The Last Five Years | The Sleepless Critic

REVIEW: Silence speaks volumes in Gloucester Stage Company’s clever and multi-faceted British play ‘Betrayal’

Posted on 5 Days Ago by The Sleepless Critic

“I think of you sometimes.”

The passing thought and echoes of an ex can come and go. In the aftermath of an affair, some things may also become crystal clear.

With layered direction by Shana Gozansky, Gloucester Stage Company continues Harold Pinter’s British drama, Betrayal live and in person at Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts through Saturday, August 1. This semi-autobiographical and non-linear production runs approximately 85 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Gloucester Stage Company’s production of “Betrayal”, written by Harold Pinter and directed by Shana Gozansky, starring Liza Giangrande, Michael Underhill, Tanner Efinger, and Jeremy Beazlie, runs at the theater from July 11 though August 1, 2026.

© 2026 Shawn G. Henry • 978-590-4869

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Written in 1978, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal is a deeply personal play inspired by Pinter’s illicit real life affair with a BBC journalist. It delves into the lies, danger, suspicions, surprises, and secrets you hide from others as well as the ones you tell yourself when love takes an unexpected turn. I couldn’t help but notice the British holiday film, Love Actually shares a passing resemblance to Betrayal in one of its many popular plot lines and famous playwright Jason Robert Brown was inspired to pattern Pinter’s reverse chronological narrative style in Betrayal into his famous musical, The Last Five Years. Instead of building a story from the beginning, Pinter innovatively begs the question, “How did we all get here?”

Jeffrey Petersen’s intriguing avant guarde set serves as various locations featuring white chairs, a pastel background, a skewed mirror and red carpeting. While Amanda E. Fallon’s flashing shadows, silhouettes and psychedelic lighting in conjunction with Julian Crocamo’s jagged piano-infused sound design reverberates to rewind the clock, it is curious that the audience can bear witness to pieces of the action backstage. Perhaps an act of transparency in this complicated affair.

Time leaping from 1977 to 1968, Betrayal redefines and explores the nature of betrayal in all its forms. This witty cast share captivating chemistry and sharp comic timing. Liza Giangrande depicts romantic, complicated and disillusioned Emma who is married to Tanner Efinger as scholarly book publisher Robert, but sees an opportunity for freedom in Michael Underhill as dashing, married, and Robert’s oldest friend and fellow book publisher Jerry. Rounding out the cast is Jeremy Beazile who offers his own humor as the Waiter. Aside from an immense love of literature, Giangrande is compelling as Emma sharing playful and exciting chemistry with Underhill as Jerry and an enigmatic and restrained rapport with Robert.

Nia Safaar Banks creates posh ensembles not only faithful to the late 70s in psychedelic patterns, floral, and velvet coats, but creations that reflect the distinct personalities and vast differences in one another which is never better defined than in Michael Underhill as relaxed Jerry and Tanner Efinger as intellectual Robert. In sneakers and denim, Jerry is adventurous, dark and dashing while Robert is anxious, serious and seemingly safe in a distinguished sweater vest.

Pinter’s eccentric style of storytelling is always fascinating even at its most absurd which also exposes pointlessness, but here Pinter relies more on subtlety than absurdity. It is a production with a deeply meticulously restrained emotional core. Distressed sighs, ironies, layered conversations, loaded pauses, and the dignified and carefully composed comments are the real allure of this production embedded within Betrayal’s scandal. Betrayal is eccentrically understated with a wealth of humor, repression, symbolism, contradictions and revelations in an innovatively told tale. It takes a novel approach to each scene, especially the lack of awkwardness where it should be awkward and the profound meaning behind what is left unsaid.

Gloucester Stage Company continues Harold Pinter’s British drama, Betrayal live and in person at Gloucester Stage Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts through Sunday, Saturday, August 1. Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Featuring a stellar cast, a riveting and indelible ‘Parade’

Posted on March 18, 2025 by The Sleepless Critic

A blanket and balloon have never held greater meaning under Georgia’s magnolia trees and endless sunshine.

