A 2002 musical from Tony-Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, The Last 5 Years leads the audience on a journey through a young couple\'s romance, but with a twist: her story starts at the end of their relationship; his begins on the day they met. Through 90 minutes of song, the play captures some of the most touching moments of modern romance.
The role of Cathy in the two-member cast is being played by Jennifer Sessions (Fraser). Sessions, a classically trained singer, was last seen in the Bonstelle Theatre\'s production of Anne of Green Gables as Diana, and will be performing the role of Eva Peron in the musical, Evita, this spring at the Bonstelle Theatre. The role of Jamie is being played by Frank Sawa (Warren) who appeared as Bri in this season\'s production of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg at the Studio Theatre and played the role of Pseudelous in last season\'s musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Bonstelle Theatre. Megan Q. Sada, (Detroit) a recent graduate of Wayne State University\'s stage management program makes her directorial debut with The Last 5 Years. Sada\'s recent stage management credits include: Laura\'s Bush at 1515 Broadway, Fiddler on the Roof at the JET Theatre and Ann Arbor Ballet Theatre\'s The Nutcracker at U of M\'s Power Center. The show\'s cast of professional and student musicians is lead by Paul Abbott (Allen Park) who was recently the musical director for the Actor\'s Company\'s production of A New Brain. In addition, an original sound design by Andrew Davis (Detroit) accompanies the live musicians. The Last 5 Years also features costume design by Eli Magid (Detroit), set design by Matt Gribbin (Detroit) and lighting design by Liz Cooper (Grosse Pointe) and Christopher Kulesa (Detroit).
The Last 5 Years is being performed as part of WSU\'s Student Stage program. This program allows students to mount their own productions at the Studio Theatre, which aims to foster young, upcoming talent.
The Studio Theatre is located at 4743 Cass Ave, at the corner of Cass and Hancock downstairs from the Hilberry Theatre on the campus of Wayne State University. Performances of The Last 5 Years are at 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday, February 18 - 20. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door or by calling (313) 737-1993.