Celebrating the hit musical’s 25th anniversary, Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt starred in an explosive production of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years at the Hollywood Bowl on April 3. As the middle stop on an international tour with Brown conducting from the piano, the new staging built on everything that so deeply integrated the intricate romance into the musical theatre canon.
The musical follows the buildup and breakdown of a relationship over five years, with husband Jamie (Platt) moving forwards through time from the beginning and wife Cathy (Zegler) going backwards from the end. Their successes, failures, and insecurities push them further and further apart as one heart breaks and another gets fixed.
Zegler commanded the stage from the first moments of “Still Hurting,” portraying an angrier Cathy than many of her predecessors. She wove this interpretation into her arc through self-doubt and growing resentment at her lot in life. Optional high notes and soaring belts helped her dig into despair and shout Cathy’s joy from the rooftops. The standout “A Summer in Ohio” flaunted her comedic chops as she punctuated the changed key with another high riff. Overall, she left nothing on the table, with sharp acting and fine-tuned soprano fully clearing expectations.
Platt, meanwhile, subverted assumptions about a widely hated character, playing a gentler Jamie who genuinely regrets where their paths diverge. He made the most of moments big and small, from the swinging Christmas cheer of “The Schmuel Song” to the switch from hesitancy to desperation in “Nobody Needs to Know.” His more vulnerable beginning in “If I Didn’t Believe in You” made it even more heart-wrenching when he finally snapped. With tremendous breath support and tenor power, he explored the complexities of success and left his stamp on a famously difficult score.
“The Next Ten Minutes” represents the only time Cathy and Jamie sing in sync, and Platt and Zegler brought to life the beauty of a moment where their worldviews complete each other. Their new spin on the song expressed how their characters complement yet still conflict with each other.
Standouts from Bretta Gerecke’s costumes included Zegler’s wedding dress and midwest-summer outfit. Others, like Platt’s wedding suit, connected the different arcs by cleverly switching for new scenes. While other decisions, such as the removal of lyrics that help characterize Jamie, hobbled the storytelling, the staging overall served as an efficient vessel for the actors.
Platt and Zegler used their Broadway-honed skill sets to their fullest extent, building upon decades of talented actors for a true celebration of The Last Five Years. Their stellar performances add to the legacy of the musical that audiences will continue to fall in love with.
