Friday night’s showing of “The Last Five Years” performed to a sold-out venue Friday, despite the student-created holiday weekend State Patty’s Day beginning that evening.
About 60 audience members sat in The State Theatre’s upstairs venue, The Attic. The musical opened with characters, Jamie and Cathy , on stage but living in two different time periods.
Cathy began the show with a goodbye letter and a collapsing marriage while Jamie began, five years previous, with flowers for a first date. The show continued to progress in different time continuums. Jamie moved from the past to present while Cathy began at present day and went backward.
Cathy sang the first song, which explained that the couple’s relationship was officially over. Jamie began the next song and the two went back and forth the entire musical, singing once, in the same year, at their wedding.
The show progressed with Jamie continuing to grow sadder and more frustrated while Cathy became more hopeful.
Each of the characters struggled throughout the musical, not only in their relationship but also in their personal lives. Jamie is an aspiring author and became famous at a very early age, while Cathy is fighting to become an actress but continually felt overshadowed by Jamie’s success.
Students came to see the performance for many reasons, some for class and some for pleasure.
Joan Hamilton said she came for a THEA 100 (The Art of the Theatre) class assignment but was excited to get the chance to see a musical.
“I don’t go to many productions,” Hamilton (senior-economics) said. “This is the first one I’m going to so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Jessika Murray said she was also there for a class but had read up on the show and was really excited to see it.
The way characters tell the story in reverse times was “interesting,” Murray (senior-mechanical engineering) said.
Other students came because they had seen the show before.
Monicka Fosnocht said she had seen the musical before and really loved it. Fosnocht (junior-psychology and neuroscience) said she was looking forward to seeing the performance in such a small venue.
“I’m excited to be so up close,” she said.
The musical had moments of sadness that dealt with serious issues like affairs and the ending of marriages.
Though the show included themes that were somber, there were also many moments where humor was thrown in. The audience was laughing on many occasions.
Because of the small space, both singers performed the show without microphones.
Fosnocht said she had been worried that the singers would be difficult to hear without the use of an amplification system but said that the pair was able to project well.
“I thought [the show] was awesome,” she said. “Both of them had really amazing voices.”
