Cover Gab Pangilinan and Myke Salomon as Cathy and Jamie performing Jason Robert Brown’s ‘The Next Ten Minutes’
Gab Pangilinan and Myke Salomon as Cathy and Jamie performing Jason Robert Brown’s ‘The Next Ten Minutes’
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‘The Last Five Years’ comes to Manila with Gab Pangilinan and Myke Salomon skillfully portraying a romantic journey, both forward and in reverse
Love is a recurring theme in everyone’s lives. Whether through good or bad times, it’s something to behold—Cathy and Jamie of The Last Five Years know this best.
By the time the Barefoot Theatre Collaborative production took the Philippine art scene by storm, several versions of the playwright had already existed. It premiered in Chicago, USA, in 2001 as a musical (receiving positive feedback from fans and casual viewers alike, marking it a cult favourite since then), and followed by a film adaptation in 2015 starring Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick, which received mixed reactions but still offered a different perspective in storytelling.
The Last Five Years may have showcased a simple romance story and its pitfalls. But it stood the test of time because its only two characters connected to the audience through their songs, regardless of who portrayed them.
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Above The characters Jamie and Cathy facing obstacles in their relationship
The characters Jamie and Cathy facing obstacles in their relationship
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A great thing about live plays is seeing an actor eye-to-eye. In this version of The Last Five Years, the experience is enhanced by the intimacy of Joey Mendoza’s minimalist set design, with audience members in the Power Mac Center Spotlight at Makati City surrounding the stage smacked in the middle, seeing two sides of the story. This allowed a fun way of watching the production: viewers could marvel at the characters and their peers’ reactions. And everyone witnessed how real-life couple Myke Salomon and Gab Pangilinan portrayed the characters splendidly.
Pangilinan’s Cathy started with the famous first lines, “Jamie is over, and Jamie is gone / Jamie’s decided it’s time to move on,” and the theatre went silent. Despite the audio equipment’s muffled effect due to how the stage and speakers were set up (at least from the perspective of someone sitting in front), she delivered to the best of her ability. Choosing seats farther away from the stage garnered better results.
Above Gab Pangilinan performing ‘Still Hurting’
Gab Pangilinan performing ‘Still Hurting’
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It was difficult, at first, to disassociate Pangilinan from her recent roles like Joy from Ang Huling El Bimbo or even Roxane from Mula Sa Buwan. The problem with being cast in succeeding projects is an actor’s commitment to each of their characters and the audience remembering their past roles.
Watching an actor take on a new role is a constant yet exciting challenge. But as the play continued, Pangilinan ensured everyone saw Cathy—and she was breathtaking even in her sorrow and misery.
Above Myke Salomon performing ‘Moving Too Fast’
Myke Salomon performing ‘Moving Too Fast’
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On the other hand, Salomon delivered his parts very clearly. In contrast to Pangilinan, who told her story in reverse, Salomon’s Jamie recounted his side in the usual linear way. Although there were times that it looked like he was out of breath with the more fast-paced songs like Shiksha Goddess and Moving Too Fast (at least during the opening night), his theatrical prowess shone during the more emotional scenes.
As expected from a real-life couple and having worked with each other in previous plays, their chemistry was in spades. The part where the timelines overlapped in the middle, showing the time they got engaged and married the other, was one of, if not the story’s highlights.
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Above Jamie and Cathy in ‘The Next Ten Minutes’
Jamie and Cathy in ‘The Next Ten Minutes’
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Sung-through musicals can sometimes be overwhelming. The song cycle—each song moving on to the next, then the next without a pause can make a viewer confused if they are not used to watching theatre acts. But Topper Fabregas’ direction ensured we were kept on the edge of our seats the entire night.
He maximised the stage, thoroughly used the story’s narrative storytelling and reflected it in the staging. Jamie entered from the upper stage (where the band was also located). Meanwhile, Cathy, who started with her story at the fifth-year mark, performed downstage. As Jamie played out his relationship from beginning to end and slowly moved towards the downstage, Cathy did the opposite—her intense feelings of pain and distraught gradually turned into hope, giddiness, and joy as she got upstage. This juxtaposition reached an intersection, where both characters finally interacted.
Such storytelling was akin to having a 360 experience: interactive and enlightening.
Above Jamie and Cathy parting ways
Jamie and Cathy parting ways
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Because of the storytelling and staging, accompanied by Farley Asuncion on the piano and the band under the musical direction of renowned musical director, arranger and composer Rony Fortich, the audience could feel and not just watch the staging.
We empathised with Cathy. We wanted success for Jamie. We were sometimes annoyed by Cathy. We slowly despised Jamie. It was a simple story of a couple loving each other and falling apart. But due to the hard work of everyone in the production, it translated to a masterpiece one would not easily forget. It’s one for the books.
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Credits
Photography: Kyle Venturillo, May Celeste, and Yvonne Russell
Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is the assistant digital editor of Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
