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On April 23, 2006, Scott Smith asked:

I've seen three productions of ?The Last Five Years? - including a flawless one in Sydney, Australia. What vexes me every time I see the show is the part in "The Next Ten Minutes" where Jamie is pointing out the buildings to Cathy. In every instance, the actor playing Jamie points to two different locations when mentioning "John Lennon" and "the Dakota." I thought it was just common knowledge among most people that John Lennon lived in the Dakota -- and never even been to New York City! Ever considered including a bit of context for the show when you send out permission to perform it?

To which Jason replied,

It's interesting, I'm really on the fence about this. With both "Songs For A New World" and "The Last Five Years," I made a deliberate decision not to include anything that wasn't absolutely necessary in the stage directions. I just think it's classier to say to the director of a production: "Here's the information you need, now do whatever you want with it." But it turns out that a lot of directors feel confused by all that freedom, and a lot of productions that I've seen or heard about don't seem particularly well-researched or thought out. Which suggests that I should include considerably more detail in the script. But I just think that if I were directing something and I saw all that detail there (he enters here, she's wearing this, the set looks like this), I'd feel vaguely insulted by it. As far as context goes, I don't think it's my job to tell anyone that John Lennon lived in the Dakota or that Crate and Barrel sells furniture. If there's a reference in the show you don't understand, go find a computer and Google it. I get questions from foreign countries a lot (latest one: "Who's Daisy Mae?") and I understand where people outside of the US would be overwhelmed by the specific references in "The Last Five Years," but I can't really imagine myself putting together a Lonely Planet Guide to the show. Maybe you can do it for me and I'll put it up on the site. Start with John Gotti and a good definition of "Shiksa," you'll probably be doing a great service!

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