The Last Five Years: A Modern Tragedy

Relationships can be tough, believe me, I've read all about 'em. And The Last Five Years captures the joys and struggles of relationships better than any musical. Jason Robert Brown's masterpiece puts on stage and unfiltered the pain of being in love. Join me as I dissect The Last Five Year's structure and see what it's central message might be.
Follow me on Patreon: / pileybenton
Follow me on Twitter at: / pileybenton
Music Credits go to my boy Cameron Houg and various karaoke tracks for The Last Five Years.
Cartoon depictions of myself are drawn by none other than Bentley S. Campion
Footnotes:
[1] In the original version of the show the boyfriend is described as "looking a lot like Tom Cruise", but by the time big name revivals came around Tom Cruise had gone off the deep end a bit so the lyric was changed to "well placed tattoos". Clever stuff, that.
[2] To set the record straight, the lady singing here (Betsy Wolfe) is the best Cathy. There is no debate to be had here, it is simply the truth.
0:00 Opening Hook
0:46 The Basics
4:46 Media Incentives
15:14 Conclusion

[@pileybenton656]

For every Patron this video brings in I'll sing "Moving Too Fast" in the shower once: www.patreon.com/PileyBenton

[@maryhegarty4045]

I always looked at Cathy's backwards timeline as her reflecting on the relationship after still hurting

[@hailey7871]

A lot that I liked and agreed with. Not digging the whole, "both sides!" aspect, though, especially since it was based on JRB's marriage and he admits to alienating his wife and putting his needs first. I can't jive with "Cathy was jealous" when Jamie said terrible things like, "I won't fail so you can be comfortable, Cathy. I won't fail because you can't win". Jamie is the absolute worst. I didn't see the codependency on Cathy before, but I think you've hit on something, and now I have to go watch again! 😁

[@fairamir1]

Jamies point was vaild and not mean

[@colleenfrench4522]

The 'i could never rescue you' motif is also cathy and jamie's wedding dance during 'the next ten minutes', showing that even when they were at their happiest, the ghost of jamie leaving was always there.

[@teacheronanadventure]

Ugh I wish my family could understand how brilliant it is! They hear the synopsis and think it sounds depressing - "Why would I watch a show about a couple I know is getting a divorce?" but the timelines are just so well done and add so much emotional complexity.

[@alyssaooo2671]

10:10 “she gets really needy in a unhealthy way.” how?? when did she get really needy?

[@erinlev12]

Such an underrated musical AND movie (like, hello, Jeremy Jordan’s in it 🤩)! I love it because it’s such a human story about the basic flaws and mistakes people make in a relationship that are more often than not overlooked, and it is fantastic and heartbreaking! And I love the most that both characters are the villains. There isn’t an actual straightforward ‘good guy’ in it. They’re both flawed, they’re both wrong, and they’re both so stuck in their own head and woes that they become assholes to one another. It is perfect! Great essay!

[@sebastianvelcro]

I have never heard of this play and now I will learn. Take my comment algorithm. Take it and run!

[@pileybenton656]

Thank you algorithm boost!!

[@powerviolentnightmare5026]

Here I was, thinking it would be about the actual last five years (or 2020 how some people call it) only to get surprised. Never heard of this but it's still kinda helpful for any future relationships I might have. Cool stuff

[@YanaBana79]

Great video on one of my favorite shows. Excited for the upcoming Broadway revival!

[@cguajardo9967]

This was so painfully beautiful!!!😭😭😭 Genius writing, and the break down of it is so clarifying.

[@arashelahi2618]

If someone has no self-reflection ability, they need to self-reflect to gain some; a cruel cycle.

[@cloudykodi]

I can agree, this musical is very good but it can also be so heartbreaking My friend showed me the movie a week or so ago and warned me that it's basically whiplash with how there can be a depressing song and then suddenly a very exciting and happy song

[@AtomicBananaPress]

Commenting for the aLgOrItHm and to squash my personal cringe of both never having seen this musical and also recognizing a lot of my own mistakes being presented in song.

[@pileybenton656]

It takes courage to reflect on the lyrics and look inward, proud of you

[@shannongeier63]

Drinking game: Take a shot every time the work Literally is spoken. Great video BTW!!!

[@broadwayonix46]

brilliant video! My favorite musical of all time. genius writing.

