I’ve got a feeling— things are moving way too fast! And by things I mean the weekends left in this 2022 calendar where you can see The Last Five Years at Greenbelt Arts Center! It’s the first, fully staged, live, in-person production since January of 2020 and it’s a sensational one. Directed by Meg Nemeth, with Musical Direction by Rolanda Brown, this emotionally astonishing musical is a two-person show weaving the experience of a relationship over the last five years between Jamie and Cathy. Written and composed by Jason Robert Brown, The Last Five Years is unique in that the narrative of the couple’s relationship unfolds in two timelines— one starting at the end, as told by Cathy, and one starting at the beginning, as told by Jamie.
Jack, Jill, and boss of all trades, Director Meg Nemeth wears many hats for this production, including that of Set Designer and Set Painter, in addition to her directorial hand in the show. Nemeth’s scenic development for the show cuts a striking aesthetic. The painted backdrop is an oversized bookcase, where each book spine is really a song title, alluding to the fact that this couple’s relationship is the story of their lives. The centerpiece of this book mural is an open book— a reflection of the discovery of one’s relationship— that has the show’s midway-point number painted onto the top edge. This becomes symbolic and significant as it is the only true song in which the characters share an official duet. Nemeth has an enormous clockface painted onto the floor of the stage as well and the overall color scheme features alluring monochromatic whites, blacks, and grays— blurring the lines of what is and what isn’t in the reality that is and isn’t Jamie and Cathy. It’s quite the breathtaking setup and rather a step above what one might expect for scenery when it comes to a community theatre musical.
Complimenting the monochromatic aesthetic, with vivacious pops and bursts of color is the work of Costume Designer Valerie Mikles. While there are some sobering colors, predominantly featured on the Jamie character the closer he gets to the end of his narrative, there are bunches of radiant moments in Mikles’ sartorial selections, particularly when it comes to the lime-green and blue Star of David-printed ‘ugly Hanukkah sweater’ seen on Jamie and the more fashionable pieces featured in Cathy’s wardrobe toward the end of her narrative. Mikles highlights the diverse ending of the play— Jamie’s timeline has worked its way forward to the end while Cathy’s has rewound hers to the beginning— and it is beyond mere coincidence that Mikles has attired Jamie in stoic black while keeping Cathy in gloriously vibrant, sunshine-hopeful yellow.
Having a live two-person musical pit on stage might be an issue if it were not under the fastidious direction of Rolanda Brown. While Meg Nemeth’s cleverly designed bookshelves (the real kind not the glorious painted mural ones on her backdrop) serve not only as furniture in Cathy and Jamie’s apartment but they act as a barrier while to somewhat conceal the musicians. Brown skillfully balances the sound of the live music (her on piano and Ethan Hart on guitar and bass) in a way that fully supports the singers without overpowering or drowning them out. It really is a remarkable feat given the acoustics of the Greenbelt Arts Center’s stage and the fact that there is virtually no buffer to absorb any of the live music as it radiates outward into the space. Brown, in addition to having exacting balancing skills, masterfully plays through Jason Robert Brown’s score as if she wrote the thing herself. It is a thrilling display of her musical skillset in addition to sounding divine. (There should also be a nod here to Sound Designer Jim Adams, whose background blends— like the lapping waters at the pier just before “See I’m Smiling”— are subtle, balanced, and quite clever.)
Director Meg Nemeth has done something that is not all that uncommon when it comes to The Last Five Years; she’s split the casting (as it is only a two-person show) and the casts— Book Cast (performing on Nov 4, 6, 12, 18— Matt Wetzel & AnnaBelle Lowe) & Clock Cast (performing on Nov 5, 11, 13, 19— Joshua Nettinga & Ashley Rudy)— rotate throughout the run of the production. The review herein pertains to Book Cast (Wetzel & Lowe) but it can presumed that Nemeth has found equally talented individuals to play the roles of Jamie and Cathy for the ‘Clock Cast.’ As the show’s director, the emotional fortitude of the story, which is really two stories, is brought immediately to the forefront of every musical number. You get both sides of the squishy, romantic pancake that is Jamie & Cathy and never is there a moment where vocal vivacity is serviced instead of narrative honesty. Nemeth has done an extraordinary job of finding talented performers who can not only sing the living emotional daylights out of Jason Robert Brown’s brilliant music and lyrics but convey raw, true emotional expressions in a narrative fashion while doing so. (Some of these scenes are augmented by the work of Lighting Designer Jason Kanow; the most striking one that comes to mind is the end of Cathy’s “I’m A Part of That” where one by one as she repeats that notion the lights go out, because the delusion that she’s been trying to convince herself of is fading; it’s a brilliant moment.)
