Calling all StageSider’s, welcome back to a review of The Last Five Years, streamed from BroadwayHD. This is a streamed version of the Southwark Playhouse performance, which was released over lockdown.
About The Last Five Years.
This musical is one of my personal favourites. Premiering in Chicago in 2001, and rejuvenated by Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick in the 2014 movie musical version, this show has some amazing songs and some really touching moments. This musical allows the audience to observe a dysfunctional relationship as time elapses.
Over a 5 year span, this relationship goes through it all. Saucy dates, romantic celebrations and a well placed breakup that returns us back to the very beginning. This cyclical piece is predictable and yet so beautifully written with moments of comedy, raw sadness, betrayal and ‘did he really just do that’.
The Stream.
In the stream, Molly Lynch plays Cathy and Oli Higginson plays Jamie. Jamie and Cathy are a rather odd pairing, but one that leads to a beautiful evening of entertainment. Lynch and Higginson, directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, play these roles really well, and compliment each other musically and in terms of character.
Their ability to jump into character and then seamlessly engage with the score of the piece, by playing piano or ukulele, is awesome. Their characters are complex and yet beautifully simple, the music is catchy and yet technical, the show is beautiful yet hard to watch. And all of this streamed into my living room. They had no right to provide me with such emotional content… but I love that they have!
This is one to watch, if you have access to BroadwayHD, or if you live in London, watch this show at the Garrick Theatre. (Which I may or may not have done, and a review may be published about it soon!)
The Rating?
I give this stream five out of five stars. This rating is based on it being a stream and not a live performance. But honestly, there was nothing I would have changed. Absolutely perfect in my opinion.
Have you seen The Last Five Years? What did you think? Is this one to watch over and over again, or is once enough? Let me know in the comments and let’s get a discussion going.
As always, please be respectful of each other’s opinions and be kind to each other. I completely respect and value everyone that worked on this stream. We need to remember that these are people with feelings. Let’s treat them with respect. Bullying will not be tolerated and harmful language will be removed.
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