On behalf of everyone at Ghostlight Theatre Co., allow me to welcome you and thank you for joining us for our inaugural production.
Ghostlight was founded with the mission of bringing semi-professional theatre to Southeastern Wisconsin, and beyond. Whether you are joining us in the theater through our socially distanced in-person performances, or via our streaming performances online, we thank you for contributing to that mission.
The Last Five Years, as the title implies, captures a view of five years in the lives of Jamie Wellerstein and Cathy Hiatt; from the butterflies of their first dates, to the pain of their inevitable divorce. But why would I give away how the show ends!? Writer/composer Jason Robert Brown presents this view of their relationship non-linearly. That is to say, the show does not follow the characters chronologically. While the character of Jamie starts at the beginning of their relationship, Cathy begins the show at the very end of the five years, “Still Hurting” after their bitter divorce. Jamie moves forward through the five year relationship, as Cathy moves backwards, from end to beginning; their timelines only merging for the audience at one significant point in their relationship.
The conceptual nature of Brown’s flagship production lends itself to almost limitless possibilities creatively. We present Jamie and Cathy individually, even when we see them “together.” This separation physicalizes the individuality of these two personalities, even after their joining in marriage. Each character has their own perspective; their own “side of the story.” We, as an audience, are afforded a voyeuristic view into the raw, intense emotion tied to their relationship; the joy of the adrenaline highs, and the pain of loss. We invite you to join these characters in the the wonder of young love, and allow yourself to be uncomfortable with the despair that comes with love lost.
While we share five years of Jamie and Cathy’s lives with you, we thank you for sharing a brief moment of your life with us. “Goodbye until tomorrow...”
-David P. Pecsi
Director: Ghostlight Theatre Co.
