Even when things are going well, there are two sides to every story.
And for soon to be divorced Jamie and Cathy, they each have their own take on the events of “The Last Five Years.”
“It’s the story of a five-year relationship of two artists and their struggles with success and failure,” Director Bernie Weiler said. “The music is really brilliant.”
The musical runs weekends through Oct. 9 at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3:30 p.m. Sundays.
Starring Michael Metcalf as Jamie and Amy Steele as Cathy, the 96-minute musical tells the story about the development and demise of a relationship.
“Jamie is a novelist who has achieved meteoric success at a very young age. Catherine is an actress who is struggling, has done summer stock and trying to get recognized in the big city,” Weiler said. “The story is about how those circumstances clash among artists who are sharing a life together.”
Told from the end of the romance to the beginning by Cathy and from the beginning to the end by Jamie, each song is a vignette in the development and dissolution of the relationship, he said.
As the years go by the couple finds it difficult for them to tolerate the demands of each other’s profession.
“It’s difficult to be around the acolytes of the person who is being feted by the adoring fans and publishers and all the things that go along with it,” Weiler said. “And how that activity and attention diminishes the personal relationship that they have together.”
Illuminating the disconnect between the two is a “brilliant” scene in which Michael writes Cathy a story and encourages her to use the unlimited time that he is offering her to go out and seek success, he said.
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“And of course it’s a very, very condescending story from her perspective,” Weiler said. “He thinks he’s encouraging her but completely missing what it takes to field the constant competition and rejection in trying to find roles as a dramatic artist.”
The winner of the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics, the musical by Jason Robert Brown is a show that many musical theater actors really find to be special, Weiler said. Steel Beam produced the show several years ago when the rights first became available and it was very popular with audiences, he said.
Serving as music director for the show, which is known for its difficult music, is Amy Jackson, who recently did the music direction for the Second Story Players production of “The Lightning Thief” at Steel Beam. Together with the cast, they’ve tackled the challenging material, Weiler said.
“They’ve mastered the music and the roles and the very significant emotional pitches that they had to obtain in carrying out their roles,” he said. “Amy Steele and Michael Metcalf are just beyond great. I just can’t say enough about what a pleasure it is to work with actors that are that talented and their voices are just superb.
“Directing them has been a factor of sitting down and saying ‘entertain me.’ And they do,” he said. “People would be missing some really excellent performances if they didn’t take the opportunity to see the show.”
‘The Last Five Years’
When: through Oct. 9
Where: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., Second Floor, St. Charles
Tickets: $28 adults; $25 seniors and $22 students
Information: 630-587-8521; steelbeamtheatre.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.