The Cumberland Theatre will open its 33rd Season this month the two-person musical ‘The Last Five Years’. The show will be the first in planned season of eight main stage productions following the theatre’s year-long closure due the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Last Five Years is a song-cycle musical by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Browne that bends time and points of view to tell the story of two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The show’s unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters are only on stage together once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.
The show won the Drama Desk Award, has been translated into several different languages and was named one of TIME Magazine’s ten best shows of 2001. A film adaptation was released in 2014, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.
The Cumberland Theatre version stars local singer and actor Savannah Tagliaferro as Cathy and, as Jamie, newcomer Matt Rothenberg who currently resides in Orlando, FL. Tagliaferro is a veteran to the CT stage and was last seen as Alice in Closer and Judy in Night of the Living Dead Live. She has also appeared in featured roles in Mamma Mia, Gypsy and Carrie the Musical. Rothenberg is a graduate of the musical theatre program at Shepherd University and has performed with the Orlando Repertory Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and Universal Orlando Resort.
The Last Five Years is will play for six performances: March 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th at 8:00 pm and March 14th & 21st at 2:00 pm. Seating will be limited to 100 tickets per performance in accordance with state COVID guidelines. The VIP Star Box with private seating and food and beverage for eight is all available for booking. Audience members will be temperature checked upon entering the theatre and masks must be worn at all times including during the performance. The theatre, lobby, restrooms and all other common areas will be sanitized between each performance and patrons are asked to social distance accordingly.
The rest of the 2021 Main Stage Season consists of The Great Gatsby, Clue on Stage and A Christmas Carol, which are being rescheduled from the 2020 Season, as well the dark comedy The House of Yes, the classic coming-of-age story The Outsiders, and the Johnny Cash juke box musical Ring of Fire. Single tickets and a variety of Season Pass options are available at www.cumberlandtheatre.com or by calling 301.759.4990. The Cumberland Theatre reserves the right to alter any online reservations in order to comply with social distancing regulations.