Although the stage still belongs to This is Our Youth, the office at Playhouse on Park is slowly being taken over by the next offering in our summer season: The Last Five Years. As one show takes a bow and another prepares to open its curtain, I'm observing the theatre in an odd state of fluctuating transition.
But first, let's wrap up This is Our Youth. Having seen this show in preview and having spoken to one of its fabulous actors, I am very attached to this piece and will be sad to see it go. So sad, in fact, that I had to see it once
again before it left! Last night I extended my work day a few hours longer to usher for the show and inevitably treated myself to another full viewing. The second viewing of the show was not as riveting as the first, but only because I knew what to expect during the climax and the ending. In my new seat I got a great view of Dennis' back (which was sadly unexpressive) but I also a received wide array of facial expressions from Jessica. In general, though, I was highly impressed with the consistency the actors showed and their dedication to entertaining the audience while making them feel everything the characters felt.
But I was an audience member on the lookout. While watching This is Our Youth a second time, I tried to match up some of the newspaper reviewers' comments with what I saw. For example, in the Examiner, reviewer Andrew Beck mentions Jessica's "quirky, teenage shorthand" and Dennis' expressive shoe-tying, both of which I picked up on last night. Beck also states that Dennis' second-act performance "veers toward unconvincing hysteria," but I have to disagree with that. It was very convincing.
So despite the special place that Warren, Dennis and Jessica will always have in my heart, this week a soundtrack CD found its way into my hand: the soundtrack for The Last Five Years. While simultaneously reading over the script and listening to the soundtrack, I realized that this is a musical that people can and will get into. The songs are not cheesy and don't have that conventional Broadway glitz that makes so many musicals sound the same. The Last Five Years has two very real characters that seem to participate in life's activities quite authentically. Hopefully watching their romance wax and wane will be as enjoyable as watching Warren stutter through a Norse pick-up line.
The Last Five Years, by Jason Robert Brown, will run at Playhouse on Park June 16-27. Directed by Kyle Fabel, the show stars Broadway performers Carey Anderson and Jeff Scot Carey as Catherine and Jamie - the romantic couple of interest. The music director is Colin Britt, a graduate of Hartford's very own Hartt School of Music who recently completed his Masters of Music degree at Yale.
In one of this week's odd overlapping moments, Carey and Kyle attended last night's performance of This is Our Youth. I got to introduce myself to the Broadway star herself, and planted a seed for next week's blog posts: interviews with the cast of The Last Five Years! Be on the lookout for these interviews next week and have a great, sun-filled weekend.
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