Saturday, February 20, 2010

Jason Robert Brown's The Next Ten Minutes from The Last Five Years

Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years is a show that I've always wanted to see (and play - there's some great piano writing in that score) but haven't yet had the chance. The central hub of the show is the duet "The Next Ten Minutes" which needs some background to set the context. From the Wikipedia article on the show:
The story explores a five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hyatt, a struggling actress. The show uses a form of storytelling in which Cathy's story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie's is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.
Here are Sherie Rene Scott and Norbert Butz from the original Off-Broadway cast (audio only):



This is one of the better staged versions available on YouTube, with Erik Snodgrass and Colleen Ballinger (aka Miranda!) tracing the pathways into the outset of Cathy and Jamie's doomed marriage:

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