Relationships strained during “The Last Five Years”

By Tabitha Whitesel in Arts & Entertainment

October 27, 2011

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Tabitha Whitesel/Eagle Eye

James Vesey, an LHU music education major, will be directing the production of “The Last Five Years.” The show begins today and continues through October 29 in Sloan Countdown Theatre, room 321.

Vesey said that he has always wanted to direct a musical, and that “the University Players gives us the opportunity to pretty much direct anything in the studio.”

“The Last Five Years” is a two- person play where the character Jaimes’ relationship story is told from the beginning, whereas Cathy’s story is told from the very end.

However, Vesey explained, “Their time lines coincide at the very middle of the play, and that’s really the only time that they’re on stage together interacting.” Their art-related backgrounds (Jaime, an up-and-coming novelist, and Cathy, an aspiring actress), put a major strain on the relationship.

Vesey said that he would like the audience to see his production as “Flipping through a photo album.”

The feel that he wants to provide is similar to that of an old time photo projector, where you load the photo slides to view the image. Vesey also mentions that most of the play is sung through and little parts that are actually spoken.

The most unique part of this pro- duction is that there will be an orchestra pit with a trust stage. Vesey wants the people who are providing his musical accompani- ment to be visible to the audience as well.

The show times for this produc- tion of “The Last Five Years” will be at 7:30 P.M. in Sloan Countdown Theatre.