photo credit: Ronnie Lyon

Written by Patrick Chavis

One More Productions presents: The Last Five Years playing now at the Gem Theatre in Downtown Garden Grove, April 10 – April 26, 2026.

Directed by 2025 OCR Best Director Winner Damien Lorton, One More Production presents this beautiful, relatable story of young love, with a unique twist, and performances and presentation that really highlight many of the show’s quality moments. Though the important character of New York City, which is so beneficial to this play, felt lost in this, favoring a more abstract, ethereal ethos that arguably felt right at home in this story.

Story:

The Last Five Years is about the relationship between Cathy (Courtney Hays) and Jamie (Hayden Magnum), that one day will come to an end. Not really a spoiler, it’s part of what makes this tragic love story unique. Another aspect is that it’s completely sung through. From the beginning of the relationship, life seems grand, and there’s so much hope on the horizon, while the other character begins the show at the end of the relationship. As the story progresses, the characters do meet in the middle.

The interesting thing about The Last Five Years is that the tragic love story feels like a strong label for this story, to the extent that anything can be perfectly categorized. At the same time, the relationship issues these characters deal with are career, social life, and romance. It’s a bunch of little issues that are explored and highlighted in the songs, which ultimately lead to their bond falling apart. While the relationship ultimately fizzling out is tragic, it’s, dare I say, everyday tragic, which makes “tragic” seem like the wrong word for something so common.

Are we to say that the search for love is indeed an endeavor with a large possibility of tragedy? If so, I guess fools really do fall in love. Oh, Elvis, you got that one correct. The second thing you got right was Peanut butter, bananas & bacon, yum. No wonder he gained so much weight.

More Story:

But back to The Last Five Years. It’s a two-hander musical. It requires so much from the actors, and they aren’t even helping each other that much either. Most of these tunes are either Jamie or Cathy singing, and they’re not short. Many of the songs are 5 minutes or more. There’s no hiding. If you don’t have the talent on either side, the show falls flat. This is now my second time watching a production of TLFY, and I can say it’s the first time I’ve seen it live, where the performers were up to the challenge. Besides, the movie with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan which was delightful.

Acting:

Hayden Magnum’s command of the tunes in this was so touching, particularly in the more dramatic, sensitive tunes, like “I Could Never Rescue You” or “If I Didn’t Believe in You.”

I could feel it in my bones.

Magnums, second act in this is incredible. Some of the more upbeat rhythmic tunes, though, with a little more vocal spunk and performance, in tunes like Shiska Goddess, would have gone a long way, as the choreography was lacking.

The small six-piece band by Conductor Nick Bravo blends effortlessly with the vocals and brings the energy that only a live band can bring to the stage.

Courtney Hays (Cathy) in this show from Act 1 & 2 pitch perfect to my ear, with highlights such as The Next Ten Minutes, I’m A Part of That, and Climbing Uphill.

Set Design/Direction/Lighting

Some lovely elements, the smoky set, the obscure use of musical instruments on the wall, and chairs that symbolize the creative lives both characters lead. The beautiful use of lighting that wasn’t always on time, but created such a mood. With all of that said, we hear about New York in the tunes, and it’s a big part of their story, but visually, it’s something that has to be imagined.

The concept is an interesting and original approach to a romantic relationship, but it also causes one of its biggest issues. So many one-person songs, you might forget you’re watching a musical and instead watching a well-themed, very particular cabaret.

The Last Five Years at the Gem is 8.5 out of 10! Great Show! And fans of the musical will get a kick out of this recent rendition.’

Review

8.5 Overall

8.4 Users (1 vote)

Story9

Acting8.8

Set & Design8.2

Costumes8

Entertainment8.6

What people say... 1 Leave your rating

Danny Torres

The Beauty of the Second Glance: A Vocal Powerhouse at the Gem

Full YouTube Review here: https://youtu.be/AH9NlzuwYOc?si=3u23Q42IDitiTcqv
Initially, we found the colliding timelines—Cathy’s story told backward and Jamie’s told forward—disorienting and "gimmicky".

Performance Critique
While the reviewers struggled with the show's structure, they lauded the vocal technicality of the leads. Courtney Hays and Hayden Magnum were praised for handling the "heavy lift" of a verbose, data-intensive score that demands both delicate nuance and powerful belting.

However, the critique was sharp regarding character portrayal. The reviewers felt Hayden Magnum’s Jamie came across as an "ego-driven jerk" whose career focus and infidelity made him difficult to sympathize with. In contrast, they viewed Courtney Hays’ Cathy as the emotional anchor, noting how her subtle physical changes—like hair styling and shoe choices—effectively communicated her journey through the reversed timeline. Ultimately, the high quality of the acting and live five-piece band led the reviewers to raise their score from a 6/10 to an 8/10.

April 27, 2026, 12:23 am

Story8

Acting10

Set & Design7

Costumes7

Entertainment10

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Great Show! OCR Recommended! 

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