"In memory everything seems to happen to music." Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie
I love memory plays. There is a different type of emotional resonance with memory than we normally experience in the theater. Ultimately, this is a play about searching for closure, and because of its unique structure, The Last Five Years pulls very strongly from two variations on remembered experience. Jamie remembers from the beginning so he can experience the full story before finally saying goodbye. Cathy, on the other hand, is searching for the understanding she needs to move on. She travels backwards through the relationship, searching for clues as to where the cracks had opened. Processing and memory are not universal constants, and I think that Jason Robert Brown, beyond just writing incredible music and lyrics, has hit upon a throughline that is much deeper and more resonant than the individual pieces. And for a director that's a wonderful path to follow.
Every theater company has a few white whales. There are a lot of shows that don't end up in front of an audience for whatever reason, most are only known to a handful of people. Sometimes you say okay and move on, and sometimes you decide to hold on for later. I've been holding on to this show for over a decade and 5 or 6 attempts to get it to the stage. In fact, the Christmas tree you'll see on the set was bought for eventual use in this show in 2010. There have been many things that got in the way, including an ongoing pandemic that shut down a March 2020 production we had been planning to unleash as a surprise for the audience. But sometimes waiting on your dreams can be a good thing. Sam's incredible performance, Zachary's assured musical direction and beautiful accompaniment, and this stunning set which came out of our partnership with Green Theatre Now are all the latest additions to a magical show and wouldn't have existed in the past. It's been a long time coming, and I'm so happy that New Muses finally has this show on the stage.
Thank you for being in the audience. Thank you for being vaccinated and getting us back to live performance. Enjoy the show.
-Niclas Olson
I love memory plays. There is a different type of emotional resonance with memory than we normally experience in the theater. Ultimately, this is a play about searching for closure, and because of its unique structure, The Last Five Years pulls very strongly from two variations on remembered experience. Jamie remembers from the beginning so he can experience the full story before finally saying goodbye. Cathy, on the other hand, is searching for the understanding she needs to move on. She travels backwards through the relationship, searching for clues as to where the cracks had opened. Processing and memory are not universal constants, and I think that Jason Robert Brown, beyond just writing incredible music and lyrics, has hit upon a throughline that is much deeper and more resonant than the individual pieces. And for a director that's a wonderful path to follow.
Every theater company has a few white whales. There are a lot of shows that don't end up in front of an audience for whatever reason, most are only known to a handful of people. Sometimes you say okay and move on, and sometimes you decide to hold on for later. I've been holding on to this show for over a decade and 5 or 6 attempts to get it to the stage. In fact, the Christmas tree you'll see on the set was bought for eventual use in this show in 2010. There have been many things that got in the way, including an ongoing pandemic that shut down a March 2020 production we had been planning to unleash as a surprise for the audience. But sometimes waiting on your dreams can be a good thing. Sam's incredible performance, Zachary's assured musical direction and beautiful accompaniment, and this stunning set which came out of our partnership with Green Theatre Now are all the latest additions to a magical show and wouldn't have existed in the past. It's been a long time coming, and I'm so happy that New Muses finally has this show on the stage.
Thank you for being in the audience. Thank you for being vaccinated and getting us back to live performance. Enjoy the show.
-Niclas Olson
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