Last 5 Years question
Last 5 Years question
leomaxfrank
Broadway Star Joined: 3/19/04
#0Last 5 Years question
Posted: 3/31/05 at 10:59pmI know that "I Could Be in Love with Someone Like You" was replaced by "Shiksa Goddess" after it left Chicago. Rumor has it that it Mr. Brown cut the song because his ex-wife threatened to sue if it wasn't removed. Is that true? Or did he simply like "Shiksa Goddess" as a better fit for the show?
But I won't live alone in a house of regret.
#1re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 3/31/05 at 11:01pmI heard that rumor too. I dunno if it's true or not, but I heard that it was.
#2re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 3/31/05 at 11:11pmYes, it's true. It was said that Kathy had to be changed a bit to be less resembling his wife (because she claimed the character was blatantly her) so they took out the Irish references.
And hang on, when did you win the discus?
bjivie2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/04
#3re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 1:01amI've never heard that. I prefer Shiksa Goddess as a song to I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You. I DID hear that the show was strongly based on his marriage, but I never heard that his ex-wife threatened to sue.
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#4re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:14amSomeone was talking to me one day when a production in my hometown was up and mentioned the replacement of I Could Be... by Shiksa Goddess due to the huge resemblance in JRB's marriage. Seems true...who knows for sure though.
www.christopherviolett.com
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#5re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:23amWhat was "I Could Be In Love With Someone" about and why was it objectionable to his ex-wife. Isn't there a line in "Shiksa Goddess" where he sings "I could be in love with someone like you?"
#6re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:30am
I don't know the exact wording, but here's more or less the deal.
After the Chicago run of "The Last Five Years", Jason Robert Brown's ex-wife did in fact threaten to sue for breach of a nuptial agreement saying that he couldn't use her or their personal life in his shows. The song that she had the biggest issue with was "I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You", where Jamie sings about Cathy.
JRB's ex-wife, being Irish Catholic, thought the song hit too close to home (I don't remember all of it, but it's not about Jewish girls he's dated, it's about Cathy who he is dating, who is Irish Catholic). So they dropped the song.
"Shiksa Goddess" has the exact same form and (I believe) tempo as "I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You", because they had already done the blocking to the first song.
His wife later dropped the lawsuit and agreed to let him put the song back in, but by that time it was already just part of the show, so nowadays, the second song is "Shiksa Goddess".
The parallels between JRB's marriage and the show exist, but unlike with A Chorus Line, it's a much more loosely based work. I doubt much of it was intended to be cathartic or revelatory. I think he just had that sort of thing on his mind at the time.
The reason I know all of this is because Jason Robert Brown spoke at my school at one point, and someone brought up the exact same question. A couple of people (my friend next to me, in particular) were saddened to hear that "Shiksa Goddess" was essentially written as a form exercise, but that's the truth.
[EDIT] What was "I Could Be In Love With Someone" about and why was it objectionable to his ex-wife. Isn't there a line in "Shiksa Goddess" where he sings "I could be in love with someone like you
This was intentional. In "Nobody Needs To Know", he says the exact same line, and it has completely changed meaning. Such parallels are where the true artistry and craft of the show lies, as I'm sure everyone knows. If I recall, JRB's biggest contention with "Shiksa Goddess" is that since the line is only said near the end, it's much less likely that the audience, seeing and hearing the show for the first time, would remember the line when it comes up again in "Nobody Needs To Know".
A valid fear, but I think that most people would remember it (ah, the high note. <3 Norbert), and if they don't, then it's just a treat for those people who see the show more than once, or listen to the OCR. It's not SO essential that the show falls apart if that connection isn't made, anyway.
Updated On: 4/1/05 at 02:30 AM
#7re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:54amWhile we are talking about the differances from the CHICAGO production of L5Y to the Broadway- Does anyone know why the spelling of her name is different. In Chicago she is "Kathy Ryan" on Broadway she was "Cathy Hiatt".... Robert
#8re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:56am
Probably to reflect the change from clearly Irish-Catholic to more generically non-Jewish.
Otherwise, I'd guess that they just decided that Cathy Hiatt rolled of the tongue easier.
#9re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:58amI figured that's what it was- but changing Kathy to Cathy with a C... mmmm.... Oh well- RObert
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#10re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 3:26amGreat response, Karlean. Thanks! Now I have to listen to my CD again to hear that line repeated. I never noticed it before! Actually I find the show pretty even in its treatment of the two characters. Jamey is no angel; right away he's thinking about cheating on his wife. So in the end, I don't think the ex Mrs. Brown could feel that TL5Y is biased in her ex-husband's favor. I commend Mr. Brown in being willing to write Jamey as a less-than-perfect husband.
jesseeinstein
Broadway Star Joined: 11/9/03
#11re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 3:36am
Just thought that you guys might be interested in the lyrics to I could be in love-they are:
---------------------------------------------------
My first crush on an Irish girl I was 10 years old and her name was elaine,
Little red haired girl well she looked like you, but if you were ten....
which you're clearly not.... not that you look old but you get my- I'll just stop now.
