The story of a couple falling in and out of love, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years is far from a simple tale. To be fair, it's more like two: Cathy, the wife, tells her story backward, beginning with the divorce, while the husband, Jamie, starts from their first date onward. Gabrielle Young '09 and Jake Aaron '09 are the heart and the whole of the cast, with the majority of the musical's success depending on their acting and vocal talent.Young and Aaron's singing was generally powerful. "Still Hurting," Young's heartfelt number at the beginning of the show, was difficult to hear. Her volume, it turned out, reflected her character's depression during the scene, and, soon enough, she was belting out lyrics loud enough to overpower the six-person orchestra unobtrusively playing from the back of the stage. Aaron sometimes sounded softer as well, making him occasionally difficult to understand during some of the longer songs.

Emotions ran high throughout the production. The very tangible passage of time and its effects on each actor added, strangely, a sense of realism to the show. As time ticked backward, Young's songs grew happier and happier and she grew more and more beautiful and looked less tired, while the opposite happened to Aaron; as he progressed toward the divorce, he appeared increasingly worn down.

Both actors' personalities became apparent during their stagetime. With the exception of the song depicting their wedding, the two never directly interacted on stage. Young has an amazing voice, and in her most dramatic moments she could crescendo with resounding power. In "Rollin' Along," Aaron controlled the audience with his eyes-which often flickered with excitement or despair-as well as the rest of his body, running and jumping with pure elation to express the joy in his life.

The Free Play Theatre Collective is the only student-led organization housed in Spingold Laurie Theater. Director Justin Becker '09 said he preferred the Laurie because of its balance between a large seating capacity and a sense of intimacy. The audience seemed to envelop the stage, sitting in three different angled sections, as opposed to the more conventional layout found in the Shapiro Theater. Unfortunately, the lighting was not always spot on, and there were times when the singers were left in the dark, reducing the benefit of performing in an otherwise professional theater. Ultimately, this didn't significantly detract from the overall strength of the show, which was driven by the incredible performance of its two actors.

Musicals combine many different sorts of talents, and this show was no exception. Given that the cast was so small, the show's success was all the more impressive. If Free Play Theatre Cooperative can do this with two actors, it will be a treat to see what it can do with larger musicals in coming seasons.