker.

Thanks for checking in.  I’m looking forward to the new Dardenne Brothers film tomorrow – TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT.

More tomorrow!

Jonathan