University Theatre Presents ‘The Last Five Years’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – University Theatre will present a four-day run of “The Last Five Years” in Spotlight Theater, lower level of Bliss Hall, Feb. 16-19.

The Drama Desk Award-winning play by Jason Robert Brown has been translated into a handful of languages and was named one of “Time” magazine’s 10 best shows of 2001. A testament to its popularity, the show received an Off-Broadway revival in 2013. 

“The Last Five Years” is an emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their 20s who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The two-person show’s unconventional structure consists of Cathy telling her story backward while Jamie tells his story chronologically; the two characters only meet once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

The two-person show has been double cast so that four students can participate.

The cast includes John Bearss of Rootstown and Lacey Farina of Schenectady, New York, on Thursday and Saturday; and Lauren Ladd of Hubbard and Mitchell Sharp of Beloit on Friday and Sunday.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances will begin at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday matinee will begin at 2 p.m. All seats are general admission.

Adult tickets are $16. Special rate tickets are $9 for non-YSU students, YSU alums, senior citizens, Penguin Club members and groups of eight or more; and free for YSU students, YSU faculty and staff with a valid ID. To purchase show tickets, call 330 941 3105 or go to ysu.tix.com.

Pictured at top: The cast of University Theatre’s production of “The Last Five Years” is, at left, John Bearss and Lacey Farina on Feb. 16 and 18; and, at right, Lauren Ladd and Mitchell Sharp on Feb. 17 and 19.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.