Greendale Community Theatre’s opening night of The Last Five Years took the stage last night at Greendale High School. The production of the show was simple – with minimalist set, props and costumes – but that made room for the emotion and the talent of the actors to come through in full force.
The musical, which premiered in Chicago in 2001 and then moved to Off-Broadway in 2002, has been performed throughout the U.S. and around the world many times. It was also adapted for film in 2014. Greendale Community Theatre has two casts performing the show, running this weekend only.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
The show follows successful novelist Jaime Wellerstein (Daniel Persino) and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt (Jamie Mercado) as they fall in love, get married and, eventually, break up. The story is told from each of their perspectives, but his side of the story is told from the beginning of their relationship to the end, and hers is told from the end to the beginning. The audience watches the two perspectives simultaneously; the only time we see both actors on stage singing together is in the middle point, singing “The Next 10 Minutes,” when they are getting married.
Mercado’s clear, bright voice filled the room in the opening song, “I’m Still Hurting,” the first of many impressive vocal performances from her. “A Summer in Ohio” let the actress show her comedic side, sipping boxed wine on a picnic blanket and singing about all the horrible things about being in Ohio. I also loved her rendition of “When You Come Home,” in which Cathy is auditioning for musicals by singing a bar cut of the song, except we hear all of her internal thoughts during the audition instead of the actual lyrics to the song.
Persino’s voice was also great, but his stage presence captured the audience’s attention, as he swaggered around the stage bringing Jamie to life with ease. A great example of this was in “The Schmuel Song,” where he plays three characters as he tells Cathy a silly story that turns into a parable about how he believes in her. Persino flawlessly switched between the characters, and it was really fun to watch. He also brought out his serious side in “If I Didn’t Believe in You,” where he’s fighting with Cathy and “Nobody Needs to Know,” in which he grapples with the anxiety of his relationship falling apart.
Overall, there were many points in the performance that gave me chills. And the story is one that sticks with you – a passionate love that can’t last, won’t last, because two people are at different stages of their life. If you can brave the snow this weekend to see it, I definitely recommend you do.
The Last Five Years runs through Sunday, Jan. 14. The Friday night performance has been rescheduled to Saturday at 4:30 p.m. See website for updates. Tickets are available online. Greendale Community Theatre is also collecting donations for the Friends of Greendale Public Library at the performances.
