The Last Five Years- Who Do You Think is to Blame?

[asoftplacetoland]

The Last Five Years is one of my absolute, beloved favorites and I love discussing it. So much emotion, so beautiful, so complex. I wanna know y’all’s thoughts.. Jamie or Cathy? Who do you find yourself siding with? Relationships are complicated and sometimes hard to pinpoint what exactly went wrong.. But with Jamie cheating on Cathy, Jamie being selfish, and putting his career right, etc. I find myself sympathizing more with Cathy each and every time. Although, I do find the audience is able to do this easier considering we get her point of view first in “Still Hurting.” It almost feels to me that Cathy is the one telling HER story the whole time.

Thoughts??
BTW, the last thread topic I could find about this was in 2008 so I figure it’s plenty OK to start a new one 10 years later instead of bumping that one.
And if anyone is up for discussing TL5Y just as a whole here, I’m always up for that too.

[TotallyEffed]

I blame Lauren Kennedy.

[barcelona20]

I blame RandomHouse

[Sondheimite]

I blame Jason Robert Brown's Ego. 

[Soaring29]

[Alex Kulak2]

I don't think either is to blame. That's part of why I love The Last Five Years so much - by showing both Jamie and Cathy's point of view at every point of the relationship, we see every choice they make, every thought backed up with their own personal logic, so even if we don't agree with Jamie's adultery or Cathy's jealousy of Jamie's success, we understand all the choices that were made.

If you know the history of the show, you'd think Jason Robert Brown would make Cathy the more unlikable character. Instead, he was able to write a show that represents a couple falling out of love with each other, an action that is far more emotionally devastating than one leaving the other because they're awful.

[GeorgeandDot]

For most of it they're pretty equal, but the second that he cheats on her, he's to blame.

[DooWahDiddy]

I've always called The Last 5 Years "the Oleanna of musical theatre"; a delicate balance that ensures both and neither are to blame.  Obviously the infidelity is the last straw, but something had to lead them there.  Personally, I don't really side with either one of them; it's just a beautiful journey to be taken on. 

[dramamama611]

Yes, she's insecure about her lack of success, but he's wrong. He struggles with infidelity almost immediately...and it's gone on longer (I believe) than revealed.

[MrsSallyAdams]

The infidelity breaks it but there were other problems. It feels like as soon as they marry they stop talking to each other. He leaves for book tours and she leaves for summer stock. They were both at a point in their careers where they had no time for marriage.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

I fully blame Jamie. Yes, Cathy had issues, but they were issues that can be overcome with time and effort and should not lead to the end of a marriage. Jamie is a cheater and was responsible for their downfall. He was not dedicated enough to stick by his wife and try to solve their problems - instead, he looked for fulfillment elsewhere. I could never side with him.

[tomwsjr]

I blame the show itself, it’s such a bore!

[darquegk]

Isn't this ultimately like asking whether the Sharks or the Jets won the West Side gang war?

(The Sharks won, btw.)

[SporkGoddess]

I blame Jamie. In fact, I'm convinced that one of the reasons Cathy was so "resentful" of his success is because she didn't want to tag along at parties where he seemed to always be ignoring her and/or flirting with other women.

She even basically tells him as much and his response is "UGH don't be so jealous of my success." 

[newintown]

My five cents? It’s juvenile heterosexual suburban idiocy. And Brown is a mediocre talent, which makes me wonder why he hasn’t had any popular success.

[jayinchelsea]

Brown mediocre? A ridiculous statement. I admit that I didn't much love the last revival of THE LAST FIVE YEARS, but the film is surprisingly good, and perhaps that has something to do with the casting of Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick. Hard to imagine a two-character musical film working so well, but it does. And while BRIDGES did not have the success it deserved on Broadway, the score was remarkable, and Brown won the Tony for it.

As to your original question, I don't think either of them is to blame. A relationship goes sour, one is the first to be unfaithful outside, and then it is over. Nothing unique about that, although it is sad, and it is Cathy we hear from, having a tough time moving on. Gay or straight, most of us have been there, and yeah, it hurts like hell.

[BellaB2]

Definitely Jamie.

[Elfuhbuh]

“heterosexual suburban idiocy”

As if gay people don’t go through relationship problems, too. Give me a break.