[@PumpedAaron]

Hey good stuff! I thought this would be a retrospective on the last five years, but I’m glad this was what we got instead!

[@BurritosPancakes]

i was super skeptical at first when i watched it but watching your video helped me looking back at it and see things from a different perspective! appreciate the breakdown great video :-) !!

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

What if we swapped who goes forward and who backward?

[@pileybenton656]

I've thought about that before, but in my humble opinion it would re-frame the musical around Cathy's experience instead of Jamie's.

[@raquelDRS5936]

Curious Fact : in The song "Say no to This" from Hamilton there's in The end of The song a reference of this song from "The last Five Years" in The line 🎵"Nobody needs to Know"🎵 and Also Lin Manuel Miranda himself Confirmed The fact ------------------ in Spanish/ en Español -------- Dato curioso: en la canción "Say no to This" de Hamilton hay en el final de la canción una referencia a esta canción de "The last Five Years" en la línea 🎵"Nobody need to Know"🎵 y también al propio Lin Manuel Miranda Confirmado el hecho

[@leopoldfitzswifey]

thank you so much for this! this video helped me understand the story, characters, and timeline a lot better

[@toppersundquist]

I have never heard of this, and I regret the implication I'm normal.

[@pileybenton656]

My deepest apologies for the misunderstanding 😰

[@toppersundquist]

@@pileybenton656 Also now I kinda need to see this. A lot of the specifics don't match up, but a lot of the broad strokes are... uhm... very familiar.

[@pileybenton656]

​@@toppersundquist Lmao it really do be relatable tho

[@danielponder690]

the pit orchestra is only strings, piano, guitar, and some doubling on chimes and other percussion periodically; really beautifully written music by Jason Robert Brown

[@louisphilippe5666]

I was watching the film adaptation just yesterday and I was thinking how different things could have turned out for this unhappy couple if they sang less & thought more! Thanks for this breakdown ☺️

[@kristenshoemaker4194]

JAMIE'S NOT RACIST made me laugh LOL I love this musical

[@Satsuki1000]

I didn't notice you uploaded a new vid until I saw your recent Patreon post. (feeding the algorithm through comment)

[@reimari11]

Had just watched a live version of this is my country. I had no prior knowledge about the musical and had listened to the 3 versions on spotify weeks before watching and I can say that I'm left in awe. A tragic tale with amazing music and themes.

[@yserareborn]

Heh, I thought this would be about the tragedy that was the last five years of our lives, escalator and all. This is a welcome surprise though.

[@josesolismusic]

Mozart wasn't deaf, dear. That was Beethoven. If you want a blind composer, that would be Bach at the end of his life.

[@raquelDRS5936]

I want to confess that my Begginings of being Familicide with this musical movie Was by First Listening The Soundtrack in Spotify and then i decided to Watch The movie, but i also discovered that The movie Was made in 2015 and i find out The musical movie in 2022, and then i Get *TRUELY OBSSESED* With this Master piece (Fake Caugh) ahem Ehem... *BUT NOT ONLY BY THE FACT OF WHO WERE THE ACTORS*

[@sylvirgiomanach1491]

So... Back in 2009? 2010? I was *deep* into this musical. And there was a group putting it on in Columbia, SC. Well. I did not live near Columbia, SC. But! My (at the time) boyfriend's brother's friend's friend lived within walking distance of the theatre. Guess who went to Columbia to sleep on the floor of a stranger's apartment so I could see the play!! 🥳🥳 I was not murdered, but I also did not eat all weekend since the trip and tickets were *all* of my money. 18 year old Sylvir was a *mess* and 33 year old Sylvir loves her, misses her sometimes, but is mostly just *shocked* that we survived to adulthood.

[@AGypsyGrifter]

What if Jamie was Shrek?

[@pileybenton656]

🤔🤔🤔

[@raquelDRS5936]

I don't get The Question and the conection you are trying to Do With Shrek and The Last Five Years

[@Gunbladefire]

*screams in gay* This reads like the heteros having a normal one and I'm sorry I can't stop thinking about it that way.

[@pileybenton656]

Yeah this whole musical feels like it belongs in r/arethestraightsOK

[@Leo-et8mn]

7th

[@LizardsLore]

Are we just goons gloss over this creator thinking Mozart, rather than Beethoven was deaf?

[@jwlez2814]

... mozart was not deaf. beethoven was.