Fringe Theater presents Jason Robert Brown’s THE LAST FIVE YEARS

Last Five Years actors Ben Pegg (L) and Claire Caplan (R) with director Lauren Thompson. The show runs March 19-29 at Fringe Theater, located at 600 WHITE STREET.
Photo Credit: Fringe Theater Key West

Fringe Theater presents Jason Robert Brown’s award-winning musical The Last Five Years at the Key West Armory, March 19-29 at 7pm. This contemporary tour de force of storytelling takes two distinct looks at one relationship through the musical’s unique structure.

The Last Five Years first opened in Chicago 2001, starring Norbert Leo Butz and Lauren Kennedy, then moved Off-Broadway the following year. The production won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics and received the Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical.  In 2013, it was revived Off Broadway and ran with Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe. In 2016, Jason Robert Brown directed his show at the St James Theater in London, where it won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Off-West End Production. The production featured Johnathan Bailey and Samantha Barks. Now, in 2024, it opens at the Fringe!

Poignant and moving. A real knockout. The Last Five Years creates a stir among audiences because so much of it is familiar – you meet someone special and are elated. You move through the prescribed stages of living and loving only to discover disappointment and loss. But The Last Five Years is also quite unfamiliar – surprising — in its theatrical style. Two unique perspectives of one relationship juxtaposed in their opposition.

“I hope that our show invokes conversations,” says the show’s director Lauren Thompson. “I imagine a lot of couples, friends, maybe even strangers will want to talk about who was right or where things went wrong. And I suspect that people won’t see the answers the same way!”

Jason Robert Brown is a musical theater composer, lyricist, and playwright He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on the musicals The Bridges of Madison County and Parade. His shows feature a trademark dynamic style that is rhythmically and harmonically unconventional. And musically challenging.  And often referred to as “a masterpiece.” These trademark styles are the foundation of Brown’s music and lyrics for The Last Five Years.

Joining director Lauren Thompson on the L5Y creative team is Musical Director and pianist Roberta Jacyshyn and Lighting Designer Anthony Palmer. Starring as Jamie and Cathy are Ben Pegg and Claire Caplan, popular local singers that are newer to the theater stage.

“It’s one of the many things I love about the Fringe,” Lauren shares, “the way it provides opportunities for people to grow as performers. Audiences are going to love what they see – and hear – from both Claire and Ben.”

The Last Five Years runs March 19-29 at the Key West Armory. Tickets are $45 and $60 and can be purchased online at www.fringetheater.org or by calling the KeysTix box office at 305-295-7676. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended. House opens at 6:30. Show begins at 7pm.

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