Review: Timelines, casting set ‘Last Five Years’ apart

Jamie and Cathy are a young couple living in New York City. He’s an aspiring writer. She’s a fledgling actress. Their story is told in the musical “The Last Five Years,” by Jason Robert Brown, now playing at the Modern Theater Coeur d’Alene.

What sets this sung-through work apart is the split timelines. We meet Cathy (Aubrey Shimek Davis) as she is in complete despair, singing “I’m Still Hurting” and cluing us in as to how her relationship is going to end. Then Jamie (Robby French) walks out, looking at his phone, chuckling to himself. He’s just met Cathy, his “Shiksa Goddess,” and he’s completely smitten.

Her timeline moves backward, from breakup to beginning. His moves forward, and the two characters only directly interact once, in the middle, on their wedding day. It’s an interesting premise, but not without flaws. Keeping track of where we are in the various timelines can be a challenge. And, frankly, given that the play opens on a down note and ends on a down note, it’s not exactly a buoyant rom-com or light frivolity.

What makes “The Last Five Years” compelling is the acting. As in any two-person play, the strength of the cast is key. Shimek Davis, so good as Laura in “The Glass Menagerie” at the Modern Spokane last year, brings an emotive face and great command of body language to Cathy. We can see as she shrinks in devastating sadness, as she wears disappointment on her face, and as she gleams at the prospects of love and happiness. Her singing voice – already familiar to those who saw her as Gypsy Rose Lee in “Gypsy” at Spokane Civic last year and Cinderella in “Into the Woods” at the former Lake City Playhouse in 2013 – is strong and beautiful. She brings pathos to “I’m Still Hurting” and joyous optimism to “I Can Do Better Than That.” She continues to delight.

French, meanwhile, comes to this “Last Five Years” with crucial experience under his belt – he played the same role in 2008 at Civic. He’s a strong singer. His opening numbers, “Shiksa Goddess” and “Moving Too Fast,” are pleasing toe-tappers. Jamie is a cocky up-and-comer, confident that the world – and the love of his life – are at his feet.

By the time we get to Jamie’s “A Miracle Would Happen,” and Cathy’s “When You Come Home to Me,” we can see how this marriage fell apart. He’s a married man suddenly tempted by success and women, she’s already worried she’s going to lose him. His repeated refrain of “we’re fine, we’re fine” only lends weight to the idea that they are not fine.

This tight musical – it runs about 90 minutes with no intermission – has some funny bits (and some adult language, too), but if you’re looking for “happily ever after,” “The Last Five Years” might not do it for you. Still, Brown’s eclectic music and solid performances by two talented local actors might make it a worthy night of theater.