Taking place nearly 50 years after the Civil War in 1913, Max Chernin depicts Leo Frank, a quiet and disciplined Jewish Brooklynite who is working hard to build a life in Georgia with his Southern wife Lucille, portrayed by Talia Suskauer, when one harrowing night changes everything. Corruption, hypocrisy, slander, scandal and manipulation are all boldly explored as Leo Frank is accused of an unimaginable crime.

When truth is set aside, where is there to turn?

Winner of two 2023 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Michael Arden with evocative choreography by Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant, the national tour of historical musical drama Parade continues live and in person at Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, March 23. Based on a true story, this riveting production runs 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Max Chernin (center) and company in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

It is particularly significant that Parade is on tour in Boston due to Massachusetts’ foundational roots including its Cradle of Liberty nickname, but also timely because Parade’s Boston run occurs through Purim, a Jewish festival rooted in the Book of Esther celebrating a historic Jewish triumph over oppression.

This captivating musical is based on a gripping true story and evokes a wide range of emotions. Like a parade, it spectacularly unfolds with an opening drum roll of The Red Hills of Home boasting gorgeous harmonies, splendor and Michael Arden’s acclaimed and seamless direction as well as Dane Laffrey’s moving and sweeping scenic design.

Adorned in vivid bunting as lights descend from the ceiling, Dane Laffrey’s elaborate and rolling set transforms from a wide open field into a wooden courtroom blending Sven Ortel’s descriptive projection design of dramatic and documentary-style elements revealing historical photos of the real people, places and newspaper headlines as crucial dates trace the events of the story. Billowing clouds and colorful landscapes stand out vividly between the black and white footage. Susan Hilferty and Mark Koss impressively capture the essence of the era in pastels, frills, smocks, three piece suits, newsboy caps, parasols, and brimmed hats.

The National Touring Company of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

Having seen Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, Brown has a gift for articulating a vast range of complex emotions and glimpses of his inspiration for his later work can been heard in this moving journey that ebbs and flows from bright to poignant, confident to humbling and from rueful to optimistic. The emotional highs and lows infusing blues, pop, gospel, jazz, and rock are swift, stunning, and consistently thought provoking.

Max Chernin and company in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

Featuring a large and stellar cast of approximately 30 people with many of them portraying more than one role, I was blown away hearing the depth and resonance of this particular array of amazing and occasionally a cappella vocals under Charlie Alterman’s magnificent music direction. Chernin’s vocals have a unique beauty as he embodies Leo’s stark loneliness and deft humor in How Can I Call this Home. With gravitas and sincerity, Chernin is excellent as Leo as he shares his thoughts in melodious vocals and quiet candor especially during his remarkable ballad, It’s Hard to Speak my Heart. He has elevating chemistry with Talia Suskauer as spirited and resourceful Lucille and they create powerful harmony for the lively and optimistic duet It’s Not Over Yet and a stunning rendition of All the Wasted Time.

Talia Suskauer and Max Chernin in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

Jack Roden is mesmerizing as Frankie Epps, especially during a powerful and poignant rendition of There is a Fountain/It Don’t Make Sense. The medley infuses light and angelic harmonies to foreboding of a boy maturing in an instant. Roden and Olivia Goosman as exuberant Mary Phagan share some endearing scenes for the catchy The Picture Show.

Olivia Goosman, Jack Roden and company in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

Griffin Binnicker shines as charismatic yet contentious Tom Watson as he leads the urgent Hammer of Justice and Michael Tacconi is notable as scandal thirsty reporter Brett Craig desperate to revive his career in the darkly playful hymnal Real Big News.

Parade’s layered and stirring choreography is demonstrated in the hypnotic turn and parallels of The Factory Girls to the mischievous spring of Pretty Music with impressive Chris Shyer as slick Governor Slaton jubilantly spinning ladies across the dance floor. Another highlight is the clanking rhythms and chilling choreography of Feel the Rain Fall with Ramone Nelson’s commanding vocals as mysterious Jim Conley and the telling and satirical number Where will you Stand when the Flood Comes.