A more perfectly matched pair for the roles of Jamie (Matt Wetzel) and Cathy (AnnaBelle Lowe) seems inconceivable. Everything from the giddy twirl where the pass each other on stage during the overture to the way they depart the stage in opposite directions at the end, and all of the singing to the invisible other in-between is one of the most sensationally expressive and utterly truthful theatrical experiences that this reviewer has had post-pandemic. (And let’s be clear— I’ve been in the room where it’s happened for Hamilton. Twice.) One might think that fabricating chemistry between two performers is simple enough, but the added challenge that accompanies Wetzel and Lowe is that for 90% of The Last Five Years, the other person in the relationship is not on the stage. What’s so extraordinary about Wetzel and Lowe’s performance is that when they are singing solo— be it overly elated joy or soul-crushing despair, their emotional output is so intense that you feel as if their opposing character is right there beside them. Wetzel and Lowe deliver chemistry and emotional fortitude twice over in flawless spades, bringing not only their respective character of Jamie and Cathy alive in the moment that they are singing but also with such strength and conviction that they manifest the essence and energy of the other just beside them despite being on the stage alone. It’s mind-blowing.
AnnaBelle Lowe is selling the character of Cathy to the audience like her life depends on it; you feel every heartache and headache as well as each felicitous joy as if you were living them yourself. The powerhouse vocals that Lowe brings to the role are on some other-planetary level. There’s singing and then there’s whatever phenomenal thing she’s doing with her voice that gives you pitch perfection, bell-clarity tone, and emotional drive with articulation and even some dancing in some numbers. I find it difficult to find an accurate amount of words to really do Lowe’s performance justice. When she belts out what is arguably the second-funniest (although if she were playing opposite of anyone other than Matt Wetzel, it could be said that “A Summer in Ohio” trumps “The Schmuel Song” as far as wit, humor, and flat-out comedy) number in the production— “A Summer in Ohio”— you get this lively vaudeville sense and style radiating in spades not only out through her voice and animated facial expressions but through her body and her dance routine as well. Lowe puts the raw viscera of Cathy’s devastated heart on full display during “Still Hurting”, the audience’s introduction to the Cathy character. The way she simultaneously portrays what it is like to be so in love with someone while also actively enraged, annoyed, and infuriated by them is a spot-on account of every person who has ever had the experience of loving someone and this reflects sensationally in Lowe’s facial expressions as well as her vocal presentation, particularly during “I’m a Part of That.” A knockout sensation in the role, AnnaBelle Lowe deftly navigates the tempestuous rollercoaster ride that is Cathy’s relationship experience, with a voice that connects so solidly and so clearly to these numbers on both a technical and emotional level that you cannot help but be in awe of her performance.
Matt Wetzel, channeling his patented indefatigable freneticism directly into Jamie’s soul, is a triple-threat tackling this character. He sings, he acts, he dances, and he delivers comedy like no other when barreling through this speedy 90-minute* theatrical extravaganza. The aforementioned “Schmuel Song” is one of several numbers wherein Wetzel’s vocal versatility is on display. Stylistically, emotionally, tonally, Wetzel delivers unimaginable perfection in a show that feels as if it were designed to specifically and personally showcase his talent. The jaw-dropping moment of simplistic honesty that brings the waterworks to your eyes is during “The Next Ten Minutes.” Wetzel sings this vocally-dialed-back number just presenting Jamie and all his heart as simplistically as possible; it’s a power-punch right to the heart and soul and you feel, as they say, ‘all the feels.’ You get that exact sensation, except bursting with harrowing brutality in your gut, when he delivers “Nobody Needs To Know” and “If I Didn’t Believe In You.” You’ll bust your ribs with laughter when it comes to watching Wetzel sling his body all over the stage during “Shiksa Goddess” and also “Moving Too Fast.” There is something indescribable about the way Wetzel absorbs not only the tempo of a song but its overall verve, filtering it back out through his striking vocal cords and really delivering it to the audience as if he’s the first person to ever sing it and give it musical life. A tremendous success in the role of Jamie, Matt Wetzel is phenomenal beyond compare.
It’s definitely better than a summer in Ohio, with midget, the stripper, and Wayne the snake— you won’t want to miss GAC’s The Last Five Years! Get your tickets for this stellar performance and enjoy this decidedly stunning musical before you blink and it has vanished into the theatrical ether forever.
Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes with one intermission
The Last Five Years plays through November 19, 2022 at the Greenbelt Arts Center— 123 Centerway in Greenbelt, MD. For tickets call the box office at 301-441-8770 or purchase them in advance online.
*Greenbelt Arts Center has added one intermission to The Last Five Years
