Two-person play includes interesting, talented actors

Carolyn Walser / senior photographer In "The Last Five Years," junior Lyndesey Cole plays a Cathy, a down-on-her-luck actress still looking for her big break. The play ran in two casts from March 29 to April 2.

Last week at the Experimental Theatre the Stratford Players presented the musical "The Last Five Years." This musical, directed by junior Kristin Davis, is a two-person show that recounts the five-year relationship of Jamie (juniors Justin Senense and Mike Harrison), a freelance writer who stumbles upon early success, and Cathy, an actress still looking for her big break (junior Lyndsey Cole, sophomore Kirstin Riegler).

Between Tuesday, March 29 and Saturday, April 2, the two casts (Cole with Senense, and Riegler with Harrison) took the stage on alternating nights. The performances of the two pairs gave different insight into the relationship of the two characters. The performances of Cole and Senense suggested that the problems of the relationship were the fault of Jamie, whereas the performances of Harrison and Riegler placed the blame on Cathy.

There is no doubt of the musical talents of the four performers. Considering this is a two-person show, the performers not only needed a voice that could hold up for 90 minutes, but also needed to carry themselves without the help of a chorus or backup singers. What made these performances stand out were the differences infused by the singers.

Senense made Jamie seem at fault by making him seem arrogant. In the second song, "Shiksa Godess" he egotistically cycled through the directory of phone numbers on his cell phone. Harrison played the same song more innocently, describing the same slew of women as failures in his search for Miss Right. Harrison had the harder task, having to convince the audience that the breakup wasn’t his fault, despite the fact that Jamie was cheating on Cathy. He succeeded by nailing the song, "If I Didn’t Believe in You," in which Jamie argues that the support he gives to his wife’s career is not reciprocated. The song easily could have turned into a song of arrogance on Jamie’s behalf, but Harrison maintained a level of frustration that showed the audience that Cathy pushed him away, lessening the impact of his infidelity.

Cole and Riegler used similar tactics in their performances. In the song "A Summer in Ohio," Cathy writes to her husband describing the terrible time she is having touring in Ohio. Cole sang in a hopeful tone, optimistic for her reunion with her love. Conversely, Riegler belted the song contemptuously for her unpleasant situation. Also, in "See I’m Smiling," Cathy complains about Jamie always eating Doritos, however in "I Can Do Better than that," Riegler had Cathy munching on those very same Doritos, lending an unappealing, hypocritical element to her character.

The show was carried by the talented singers, however a few other aspects lent success to the show. The scenic design of senior Carolyn Anzuini reflected the out-of-order manner in which the story is told. The numbers one through 12 were painted on random parts of the stage, as if taken from a clock and thrown about haphazardly. Equally interesting was the narration. Each song is told with the perspective bias of the person singing it, giving their side of the story. Davis highlighted this with a simple, yet effective technique. The character whose side was not being presented was placed on stage with their back to the audience, effectively removing any influence they might have had on the scene. "The Last Five Years" was easily worth the $5 ticket price, thanks to the talent and ability of the two casts and the creativity of Davis who was able to present the same show in two distinctly different ways.