Emily Rose DeMartino, Bailee Endebrock, Sophia Manicone and company in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

Parade is an important and touching musical that is as breathtaking and mysterious as it is shocking. A haunting and powerful exploration of love, hope, faith, and loss into a profound and resonating piece of storytelling that is sure to stay with you long after the production is over.

Max Chernin and the company in the National Tour of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus

The national tour of historical musical drama Parade continues live and in person at Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, March 23. Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Lyric Stage Company’s ‘The Last Five Years’ a shrewd and beguiling look at love

Posted on December 2, 2021 by The Sleepless Critic

Start from the beginning. No, start from the end.

Not certain which way is best to tell a love story, but Jason Robert Brown certainly makes a powerful argument by the innovative way this story is told as Lyric Stage Company ’s musical The Last Five Years continues through December 12 at the Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The show is 90 minutes with no intermission.

Directed intuitively by Leigh Barrett with eloquent musical direction by Dan Rodriguez, The Last Five Years describes an ardent romance between a promising writer and an up and coming actress. It’s blissful love at first sight when suddenly, life goes into overdrive.

Jared Troilo as Jamie and Kira Troilo as Cathy Photo by Mark S Howard/Lyric Stage Company

Having seen the 2014 film adaptation of the same name starring Broadway dynamos Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick, I had high hopes for this production and like Jamie Wellerstein and Cathy Hiatt, fell for both immediately. The Last Five Years is a compelling, poignant and multi-dimensional journey of love’s elation, humor, compromise, and struggle as life veers into unexpected directions. The Last Five Years doesn’t hold back in revealing the complex nature of this blossoming relationship, showing its vibrancy and its cracks in equal measure. How do two people stay afloat when life is throwing so many things at them in completely different ways?

Led by Dan Rodriguez on piano, Gregory Holt on Bass, Emily Dahl-Irons on Violin, Tom Young on Guitar, and Kevin Crudder and Javier Caballero on Violoncellos Photo by Mark S Howard/Lyric Stage Company

Intimately performed in theatre-in-the-round with a seamless six piece band, the beauty in Lyric Stage Company’s The Last Five Years is not only in its wonderful lead casting with married couple Jared Troilo as Jamie and Kira Troilo as Cathy, but in its unique depiction of time and place through a cosmic and multi-functional rotating stage and the engaging way it consistently involves the audience.

Jamie and Cathy are earnest and likable and their faults are seen and met with sympathy, heartache, and a degree of discernment when they don’t perceive their own shortcomings. It’s an intriguing and thought-provoking piece as it explores a kaleidoscope of emotions with intensity and realism and perhaps recognizing yourself in their shoes for a moment or two.

Jared Troilo as Jamie Photo by Mark S Howard/Lyric Stage Company

Having witnessed amazing Jeremy Jordan as Jamie in the film adaptation, Jared had a lot to live up to, but he captures the essence of Jamie’s endless humor, charm, and determination while adding his own contagious enthusiasm and captivating vocals. He is a gleeful and conspiring storyteller for The Schmuel Song and displays ego and earnest sincerity in If I Didn’t Believe in You. Kira’s soaring vocals depict Cathy’s fragility, sheer determination, and playful optimism in I Can Do Better Than That. Another highlight involves Kira reflecting on A Summer in Ohio, portraying Cathy’s dry sense of humor and insecurity. However, she is the most enchanting in Goodbye until Tomorrow.

Kira Troilo as Cathy Photo by Mark S Howard/Lyric Stage Company

Jenna McFarland-Lord’s enthralling set design and Karen Perlow’s mood-induced lighting reflects two sides of love through its multi-color backdrops such as violet, teal, and purple as well as floating gold rings that shine alone and in pairs.

Jason Robert Brown’s music ebbs and flows much like love from bright to poignant, confident to humbling, and from rueful to triumphant. No matter how love changes, it is always a memorable journey.

