Love and loss often coexist, meeting to create a story that has been lived over and over again across time. From that individually unique, yet commonplace human experience comes a narrative: one relatable to most and foreign to few.
“The Last Five Years,” a musical written by Jason Robert Brown, explores that experience, chronicling a five-year relationship between characters Jamie, a successful novelist, and Cathy, a struggling actress. In those five years a relationship begins, blossoms, flounders and ends, but not necessarily in that order.
Inspired by the writer’s own failed marriage, the story follows Cathy in reverse chronological order, beginning with the end of their marriage, and Jamie in chronological order, starting at the beginning of the relationship. The two never interact face to face until their timelines intersect in a fleeting moment of togetherness.
“The Last Five Years” was adapted to film in 2015 and starred Maine actress Anna Kendrick, but it’s time for a couple of other Maine residents to fill the roles.
The Penobscot Theatre Company will stage “The Last Five Years” from March 10-27, featuring two production regulars, Dominick Varney and Brianne Beck, who will hold the stage with songs of love and loss, taking audiences on a journey that is separate from their own experience and a part of it.
Varney and Beck, who have been friends for more than 20 years, will bring an already personal relationship to the stage while depicting the journey of the characters in this story.
“Dominick and I have been best friends for 23-ish years, and I like to think that romantic relationships are based on initial friendship and a lot of those qualities you have in a friendship also relate to your romantic relationships,” Beck said. “The scenes where Jamie is talking about supporting Cathy and vice versa — that’s what friends do for each other and what we have done for each other.”
Varney expressed that the directing of the performance, done by Michele Colvin, has been important in fostering the already-established relationship between he and Beck and letting it bring Jamie and Cathy to life.
“The challenge for me was to make sure I put myself in each of their shoes before I did their scenes. Because their scenes are separate, it’s very easy for me, as a woman, to fall into her story. You can’t just be Cathy; you have to be Jamie, too. As a director you have to flip back and forth and be involved with both of the characters sincerely,” Colvin said.
“The stories are told separately, and I think that what could happen in directing this show and with people who don’t necessarily know each other is that their songs, since they’re so separate, just become about Jamie singing to Cathy. I think what works with this is that you know I’m singing about Brianne. There’s never a thought when you would think I’m ‘acting.’ And that’s because we have an amazing relationship,” Varney said.
Varney and Beck will bring their own experiences to their roles, but they expect the same from the audience.
“The musical is written very minimalistically, and the stories are very separate. You’re guided by the emotions of these characters as they go through their lives backward and forward,” Varney said. “Seeing it live, you draw on your own experiences. The pictures you’re imagining and the conversations you’re imagining and the face Jamie is singing to — you’re imagining what that face looks like because you’ve experienced that before, and it becomes really personal.”
“It’s something that we all relate to on one level or another,” Colvin added.
Beck and Varney are in their 30s and playing the role of 20-somethings. Varney had some reservations at first.
“When we first got offered these roles, we first thought, ‘Wait, aren’t we a little too old for this?’” Varney said. “But we looked up the original cast and the original broadway performance of the show, and they were in their 30s when they did the show.” Varney, Beck and Colvin all thought that was important.
“Possibly, you can’t be living it while you’re playing it. You have to be able to look back and say ‘I remember this,’” Colvin said.
The musical already lends itself to looking back because of its unique timeline, which works backward from one perspective and forward from another simultaneously. The set, designed by Tricia Hobbs, reflects that view of time as well, with a giant clock sitting in the background, reminding audiences of time, even as it becomes fluid and changes throughout the show.
“I think it’s a musical written like a puzzle,” Varney said. “The audience has to put the pieces together. And in the shades of gray moments, they can decide whether their actions were just and necessary or were driven by selfishness and jealousy. It’s up to the audience to decide.”
In a way, Beck and Varney won’t be alone on stage, even when they’re standing up there on their own. They’ll have some backup from live musicians under the direction of music director Ben McNaboe.
“The music carries part of the story and part of the emotion, as well. They’re a character in the play just like them,” Colvin said.
Varney and Beck have been doing vocal training with Tina and Philip Burns of Burns Vocal Arts Music Studio since December, working on technique, stamina and perfecting their vocal abilities. As the only two characters in the story, which has minimal dialogue, “the songs tell the story,” as Beck said.
“One of our favorite kinds of work is this work — with actors,” Tina Burns said of she and her husband’s time with Varney and Beck. “They really dig in with everything they’ve got.”
“One of the things I found really interesting is that everything that you will ever have to do as a musical theatre artist presents itself in these roles,” Burns said. “All of the technical requirements that are hard to navigate are there.” From head voice to chest voice to mixed voice and more, the demands of the role were varied and intricate.
“I think of Jason Robert Brown’s music and the requirements of this role being like the Mozart of musical theatre,” Burns said. Burns also complimented the work of Colvin as a director and her special attention to the choreography of the show.
“The movement she’s created for this stage highlights and compliments how these singers use these voices,” Burns said of Colvin. “ It’s so sensitive to what’s required of the role technically.”
Through working on voice with the two for this show, Burns also was reminded of her own journey with her husband and believes everyone in the audience will relate at one point or another.
“There are moments in the show where there’s going to be a line, whether it’s sung or said, that will resonate with every single person in the audience,” she said.
“The Last Five Years” will feature March 10-27 at the Bangor Opera House. For tickets, visit http://boxoffice.printtixusa.com/penobscot/eventcalendar, call 942-3333 or visit the box office at the Bangor Opera House.
