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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#1
Posted: 5/30/12 at 1:45pm
"Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has just announced that Jason Robert Brown’s musical THE LAST FIVE YEARS has been added to the company’s upcoming 2012-2013 season. The musical, which has not been seen in New York City since its brief off-Broadway run over ten years ago, will be directed by Mr. Brown..."

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Jason-Robert-Brown-to-Direct-THE-LAST-FIVE-YEARS-at-Second-Stage-in-Spring-2013-20120530

I'd love to see Santino Fontana as Jamie opposite Elizabeth Stanley as Cathy.

Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 5/30/12 at 01:45 PM
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#2
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:06pm
Extremely excited about this and all, but isn't their mission to do new works...

Artistic Mission (http://www.2st.com/about_2st/mission)

Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre. Founded in 1979 to produce "second stagings" of contemporary plays, Second Stage Theatre has expanded its mission to include the development and production of new plays and the creation of programs that nurture young theatre artists. This commitment has manifested itself in many ways, from presenting new productions to providing long-term residencies for playwrights, directors, composers and lyricists.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#2
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:06pm
Why do I have this gut feeling that 2st wants "The last 5 years" in the Hayes as their inaugural production, since it would almost guarentee them a Tony Award for Best Score...there has to be some clause in their contract for the Hayes that allows them to evict Rock of Ages after x amount of years or at least start collecting rent from them.
*this is technically a second staging of The Last 5 years so they still following their mission statement*
Updated On: 5/30/12 at 02:06 PM
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#3
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:09pm
Would it be eligible for Best Score?
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#4
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:38pm
I don't think so. It's become something of a staple among theater lovers and auditioners. ASSASSINS wasn't nominated for Score in its "Broadway Premier" in 2004.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#5
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:44pm
I don't think any company picks its season in order to "almost guarantee" Tony awards. And, in any case, this show would be almost certainly ineligible for Best Score.
No good can possibly come from using this vast wasteland of error and deliberate deceit. You should get off of it and warn others away. You should make sure your children and grandchildren know what a corrupt and morally bankrupt institution it truly is.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#6
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:45pm
They're doing it at their current theatre, right? Not on Broadway? Because I doubt their renovations would be finished by spring 2013.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#7
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:50pm
Rock of Ages isn't rent free now...of courst 2nd Stage would begin collecting rent from them...as soon as they are officially the owners.

Legally, they would have to honor the contract they have with the current owners.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#8
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:52pm
i retract my statement about the the last 5 years score, I have spent the past 20 min trying to find something to support it and there is nothing. But I still believe that 2ST will most certainly wants to begin their Broadway run with a BANG. If TL5Y is produced on broadway they can argue that Starmites premiered off Broadway in 1980, and was still eligible for best musical in 1989, especially if JRB reworks it even in the slightest.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#9
Posted: 5/30/12 at 2:53pm
Lauren Kennedy and Santino Fontana, please.

(If only Brian D'arcy James was younger.... Damn, he'd sing the heck out of it.)

"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
Updated On: 5/30/12 at 02:53 PM
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#10
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:00pm
Kennedy is 40...and she DEFINITELY wasn't passing as a teen/twenties in VANITIES.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#11
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:01pm
It just feels so.... Roundabout of them to slip away from their mission for a popular show. Have they done other revivals?

http://www.2st.com/about_2st/mission
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#12
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:11pm
I would love to see this.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#13
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:14pm
No this is the 2nd New York Staging of The Last 5 years which is fully within their original mission statement.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#14
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:15pm
SexyPants88, they do revivals all the time. They just did HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE this past season alone.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#15
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:18pm
Kennedy can't pass for 30? I haven't seen her live in ages, so I can't say.

Some call Raven.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#16
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:20pm
She seemed way too mature when she did VANITIES, where her character ages from 18-30. I'd like to see someone in the role whose age range more closely adheres with the character. (Also, it would be great if they chose someone who hasn't already done the role).

Morgan James?
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#17
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:28pm
Oooooh, I like that idea! Morgan would sing the heck out of it.

Brandi Burkhardt? Kate Shindle?
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#18
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:37pm
Let the casting begin!

First choice would be Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Spencer.

Second would be Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#19
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:37pm
Cathy is a very difficult role to cast. While the actress who plays her looks like an ingenue, she has to be able to pull off a stirring ballad like "Still Hurting" and a quirky character piece like "A Summer in Ohio" in equal proportion. The women who can do that are few and far between.

People like Morgan James and Kate Shindle would sing the score beautifully, but I don't think either carries anywhere near the dramatic weight to pull off the role from an acting standpoint. Names like Elizabeth Stanley, Laura Benanti, Betsy Wolfe, and Teal Wicks are much more appealing.

Stew, Lea Michele? Really? Jamie sings a song about Cathy called "Shiksa Goddess." Lea Michele could not be further from looking like anything remotely resembling a shiksa.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 5/30/12 at 03:37 PM
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#20
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:40pm
I like the idea of Teal Wicks, actually, though I can't say her acting ability really stood out to be in Wicked or The Blue Flower. I wouldn't discount Morgan's acting ability--she's a very strong actress who hasn't always taken the best of roles.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Updated On: 5/30/12 at 03:40 PM
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#21
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:41pm
Ok fine, good point. Megan Hilty then.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#22
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:42pm
Would Laura Osnes be free around this time or not? If so my vote is for her to play cathy and Aaron Tveit to be Jamie.
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#23
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:49pm
random, back on the ethnicity front, Jamie's Jewish identity is a defining aspect of his character. Blonde haired, blue eyed Aaron Tveit is the poster child for the Aryan race.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 5/30/12 at 03:49 PM
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Jason Robert Brown to Direct THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage#24
Posted: 5/30/12 at 3:50pm
please keep Lea as far away from this as possible.

Laura B, however, is an interesting thought.

BroadwayBoobs: I'll give all of you who weren't there a hint of who took the pictures ...it rhymes with shameless

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