Lyric Stage Company presents Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years through December 12 at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, Massachusetts. Click here more information and tickets.

REVIEW: Led by powerhouse vocals, SpeakEasy Stage Company’s engaging ‘Songs for a New World’ a memorable musical experience

Posted on June 5, 2021 by The Sleepless Critic

We are all hearing soon. Soon we will be back together in the theatre for a wonderful live theatrical experience. How it has been missed!

However convenient it is sitting in front of a computer for a virtual show, there is nothing quite like the anticipation of live theatre in person with an audience in a shared experience. SpeakEasy Stage Company’s remarkable concert musical benefit show, Songs for a New World, accomplishes quite a bit in its hour and a half runtime. Through clever cinematography that still adheres to Covid guidelines, SpeakEasy Stage Company recreates the thrill of seeing actors together onstage and it is easy to see each cast member’s excitement through their own extraordinary performances. We’re not quite there yet, but this is getting ever closer.

‘A New World’ featuring the entire company Video courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

Directed by Paul Daigneault and musically-directed by Jose Delgado, SpeakEasy Stage Company continues their 30^th anniversary season with John Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World streaming through June 8. The show was filmed onstage at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and tickets. Discount tickets are also available. Click here for more information on SpeakEasy Stage Company’s recently announced 2021-22 season.

It is difficult to describe the anticipation of seeing SpeakEasy Stage Company’s concert musical benefit, Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World. The last Jason Robert Brown musical I witnessed was a film adaptation of The Last Five Years. It was a glorious, resonating tear jerker featuring reliable talents Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick.

Songs for a New World explores a variety of characters that are faced with the ultimate, sometimes humorous and other times harrowing life-changing decisions and deciding what to do next. With simple staging and an onstage band conducted by Jose Delgado, Songs for a New World has humor and heartache enhanced by some of Boston’s most recognizable vocal powerhouses.

Rashed Al Nuaimi sings ‘She Cries” Video courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

From the inspiring, tremendous, and relatable opening number, A New World featuring powerful, upbeat harmonies between Dwayne P. Mitchell, Davron S Monroe, Mikayla Myers, Rebekah Rae Robles, Alexander Tan, Victor Carillo Tracey, Laura Marie Duncan and Rached Al Nuaimi, this production proves to be something to behold. A New World/Time to Fly gives the audience a glimpse into the shared experience of what each character is feeling and the hope their decisions will turn out right.

Songs for a New World is full of powerful performances and each song is as strong as the last, but here are a few highlights. One standout performance is a tender and stirring rendition of On the Deck of a Spanish Ship, 1492 as Monroe exclaims, “Have Mercy Lord” while the cast embarks on a harrowing, life-changing journey. Dressed in a long fur coat, Laura Marie Duncan is wildly entertaining as a scorned woman in an extreme situation in Just One Step. Duncan’s expressive personality and her sheer energy drive this amazing performance.

‘I’d Give it All for You’ Jennifer Ellis and Dwayne P Mitchell Video courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

Jennifer Ellis performs some vocal gymnastics as Mrs. Claus for Sweabaya Santa, reimagining Santa as an absent, judgmental husband whose love is as fleeting as his sleigh. Dwayne P Mitchell literally rises from the ashes of his childhood in this boastful, self-assured rendition of The Steam Train. Ellis and Mitchell have sweet chemistry in a beautiful duet about the complexity of love in I’d Give it All for You.

Rached Al Nuaimi demonstrates zany, emotional turmoil and building frustration in She Cries and Jennifer Ellis delivers a bold and anguished performance in The Flagmaster, 1776.

SpeakEasy Stage Company’s Songs for a New World also boasts an incredible finale not to be missed with Hear My Song. Glad to add John Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World as another memorable musical experience.

SpeakEasy Stage Company continues streaming Songs for a New World through June 8. Click here for more information, tickets, and how to support the SpeakEasy Stage Company.