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Menier sets dates for Last Five YearsThe Menier Chocolate Factory has set dates for the UK premiere of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. The Drama Desk Award-winning musical will play at the intimate London Bridge venue between 18 July and 30 September, though a press night has yet to be set. Information about the show's cast and creative team is also unavailable at this time. The Last Five Years concerns a young couple's romance which lasts, as the title suggests, five years. While his half of the story begins at the beginning, her story begins at the end, working its way back. The musical has already lived a troubled life as Brown's former wife, Theresa O'Neill, objected to the plot, on the grounds that it closely resembled their own relationship, and threatened to sue. Having tweaked the female character and some of the lyrics, The Last Five Years was seen off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre in 2002. Brown went on to win Drama Desk Awards for both the lyrics and the music. Since then the show has been produced across the USA, and has been seen in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Germany, Italy, Canada and Spain. Brown was raised in New York, where he attended the Eastman School of Music. His first major New York production, Songs For A New World, was directed by the daughter of director Hal Prince, Daisy. Brown subsequently wrote songs for Broadway musical Parade, which was directed by Prince himself and won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Original Music Score. In London his work has been championed by the Notes From New York series of performances. The Last Five Years will be the first musical staged at the Menier Chocolate Factory since Sunday In The Park With George transferred to the Wyndham's theatre. The tale of two artists joined by blood, but separated by a century, has received huge critical acclaim in both of its London homes. Click here for original story on OfficialLondonTheatre.co.uk Click here for related story on WhatsOnStage.com Click here for related story on WhatsOnStage.com Click here for The Last Five Years page on 21st Century Musicals |