“The Last Five Years” is a fresh interpretation of a timeless story.

The play narrates a couple’s best  times and their worst, however there’s a twist. Jamie, played by actor Louis Pardo, is an aspiring novelist, while his counterpart Cathy, played by actress Ashley Fox Linton, is an aspiring actress.

The two meet in Ohio and tell their stories in a unique way. Jamie tells the story from the beginning, starting with falling in love with Cathy, becoming a published author, eventually marrying Cathy, the difficulties Cathy has with his success, and the gradual decline of their marriage. Cathy tells the same story but instead of starting from the beginning she starts from the end and works her way backwards.

Along with the fact that each character is telling their story from different directions, each character performs on stage alone. If both characters were on stage when it came time for one of them to perform, the opposite side of the stage, with the other actor on it would go dark. They were only together in one scene.

Because only one actor could speak at a time, the story become a bit confusing. One of the things that didn’t fit very well was the actors having one sided conversations with themselves. This was an aspect of the performance that made it a bit awkward.

The stage was set up with a “bedroom” set and on the opposite side there was a door. When the actors were in a different place they would project an image onto the stage of where they were suppose to be. This was unique because the actors could be transported anywhere without, having to change the stage.

There was also a live orchestra directed by Brent Crayon. Crayon did not have many challenges with the live bands, but it was a bit of an issue for him to get the songs to sound different from the original show.

Rubicon Theatre Explores Love and Loss in The Last Five Years, Opening Tonight http://t.co/2aiuqrLOUr

— Ventura CA Daily (@VenturaCADaily) January 24, 2015

“To prepare for our roles both of us had to rehearse the songs by ourselves and then again with the other actor in the scene; improvising the responses to their own reactions about what the other actor was saying,” said Pardo.

“My favorite part of the show was the final number, because it really ties up the theme of the show,” said Linton.

If you’re looking for an entertaining way to spend your night head over to the Rubicon to see “The Last Five Years.” Tickets can be purchased for $15 and the show is playing now.

Background Photo Credit: Jeanne Tanner (used with permission)