Jason Robert Brown and Shoshana Bean will star as Jamie and Cathy in an upcoming concert performance of Brown’s The Last Five Years March 4. The one-night-only performances is part of Second Stage Theater’s new Musical Mondays series, celebrating the company’s 40th anniversary season.
“Believe it or not, the first time I heard Shoshana Bean sing was actually when she auditioned for the original production of The Last Five Years in 2001, and what I wrote down that day is still true: ‘Oh my God, can this girl sing,” said Brown in a statement. “What better way to celebrate Second Stage’s 40th anniversary than to bring my beloved collaborator to the stage for an informal concert of the show that first brought me to this glorious theatre, featuring the full orchestration and my favorite musicians. I can’t wait for March 4th when I can wrap my fingers around this music again and have the best seat in the house as one of the finest singers in the world brings The Last Five Years to life. It only took 18 years!”
The most recent Off-Broadway production of The Last Five Years also took place in Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theatre, then starring Betsy Wolfe and Adam Kantor.
Musical Mondays will also include the March 11 performance of Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Stephen Sondheim’s Saturday Night, the March 18 performance Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s Dogfight, and the March 25 performance of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal.
Bean was actually the catalyst behind Brown’s ongoing artistic residency at downtown’s SubCulture. She and Brown wanted to perform together in the summer of 2014, but, as Brown said at the time, all of the usual venues were booked. They contacted SubCulture, and Bean sang much of Brown’s repertoire. Now, four-and-a-half years later, Brown still plays monthly concerts, each featuring a different guest artist.
City Center’s production of Brown’s Song for a New World marked the duo’s most recent collaboration, and Bean is featured on the new cast recording. The actor was recently announced to return to Broadway as the next Jenna in Waitress, beginning in March. Bean last appeared on Broadway as a replacement for Elphaba in Wicked.
All concerts will play at 7pm at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater (305 W 43rd Street).