Ok wait, cause I had a point no I swear I did well I think I did,
which is all my life, or well since I was 10 I have had a yen for an irish lass
Because god knows why I like the ancient curse of the shiksa queen.
Do I talk to much?
Which is not to say that I want Elaine,
who turned out to be when I last checked in,
a Republican and a parapsycologist.
If you had a four leaf clover,
you could make my dreams come true.
I will be your Hebrew slave,
just do the things that Irish girls do.
Talk abou potato famine,
I begin to cry on cue.
Sing about the Emrald Isle and,
get your Irish eyes to smile and,
I could be in love with someone like you.
---------------------------------------------------
If anyone is interested in the rest, let me know!
-Jesse
bjivie2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/04
#12re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 4:14am
That's the cool thing about the show is that there's no real winner or loser in the show. I guess if you look at it structurally Jamie would seem to be the bad guy since we last see him cheating on his wife and then right after that we see innocent Cathy meeting him for the first time. But then if we look back, Cathy is always complaining and somewhat stiffling of Jamie's career.
Who was he married to, anyways?
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Jwaa
Broadway Star Joined: 11/28/04
#13re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 4:24am
He performed the original when he did a few concerts in London last year, it sounded great and he explained the story tonthe audience too.....that was also when we heard a girl from his new 'Thirteen' musical sing a song from the new show.....it was amazing! better than anyof the other 'older' performers! anyway.....
bjivie2
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/04
#14re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 4:32amOh yeah, I remember him talking about Thirteen. What's it about again? When is it coming out?
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#15re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 5:00amI believe that Jason Robert Brown, like Jamie in L5Y, married an actress whose career never quite took off, while his sky-rocketed.
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HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#16re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 9:41amI've heard both songs and I prefer "Shiksa Goddess".
commasplice
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/29/04
#17re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 9:45am
He was married to Theresa O'Neill. Now he's married to Georgia Cate Stitt.
I like them both to varying degrees. I think "Shiksa Goddess" is better in the show, but I love the part of the song that begins "I've got marks to make, I've got steps to climb...".
#18re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 9:57am
Got this from Google:
"Before coming to New York, this production ran into problems dealing with Brown's ex-wife, Theresa O'Neill, who threatened to sue Brown due to the plot of the musical paralleling their own troubled marriage. Lincoln Center Theatre originally was to produce the musical at it's Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, but later dropped it due to disagreements between the theatre and the artist. Marty Bell and Arielle Tepper picked it up only days later and with some small changes in the female character, minimal lyric changes, and a song dropped (only to be replaced by a new song), the show commenced performances in early February at the Minetta Lane Theatre. After a short preview period, the show opened to positive-to-mixed reviews."
Jamie Hat
Broadway Star Joined: 4/5/04
#19re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 10:19am
The name difference was because her name was Kathleen in the Chicago production, then it was changed to just Cathy.
Which version do you guys prefer:
Sherie Rene Scott or Lauren Kennedy?
#20re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 10:22am
I prefer Sherie.
BTW, isn't the character's full name Catherine?
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#21re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 12:23pmThanks for the lyrics, jesseeinstein! I definitely prefer Shiksa Goddess to the original song. No need for Jamie to be so specific in wanting an "Irish" girl. Also interesting to see that she was originally Kathleen rather than Catherine. As to the show's even-handedness, Jamie starts thinking about other women immediately after their marriage and ultimately cheats on her but Cathy is also depicted as someone less talented (or at least less determined) than her husband and unable to deal with his greater success. Certainly Jason Robert Brown doesn't make Jamie a saint. In fact, he's pretty hard on the character/himself.
timote316
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
#22re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 1:30pm
Whatever the case, "Shiksa Goddess" is one of my favorite songs in that show, so I'm ok with it 
#23re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:14pm
Her entire name has always been (K)Cathleen...One thing I miss in the Chicago production was that Jamie rarely called her by her name. He would call her "Angel." In lines like "I'll be there soon Angel...Just finish up this chapter and be out the door... I swear I'll be there soon Angel..." So it isn't only until the end when he is writing the letter that he says "You had my back agaisn't the wall Kathleen.." I thought it was a smart decision on Mr. Brown.
Small little ditty there- but it adds a lot at how things have changed now...
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#24re: Last 5 Years question
Posted: 4/1/05 at 2:30pm
Sorry to be a sticker, but it is Catherine, not Kathleen. You can check the MTI Casting information at their website. Anyway, you were fortunate to have seen the original Chicago production!
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