Jason Robert Brown's ever-popular song cycle The Last Five Years gets a new 'virtual lockdown production' this month, starring Lauren Samuels and Danny Becker. Pre-sale begins today (4 June 2020), with tickets on general sale from midday tomorrow...
The Last Five Years, presented by Lambert Jackson Productions in association with The Other Palace, will be streamed for three nights on the 25, 26 and 27 June 2020 at 7.30pm, with tickets priced at £8, and only a limited number of spaces available per show to emulate a shared theatre experience.
The actors Danny Becker (who plays Jamie) and Lauren Samuels (Cathy), who also makes her directorial debut, will record their parts entirely in isolation, using only what is available to them. Their performances will be edited together into a full-length show.
The award-winning musical, The Last Five Years, is an emotionally powerful musical about two New Yorkers who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. Written by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, the play has seen numerous productions around the world including a film adaptation starring Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick, but it is now to be produced in an entirely new and innovative way.
Jamie Lambert and Eliza Jackson today said:
“It is the musical’s unconventional structure which allows this new form of livestream theatre to be created. Jamie tells his story chronologically from their love-at-first-site meeting, whilst Cathy tells her story in reverse, from the end of their turbulent relationship to the start. This means the two characters do not directly interact except for one song in the middle of the show when their timelines intersect.
“Whilst nothing can replace live theatre, this production of The Last Five Years will reflect the current global situation; it is relevant, thought-provoking and innovative and will open doors to a new way of thinking about theatre and entertainment.”
Danny Becker's previous theatre credits include The Prince of Egypt (Dominion Theatre), The Light In The Piazza (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion/Royal Festival Hall), Singin’ In The Rain (Gaiety Theatre), Aladdin (Prince Edward Theatre), The Little Mermaid (UK tour) and The Who’s Tommy (Greenwich Theatre).
Lauren Samuels' previous theatre credits include The Big Corner, Love Story (Octagon Theatre), A Hundred Words for Snow (Arcola Theatre), Romantics Anonymous (Shakespeare’s Globe), La Ronde (Bunker Theatre), Bend It Like Beckham (Phoenix Theatre - for which she was nominated for a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Actress In A Musical), We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre/ international tour), The Buskers Opera (Park Theatre), Water Babies, Peter Pan A Musical (Curve), Vampirette (Manchester Opera House), Children of Eden (Prince of Wales Theatre), The Last Five Years (Tabard Theatre) and Grease (Piccadilly Theatre).
.@LJProds continue their #lockdown brilliance with a new self-filmed virtual production of @MrJasonRBrown's #TheLast5Years, starring @Laurensamuels88 (also her directorial debut) & @DannyBeckerUK.
25-27 Jun via @TheOtherPalace @LWTheatres.
