THE LAST FIVE YEARS Six Foot Something Productions The Little Theatre Until 17 Feb 2007 Review by Nikki Gaertner Jason Robert Brown’s creative and captivating show seems to gain fans whenever the music is heard or the show is performed. Now with Six Foot Something’s debut production (and the South Australian premiere of the fully staged version of “The Last Five Years”), Adelaide theatre-goers are given the opportunity to join the ever-growing group of Brown enthusiasts. This show tells the story of a five-year long relationship between writer Jamie (Paul Talbot) and aspiring musical theatre actress Cathy (Dianne K Lang) from beginning to end - and end to beginning in fact! The opening number presents an emotional Cathy reflecting on the end of her marriage and then progresses backwards through time for her until she reaches jubilation at meeting Jamie (five years earlier) towards the end of the show. Jamie on the other hand begins the show on an exultant high having just met his new love and moves forward through time as his relationship slowly falls apart. The two characters alternate songs while telling their stories and, while appearing on stage simultaneously, are never in the same moment in time except for their marriage in the middle of the show. Director David Lampard has done a fantastic job with his two performers, ensuring each moves through scenes in their own timeframe, even when they appear together, keeping the mood of each character in line with where they are emotionally during their own story. In addition, Lampard and Talbot have designed an inspired set, allowing scenes to be addressed without being changed and the characters to easily move between each number. As expected, Musical Director Matthew Carey delivers perfection on the challenging musical score, along with his talented orchestra who never miss a beat. Lang is outstanding as she presents an enthusiastic and slightly giddy Cathy, who doesn’t entirely lose hope for her relationship until the very end. Lang has both the dramatic and comic ability required for the role, and an exceptional singing voice on top of this, the three skills culminating in numbers such as “A Summer in Ohio” and “Climbing Uphill”. Talbot is physically well suited to play opposite Lang and does well with some very demanding numbers, a particular crowd-pleaser being “A Miracle Would Happen” in the second half of the show. Unfortunately on preview night there were some issues with sound quality making it difficult to understand some song lyrics during the show – a pity as the clever and at times humorous lyrics are crucial to grasping the storyline. These issues should be resolved by the show’s opening weekend however. Adelaide audiences should welcome the presentation of such a new and modern musical – a refreshing change from many of the more traditional shows performed locally. Six Foot Something should be congratulated for bringing this to the stage and for endeavouring to continue to present shows like it in the future.