Last Friday, I had a chance to watch one of the most anticipated musicals of all time, Jason Robert Brown’s "The Last 5 Years", which stars Nikki Gil and Joaquin Pedro Valdes.
The Last 5 Years is a play about the cycle of love - from the time Cathy (Gil) and Jamie (Valdes) met, started to date, fall in-love, got engaged, got married, and finally broke-up in the end . It is a heartwarming story that an open- minded individual can dwell on and accept, that it is quite normal for a couple to fall out of love.
Under the helmsmanship of Director Robbie Guevara, the play maintains its emotional appeal from beginning to end.
Nikki Gil delivers a stirring performance, especially when she sings "Still Hurting". I really felt how painful it was for her to lose someone she really loves. More so, the song "I Can Do Better Than That" gives me a feeling of empowerment, a hidden strength that a woman could draw from, in times of hurting and insecurities.
On the other hand, Joaquin Valdes gives an equally impressive performance onstage. He exudes a very manly Jamie and his vocal prowess is remarkable. He had me at "The Schmuel Song', even if I knew that at that moment, Cathy has given up on his character Jamie. I didn't like the scene wherein he sings "Nobody Needs To Know" though, because I felt cheated as well, hehehe..
As you can see, I really appreciated the songs that the lead characters perfectly rendered in this wonderful musical. It comes as no surprise to me that it won the Drama Desk Award for outstanding music and lyrics way back 2002. The songs truly expressed what it means to love and be loved; the pain and sadness that one feels in a relationship that has gone bad. The contrasting joy and melancholy of this contemporary musical masterpiece was greatly enhanced by the awesome artistry of 9 Works Theatrical's 9PO, a Philharmonic pit and pop orchestra.
When and if you get to watch the musical, feel free to share with me the songs that affected you the most and and let's have a discussion over a cup of coffee. The full list of songs includes Shiksa Goddess, See I'm Smiling, Moving Too Fast, I'm A Part Of That, A Summer in Ohio, The Next Ten Minutes, A Miracle Could Happen/When You Come Home To Me, Climbing Uphill, If I Didn't Believe in You, Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You.
You can still witness the heartaches echoed in great and meaningful music since the play still has its last 10 shows to go on the following dates: August 16-17, 22-24, and 29-31, 2014 at RCBC Plaza. For ticket reservations, please call 586-7105, 0917-5545560 or email them at info@9workstheatrical.com.
Thanks so much to 9 Works Theatrical for bringing The Last 5 Years to Manila and congratulations too, on your 5th Year Anniversary.
For more information about the musical, see my previous post HERE.
The Last 5 Years is a play about the cycle of love - from the time Cathy (Gil) and Jamie (Valdes) met, started to date, fall in-love, got engaged, got married, and finally broke-up in the end . It is a heartwarming story that an open- minded individual can dwell on and accept, that it is quite normal for a couple to fall out of love.
Under the helmsmanship of Director Robbie Guevara, the play maintains its emotional appeal from beginning to end.
Nikki Gil delivers a stirring performance, especially when she sings "Still Hurting". I really felt how painful it was for her to lose someone she really loves. More so, the song "I Can Do Better Than That" gives me a feeling of empowerment, a hidden strength that a woman could draw from, in times of hurting and insecurities.
On the other hand, Joaquin Valdes gives an equally impressive performance onstage. He exudes a very manly Jamie and his vocal prowess is remarkable. He had me at "The Schmuel Song', even if I knew that at that moment, Cathy has given up on his character Jamie. I didn't like the scene wherein he sings "Nobody Needs To Know" though, because I felt cheated as well, hehehe..
As you can see, I really appreciated the songs that the lead characters perfectly rendered in this wonderful musical. It comes as no surprise to me that it won the Drama Desk Award for outstanding music and lyrics way back 2002. The songs truly expressed what it means to love and be loved; the pain and sadness that one feels in a relationship that has gone bad. The contrasting joy and melancholy of this contemporary musical masterpiece was greatly enhanced by the awesome artistry of 9 Works Theatrical's 9PO, a Philharmonic pit and pop orchestra.
When and if you get to watch the musical, feel free to share with me the songs that affected you the most and and let's have a discussion over a cup of coffee. The full list of songs includes Shiksa Goddess, See I'm Smiling, Moving Too Fast, I'm A Part Of That, A Summer in Ohio, The Next Ten Minutes, A Miracle Could Happen/When You Come Home To Me, Climbing Uphill, If I Didn't Believe in You, Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You.
You can still witness the heartaches echoed in great and meaningful music since the play still has its last 10 shows to go on the following dates: August 16-17, 22-24, and 29-31, 2014 at RCBC Plaza. For ticket reservations, please call 586-7105, 0917-5545560 or email them at info@9workstheatrical.com.
Thanks so much to 9 Works Theatrical for bringing The Last 5 Years to Manila and congratulations too, on your 5th Year Anniversary.
For more information about the musical, see my previous post HERE.
