Company Carolina's "The Last Five Years"
Friday, 8:00 p.m.
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Company Carolina portrayed a beautifully poignant yet witty love story exclusively through song in an intimate performance of Jason Robert Brown's “The Last Five Years" Friday night.
“The Last Five Years” outlines the rise and fall of a loving relationship between Jamie (Simon Wolf) and Cathy (Natalie Myrick), a successful writer and aspiring actress, respectively. Cathy’s narrative begins at the end of their marriage while Jamie’s begins at the couple's first meeting. As their lives unfold in chronological and reverse chronological order, their story lines meet in the middle when Jamie proposes.
The play represents a roller coaster of emotions in such a way that the alternating stories of the couple's relationship contrast in highs and lows. Although there is a point of genuine equilibrium in the middle when the stories meet, for the most part the mood swings from high to low, making for a captivating show in which the audience experiences emotion after emotion as dictated by the actors.
Despite the ultimate sadness of the love story, the show provides many humorous outlets. In the first musical numbers, some comical lyrics failed to receive any chuckles from the audience, but as the show progressed both audience and actors seemed to warm up to one another.
Myrick’s crystal clear and highly emotive voice captured the audience from the first note and held their interest until her last. Her perfectly rye facial expressions and tone inflection also garnered hearty laughs from the audience and made the performance flow. Her comedic style in the number, “A Summer In Ohio,” was especially entertaining, eliciting a delighted reaction from the crowd.
Jamie also delivered an expressive performance with strong vocals and earnest facial expressions, successfully portraying the highest highs and deepest lows his character experienced. Wolf’s comical lyric delivery had the audience laughing just as much as they did at Myrick, notably in his raunchy musical number “A Miracle Would Happen.”
Myrick and Wolf’s onstage chemistry wasn't completely convincing in some of the initial musical numbers, and the proposal scene where the two lovers’ stories converged, concluded with an awkward hug and fell uncomfortably flat. However, as the play progressed the two actors warmed up and harmony between the two was evident both in terms of chemistry and vocals.
The play’s simple scenery allowed the audience to focus solely on the dynamics of the story and the characters. A black backdrop with abstract squares and simple chairs remained onstage through the production with only slight variations per musical number. At times visuals would flash against the backdrop, although this did not complement the characters’ actions onstage. The strength of the actors rendered the visuals unnecessary to the point where they almost detracted from the central spectacle.
The play's orchestra — comprised only of a piano, two cellos, a bass and a violin — beautifully accompanied the onstage narration. The transition between musical numbers was flawless and the combination of the driving piano and whining strings set the mood precisely in each scene, making the music the highlight of the evening.
The small yet powerful orchestra, coupled with the intense dynamics of the two characters, made for an intimate production of a bittersweet and complex love story. Company Carolina truly found success in this emotionally humorous production as they led the audience on the whirlwind romance that is “The Last Five Years.”
arts@dailytarheel.com
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