Sometimes Life Moves Backwards and Forwards

Reviewed by Mary Alderson

Sometimes our lives just seem to be flying by so quickly. We are moving forward at a rapid rate. Then, sometimes, when all is wonderful, life stands still for a few glorious moments. But other times, we are struggling and life feels like it’s moving backwards. We just aren’t getting ahead.

I don’t necessarily believe that this was the message that Jason Robert Brown was delivering when he wrote The Last Five Years. But somehow, this was what the production on the Firehouse Stage at Thousand Island Playhouse brought to my mind.

The musical has only two characters, Jamie and Cathy, and it’s all about their relationship – falling in love, getting married, breaking up. But there’s a catch you need to know in order to really understand what’s happening: Cathy starts telling the story in the present, and then she works her way back reliving the last five years. At the same time, Jamie describes their relationship, starting when he first fell in love with Cathy five years ago and moving forward.

The opening scene is set in the present and Cathy is heartbroken over the end of their marriage. On their table, she finds a note from Jamie and his wedding ring. He’s gone.

In the next scene it’s five years in the past, Jamie is happy and head-over-heels in love with her as the relationship begins.

Later, Jamie is increasingly unhappy with Cathy, while she moves back through their blissful early days together. The action flips back and forth between the two characters, until the middle of the show, when they are on stage together at the time of their wedding. It’s the only time they are seen together, and it may be the only moment when they are both gloriously in love.

In spite of the strange shifts in time, The Last Five Years does an excellent job of exploring a relationship. And even though we know immediately that it ends badly, we are still invested, wanting to know what went wrong and why. Few shows would be able to get an audience’s full attention after revealing the end first.

Jamie’s work as a writer is taking off, while Cathy is struggling with her career as an actress. The audience is led on a few twists and turns – who do we blame for the failure of the marriage? Is it because she’s too possessive and jealous, or is he too wrapped up in his writing and the high life that comes with his success? Writer and music composer Jason Robert Brown gives the stories authenticity and has the audience engaged by telling the story though song.

Both actors keep us spellbound as their fate unfolds. Both are very natural and both convey their vulnerability. At the time of their wedding, they have compelling chemistry. The audience feels their attraction to each other and the sparks fly.

Tess Benger is perfect as Cathy. She immediately steals our hearts with her song “Still Hurting” as she pulls her suitcase, leaving her home. Benger also gets to have some fun with “Summer in Ohio”, as she sarcastically sings about performing in summer stock theatre.

James Daly is also perfect as Jamie. His happiness in the opening is contagious. Even though she’s not Jewish, Cathy is the one for him, as he sings in “Shiksa Goddess”. As a writer, he has fun telling the story in “The Schmuel Song”. And then there’s the heartbreaking moment when we find him in bed with another woman where he sings “Nobody Needs to Know”.

Both Benger and Daly have beautiful voices, whether belting the songs or singing sweetly in a touching moment. Both have mastered the art of making the lyrics easily understandable and furthering the plot with the songs.

The set is minimal, but providing more than enough to illustrate the story. On one end is their apartment with a vintage chrome kitchen table and two chairs, plus a Murphy bed. The other end is the outdoors, where they can ride a scooter or sit on a park bench. The lighting shows us who is telling the story at the moment, with the other person in shadows in the background.

Once you realize where each character is in the relationship, you can sit back and take in their brilliant acting skills and their rich singing, learning the story through the splendid songs. Just tell everyone who’s thinking of going to the show that Cathy moves the story backward, while Jamie carries it forward! And it would help if that information was published on the cover of the program.

The Last Five Years continues at the Thousand Island Playhouse, Gananoque until August 30. Tickets are available by calling 613-382-7020 or visit https://www.1000islandsplayhouse.com/whats-on/

Photo: 1. James Daly as Jamie. Photo by Garrett Elliott. 2. Tess Benger as Cathy. Photo by James Paddle-Grant.

The Last Five Years
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Brett Christopher
Musical Direction by Patrick Bowman
Performed by Tess Benger and James Daly
Firehall Theatre, Thousand Island Playhouse, Gananoque
August 4 to 30, 2026
Reviewed by Mary Alderson