The Last Five Years is back and impressive as ever at The Hoogland Center for the Arts. After a seven-year hiatus, the two-person musical has returned with the same cast of Mary Kate Smith and Damien Kaplan, along with director Craig Williams. All parties involved wanted to rekindle their past show magic with a fresh take and the wisdom only age can bring.
“Seven years of life and maturing have helped give us a new lease on our characters, so the show feels like it’s matured as well,” Kaplan said.
The story unfolds through the separate timelines of Cathy (Smith) and Jamie’s (Kaplan) love story. The structural brilliance of the show allows us to witness the heartbreak of their demise as we are simultaneously swept up in the thrill of their beginning. Both characters are young, aspiring artists – driven by the idealism of their early 20s – who find their relationship being ripped apart by the challenges of a long-distance connection and the unbalanced scales of their professional success.
Previous versions often utilize traditional staging, but William’s vision was to provide the audience a stripped-down set in the round that illuminates this playful movement through time. Williams cleverly creates a unique physical space to display this.
“From the audience’s perspective, the stage stretches to your seat with the present at your feet, while you look upstage into the past,” he said.
The catwalk the actors walk through and on is even reminiscent of clock faces and hands, and the band is highlighted onstage, as the music is an unnamed character in this intimate musical. This, along with the beautiful lighting and small choreographed movements, all work exceptionally well. Without the frill of the unnecessary, it allows the audience to feel present in the characters past.
Kaplan and Smith are both a few decades beyond Jamie and Cathy’s scripted ages, so casting these seasoned performers also strips away youthful naivety. What remains is a raw, sophisticated, and deeply lived-in portrait of two people who aren’t trying to find themselves, but are struggling to reconcile with who they’ve become and the person they chose to love.
“Since the show plays freely with time, it’s like we are reliving the past with the person, so I think anyone at any age can play these roles,” Williams said.
Smith’s hope is that members of the audience see themselves in these characters.
“There are people getting married at 40, grappling to understand partners at 50 and starting over. Maybe younger people will find solace in knowing that older humans don’t have it all figured out yet, either,” she said.
Mary Kate Smith, left and below, and Damien Kaplan portray a couple whose relationship blooms and withers over the course of five years. PHOTO BY EMILY NOEL
It’s also helpful that both of these actors can belt out this difficult score like they’re being paid well to do it. When Smith opens the show with the reading of her divorce letter, “Still Hurting,” it doesn’t feel like the sting of a first breakup. Her visceral performance carries the weary resonance of a woman facing the collapse of a foundation built over a lifetime. Her exceptional vocal prowess and characterization highlight the specific, quiet grief of recognizing the “next 10 minutes” she promised herself years ago are gone.
The same is true for Kaplan, who plays Jamie with a charismatic but complicated maturity. In his portrayal, the struggle to balance Jamie’s unexpected literary success with a strained marriage feels less like accidental neglect and more like a conscious, tragic decision. Kaplan especially shines in the sprawling, nine-minute Jewish folk-tale “The Schmuel Song.” Beyond Kaplan’s impressive technical precision, there is a profound emotional layer to his theatrical storytelling. It felt as if the audience were in a trance, and that’s no easy feat – because it’s a marathon.
A notable highlight of the finale is the show’s violinist, Meredith Crifasi. As she performs the closing solo, the emotional output of her instrument is palpable. Crifasi is close to Cathy’s scripted age, and her presence creates a striking visual and auditory metaphor, as if the audience is witnessing Cathy’s younger spirit narrating the tragedy through nostalgic strings. It is a brilliant piece of theater – accidental or not – that elevates this production’s final moments.
The Last Five Years at the Hoogland feels like a fully fleshed-out tragic memoir. It is visually stunning and full of powerhouse performances that reminds us love doesn’t get easier with age. It only gets deeper, and the wisdom gained from its loss is all the more bittersweet.
The Last Five Years continues its run at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Peggy Ryder Theatre March 6-8. Friday and Saturday performances start at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday matinee begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 217-523-2787 or visiting hcfta.org/tickets.
This article appears in February 26 – March 4, 2026.
