"The Last Five Years" is an autobiographical musical tracing the relationship of writer "Jamie" and aspiring actress "Cathy. Perhaps it was a little too autobiographical, because the inspiration for "Cathy" threatened legal action against playwright Jason Robert Brown, alleging that the musical mirrored her life to closely and violated the terms of their divorce decree. Brown altered the lyrics to a song in order to avoid legal trouble. Ah, the perils of writing, (and getting involved with a writer.) The play employs an interesting narrative device. Jamie's story is told in chronological order, while Cathy's is told in reverse, (I must confess that I lost track of the timeline occasionally.)
My favorite song was the devastating opener "I'm Still Hurting" a raw look at the broken heart of a person left behind. (I must note that the piano in some songs drowned out bits of dialogue, I hope that they have made slight adjustments since Opening Night.)
What's most interesting about "The Last Five Years" is that Cathy was willing to sue over her portrayal, and yet her character is the more sympathetic one. Which means that the most admirable thing about "The Last Five Years" is Brown's willingness to look far less than perfect. Not many of us would be willing to do that, and that is worth seeing.
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