Though Trinity puts on many theatre productions, The Last Five Years, starring Maddie Walker ’16 and Tony Moreno ’17, stands out from the rest. The show, directed by Janine Papin, ran from Thursday, December 3 to Saturday, December 5.
The show tells the story of actress Cathy (played by Walker) and author Jamie (played by Moreno) as they meet, marry and fall out of love. The plot is structured through songs alternately sung by the two characters. Cathy tells her story from their breakup to their meeting, while Jamie tells his chronologically. The two characters interact only once during their wedding in the middle of the show.
Successfully pulling off a show in which there are only two characters, there is no intermission, and where both characters are onstage for the entirety of the show is a tough feat. However, Papin chose the show as a challenge for the actors, for whom the show came out of a Musical Theatre independent study.
“The intensity of the relationship, the marriage and its demise, is something that most high school students would have a difficult time bringing truth to. Maddie and Tony are both exceptional actors and were able to bring a lot of honesty to the piece and made it very believable,” said Papin.
The show is also notable as the inaugural production in the school’s new Frietag and Faulk Theatre. This black-box theatre is a part of the new Brokaw Hall that opened for the first time this year. The theatre features a smaller, more intimate setting containing seating on three sides of the stage and black walls and curtains to shut out all external light. This all contributed to the overall mood of the show.
“This show lent itself to be performed in an intimate setting,” Papin said.
The setting also lent itself to Papin’s unique directing choices, such as using a metaphor of a clock to describe the characters’ relationships, which she cited as her favorite part of the show.
“One person told the story going clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. They met and shared the same story only as they came together at 6:00 to be married. I loved watching the lights merge and the connection that they had for one another. And again at the end of the show when they were both saying goodbye- one for the night and one forever. They again shared the same spotlight. Having Maddie up on the stairs looking hopeful and Tony beneath the stairs looking heart-wrenched moved me tremendously,” Papin said.
