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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Herb Rothschild Jr: Sanders is the real thing ... Inner Peace: Spiritual strength carries friend through illness ... Haggen market puts Ashland on closure list ... Herb Rothschild Jr: Sanders is the real thing ... Inner Peace: Spiritual strength carries friend through illness ... Haggen market puts Ashland on closure list ... THEATER REVIEW Camelot musical tells tale of failed marriage's coming and going Comment By Roberta Kent For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Roberta Kent For the Tidings Posted Sep. 8, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 8, 2015 at 2:44 PM By Roberta Kent For the Tidings Posted Sep. 8, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 8, 2015 at 2:44 PM » Social News There are always two sides in every failed marriage. Was he too wrapped up in his career? Was she too needy and insecure? How and when did the starry-eyed love that brought these two people together end? That’s the sweetly sad tale told lovingly in “The Last Five Years” by Jason Robert Brown, the autumn musical presentation at Talent’s Camelot Theatre. “The Last Five Years” is a romance, marriage, and break up told in song. Wife Cathy Hiatt (Amanda Andersen) recounts her side of the marriage, starting with its painful end, backtracking, step-by-step, to its breathless beginning. Husband Jamie Wellerstein (Nathan Monks) tells his side of the relationship, from its joyful start to its rueful end. Writer Brown tells the two tales simultaneously with the characters alternating songs. The two actors are on stage together only at the end of the first act, when they marry. It’s a cute shtick. The play’s disjointed structure works mainly due to the appealing acting and the talented vocals of Andersen and Monks. Brown’s wry lyrics are set to tunes reminiscent of ’70s Sondheim and a less theatrically lush Lloyd Webber. These songs are not easy to sing. Both Andersen and Monks trained voices bring out the tunes’ wit and emotion. Andersen and Monks never let their characters become easy stereotypes, staying true to the complexity of Brown’s lyrics. Brown tries hard not to assign blame for the break up. Jamie wants adoring arm-candy. Cathy wants unending devotion. As Jamie’s writing career skyrockets and Cathy’s acting career founders, neither is really there for the other. This is a story of two young, attractive, immature and mismatched people. Camelot Artistic Director Livia Genise directs and, as always, the production is brisk and elegant. Musical director John Taylor has three musicians onstage —Taylor on keyboard, Beth Martin on violin and Sue Flynn on cello. Andersen provided some cute choreography as Cathy breathlessly describes her dreadful stint in summer stock to Jamie. Don Zastoupil designed the starkly simple set — a bed to one side, a couch at the other and a desk in the middle — in front of a blank screen for Brian M. O’Connor’s effectively designed projected images of digital communication. There is more than a bit of author Brown in the character of Jamie. Brown was a bit of a boy wonder in the Broadway musical world, thanks to a friendship with producer Hal Prince’s daughter, Daisy Prince. Although “The Last Five Years” only ran off-Broadway from March to May, 2002, Brown won a Drama Desk Award for its music. He won Tony Awards for the score for “Parade” in 1999 and “Bridges of Madison County” in 2014, two highly touted and short-running Broadway musicals. He was nominated for a Tony for the music of the also-unsuccessful “Urban Cowboy” in 2003. Brown based “The Last Five Years” on his own life and failed early marriage — presumably he learned from the experience. “The Last Five Years” runs through Oct. 4 at Camelot Theatre, 101 Talent Ave., Talent. Curtain is at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. (This paragraph has been updated to correct the matinee start time.) Roberta Kent is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at [email protected]. By Roberta Kent For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Roberta Kent For the Tidings Posted Sep. 8, 2015 at 12:01 AM Updated Sep 8, 2015 at 2:44 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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