Blue Canoe’s Last 5 Years Explores The Universality Of Relationships
Similar to all theatre productions in 2020, Blue Canoe’s The Last 5 Years was originally slated for the Juvenis Festival in May of 2020 and cancelled as a result of the pandemic. While the casting of Ian Eddy as Jamie and Jessica Rosales as Cathy remained the same, the original production was set to include three ensemble performers that are no longer part of the production. Fortunately, director Kristen Leboeuf also remained attached to the project. Again, as live theatre slowly starts to emerge, a trend has also materialized. Many productions, such as Theatre Kingston’s The Meeting as well as this one, are both two handers, meaning the cast consists only of two performers. This pattern makes a ton of sense both from an economical standpoint as less actors saves money in a multitude of ways but also from a health standpoint making rehearsals and performances more feasible.
The premise of The Last 5 Years is incredibly simple, but its distinctiveness lies in its execution. The musical, with music, lyrics and book, by musical theatre extraordinaire Jason Robert Brown (13, Parade, Bridges of Madison County) explores the five year relationship between aspiring author Jamie Wellerstein and “shiska goddess” Cathy Hiatt. Yet, while Jamie’s story is told linearly, Cathy’s timeline is told in reverse order. Specifically, Cathy’s story, and the opening number “Still Hurting” begins at the end of their marriage where Jamie’s timeline starts at the onset of their relationship. Essentially, the largely sung-through musical alternates musical numbers between Jamie and Cathy, in highly contrasting points throughout the relationship providing an emotional rollercoaster for both the characters and the audience.
This execution makes the show fascinating as the constant alternation between varying emotional ends of a relationship, the audience never sides with one of the characters and inherently remains neutral throughout the show. In essence, the show is about the rollercoaster that is relationships and the universalism of the story is what makes the show a production favourite globally. As director Kristen Leboeuf notes in the programme, “ I think the reasonI love this show so much is that it feels so real – no bullshit, no fairy tale romances, just real life love and a relationship just not working out”. In essence, it is likely that every audience member will relate to one element of the relationship depicted on-stage, which only proves how universal a story it is.
The production itself was quite minimalist, staged in the Blackbox Theatre at the Grand Theatre. Despite being set in the Blackbox, I still felt that the sets were quite simple. Essentially, they consisted of a table, some chairs, and two doors for the actors to exit and enter through. I felt that a set that was more indicative of the actual setting, as well as set and prop changes would have been useful. This is because I would often have to listen to the lyrics to indicate where the characters were supposed to be, rather than just having the sets indicate the setting.
However, the real star of the production was Jessica Rosales as Cathy. While her acting was strong, but not necessarily mesmerizing, to suggest her vocals were phenomenal would be a massive understatement. Brown’s score is beyond vocally demanding, and not only did Rosales hit each note with ease, the maturity of her vibrato and the depth of her vocal tone for a performer of her age was truly magnificent. Her performance of “A Summer in Ohio”, was not only the best number in the production with the audience wildly roaring at its completion, but was easily on par with the likes of Sherie Rene Scott and Betsy Wolfe, who famously have both played Cathy in New York productions. As well, Ian Eddy, who had previously delighted Kingston audiences with his performance as LeFou in Queen’s Musical Theatre’s Beauty and The Beast, played Jamie with humour, sincerity and a light-heartedness, and fully delivered with his performance. However, matching Rosales’s vocals would be a difficult task for any performer, and franky, Cathy’s vocal score is more interesting and nuanced than Jamie’s.
As a whole, while elements of the production itself felt lackluster, the strong performances from the cast easily surpassed all expectations making it an entertaining production. I eagerly look forward to watching more performances from Rosales within the Kingston theatre scene. I would strongly recommend catching this production, especially with the limited theatre options currently in Kingston. After all, if a Jason Robert Brown cannot create a sense of escapism from the whirlwind that is 2020, then what can?
Running Time: 90 minutes, without intermission.
Ticket Information: https://www.kingstongrand.ca/events/the-last-five-years