A Tony Winner, Adrienne Warren, and a Pop Star, Nick Jonas, Lead Belated Broadway Debut of Jason Robert Brown’s ‘The Last Five Years’

It’s hard to believe that the new production of Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years” at the Hudson Theatre marks the show’s Broadway debut. Since making its premiere at Chicago in 2001, the musical has been both a favorite of theater fans and a vehicle for young stars; a 2014 film adaptation featured Anna Kendrick, by then an Oscar nominee, and Jeremy Jordan, a popular leading man now appearing in “Floyd Collins,” another long-admired show making its Broadway bow this season.“Five Years” follows a New York couple over that period of time, mostly through music and lyrics. Jamie, a writer, charts their relationship in chronological order, beginning with their passionate courtship and ending with their split; Cathy, an actress, traces it in reverse. The two meet in the middle, on their wedding night, for a duet, and also figure into each other’s solo showcases at points.One reason it may have taken so long to bring this musical to Times Square is that it’s essentially a chamber piece. Only two characters are represented on stage, often in intimate moments, and even the more upbeat songs tend to have an almost confidential feel, as if Jamie and Cathy are sharing secrets they would conceal even from close friends — or, indeed, each other.Thus, where the most recent Broadway staging of a musical by Mr. Brown, Michael Arden’s gorgeous 2023 revival of “Parade,” had an epic feel, the director of this “Five Years,” Whitney White, is tasked with retaining the sense of intimacy that’s central to the show while ensuring that it reaches the back rows of a sizable house.While I was seated in the orchestra section for a recent preview, I have no doubt that Ms. White and her performers — Adrienne Warren, a Tony Award winner for her blazing performance in the title role of 2019’s “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” and Nick Jonas, who was a child actor on Broadway before rising to fame with his siblings in the pop group the Jonas Brothers — have met this challenge. Nick Jonas in ‘The Last Five Years.’ Matthew MurphyNot surprisingly, Ms. Warren is the more polished and charismatic of the pair. The part of Cathy doesn’t demand the same electricity as Tina Turner did, of course, but the actress sustains a bright voice and presence throughout. Her natural light is muted, as it should be, when her character is disappointed or distraught, but her charm never fades, holding our attention and our hearts through Cathy’s ups and downs.This might seem ironic, as Jamie is the more successful character, at least professionally, scoring a bestselling novel while his wife struggles through auditions and out-of-town gigs. His achievements, as she is forced to settle for being the woman behind the man — a dilemma that’s adroitly illustrated in a song called “A Part of That” — are one source of tension between them.Then again, Jamie’s profession doesn’t rely on personal magnetism as much as Cathy’s does, and Mr. Jonas emphasizes his nerdish qualities credibly, and at times endearingly. From his first number, “Shiksa Goddess,” in which Jamie frets about how his Jewish family would react to his gentile love interest, the teen idol manages to convey a mix of awkwardness and ambition — and to evoke a specific cultural landscape, in which Zabar’s and the JCC figure prominently.In the end, what’s most striking about “The Last Five Years” is the empathy it affords both characters — particularly given that the show was inspired by Mr. Brown’s own first marriage. With this delicately haunting production, Ms. White and her players have served that spirit.

A Tony Winner, Adrienne Warren, and a Pop Star, Nick Jonas, Lead Belated Broadway Debut of Jason Robert Brown’s ‘The Last Five Years’

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