Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS at PumpHouse Theatre Auckland

The modern musical The Last Five Years (2001) is a powerful and imaginatively constructed performance piece by Jason Robert Brown (heavily inspired by his own failed first marriage). It’s real, raw, honest and romantic — with an engaging perspective twist in the narrative. Recently also on Broadway in New York, this is a rare opportunity to have theatre of a polished professional standard right here in Auckland. Congratulations to the imaginative and deft direction by Jack Hanrahan and producers Rose Stretton and Logan McAllster for taking this bold and courageous step. This is a show you definitely should take the opportunity to get along to see — easily accessible at the PumpHouse Theatre, Auckland.

At its core is a powerful conflict between personal creative ambition with career development and disappointments and the impact of love on those. It’s an intimate insight into the rise and fall of the marriage between struggling performer Cathy (Rose Stretton) “And then he smiles and nothing else makes sense …and I am a part of that” and the rise of the young novelist Jamie (Logan McAlister) and what happens when his career blossoms. “How can you sit there and see me crying and not do anything at all.” It is clear that career ranks as high with Jamie as the relationship does. The narrative's perspective serves to support an unusually effective contrast and balance in its musicality. The positive is presented alongside the negative. The lyrics of the songs are well-written and although we already know the relationship is doomed, we are definitely engaged into seeing the “how” and “why” rather than the “what”. "This show can be confronting at times, the characters make so many mistakes, and they’re so swept up in their love for each other. It feels incredibly universal — if you’ve ever loved anything before, you’ll find a character, a moment, or a song that hits you right where it hurts. You just keep thinking, ‘I hope these two make it out with their hearts intact.’” (Rose Stretton)

Jamie’s story is told in the expected chronological order beginning with rapture and delight whilst Cathy’s story unravels from the painful breakdown of the relationship. Her first song Still Hurting immediately cements her hurt, the despair, the pain. Outstanding and captivating work from Stretton and McAlister who demonstrate such an impressive breadth and depth of performance skill not only in their range of genres, but also the vital connection that captures the psychological and emotional truth of the pair. There’s hilarious comedy in The Schmuel Song, the despair every disappointed auditionee experiences, and the commitment and tenderness of The Next Ten Minutes, and then the challenge to resist temptation when married in Nobody Needs to Know.

Originally just two characters /singers with stories that connect just once in their wedding (and often critically reviewed as such), Jack Hanrahan had a much bigger vision for his version. The narrative is layered with creative circumvention and developments in staging, placing both actors in all the scenes, keeping a feeling of continuity through costuming and lighting , and the inspired addition of an ensemble which brought the tale to life This ensemble works to ensure that every song has its own scene and ensures that the narrative is vivid and expressive. The ensemble (Tim Hoskins, Rebecca Dreyer, Will Stretton, Georgia Smith, David Tuitama, Pearl Stretton) are not only superbly choreographed by Pearl Stretton to enhance the storyline ; they also become convincing party-goers, the chorus line, the other auditionees, the enthusiastic book buyers and so on. Talented work from each and all as dancers and actors.

Skilled performances from the band (Emily Young, Josh Williams, Tilly Harvey, Dylan Hadfield, Bridie Pirie) with adept musical direction from Logan Hunt. Well-positioned and well-paced action, a superbly crafted interpretation, credible characterisation and artistic performances, clever set design, detailed props, innovative direction all coalesce to bring this production effectively to life. It’s only on for a week and well worth getting along to see.