Posted on September 17, 2013 at 8:48 pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact for Sh-K-Boom / Ghostlight Records: Dan Fortune /
dan@fortunecreative.com, 212.302.9504

54 BELOW WILL CELEBRATE

“THE LAST FIVE YEARS”

WITH A SPECIAL SERIES OF CONCERTS STARRING ADAM KANTOR AND BETSY WOLFE FROM
OCTOBER 16 to 19

TO LAUNCH THE 2013 OFF-BROADWAY CAST RECORDING FROM SH-K-BOOM / GHOSTLIGHT
RECORDS

FEATURING COMPOSER JASON ROBERT BROWN ON PIANO WITH THE ENTIRE BAND REUNITED

DISC IN STORES AND ONLINE SEPTEMBER 24

“A gem of a show with jaw-dropping songs, beautifully performed by Betsy
Wolfe and Adam Kantor, who fill every daredevil leap and riff with torrents of feeling.” – Jesse Green, New York Magazine

New York, NY – 54 Below will present the special series The Last Five Years in Concert – with the show’s recent stars Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe – from October 16 to 19 to celebrate the new cast recording from Sh-K-Boom / Ghostlight Records. These four shows will give audiences a chance to celebrate the musical in the intimate setting of 54 Below with the critically acclaimed performances of Betsy and Adam, along with the full band reunited from this year’s hit production at Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director). The composer Jason Robert Brown himself will be at the piano on October 16 -17 at 7:00 PM, with Andrew Resnick taking over on October 18-19 at 11:00 PM. The entire set of concerts will feature Gary Sieger on acoustic guitar, Randy Landau on fretless bass, Thomas Kim Carney on violin, and Summer Boggess and Mairi Dorman on cello. The cover charge ranges from $35 to $45 and there is a $25 food and beverage minimum. Please visit 54below.com for additional information.

The Last Five Years 2013 Off-Broadway cast recording – based on the hit Second Stage Theatre production created and directed by Jason Robert Brown – will be released both in stores and via online outlets on September 24. To pre-order the album, please visit www.sh-k-boom.com/thelastfiveyears-new.html. Customers who purchase the album before the release date receive an immediate download of the track “The Next Ten Minutes.”

The concerts are produced by Sh-K-Boom / Ghostlight Records. The new recording of The Last Five Years was produced by Jason Robert Brown with Kurt Deutsch and Stacey Mindich serving as executive producers. The beloved two-character musical, which has received more than 500 regional productions and 3,000 performances around the world, was extended three times and broke box office records for the Off-Broadway institution and ranks among the longest-running productions in the company’s 34 year history. The show’s enduring global popularity was also the subject of a recent article in The New York Times.

The 2002 original cast recording of The Last Five Years – the label’s first cast album – remains one of their best-selling titles. Sh-K-Boom is also producing a feature film based on the show directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. In addition, the label has released both the Broadway and London cast recordings of Brown’s 13 – The Musical, as well as his solo album Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes.

Jesse Green of New York Magazine calls The Last Five Years, “A gem of a show with jaw-dropping songs beautifully performed by Betsy Wolfe and Adam Kantor, who fill every daredevil leap and riff with torrents of feeling. Jason Robert Brown has put together a beautiful, emotional experience.” Melissa Rose Bernardo of Entertainment Weekly calls the score, “Stunning, far and away Jason Robert Brown’s finest work,” and Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News raves that the show is “graceful, gripping and break-your-heart beautiful. It’s impossible not to swoon.”

Jason Robert Brown’s contemporary musical The Last Five Years tells the emotionally powerful story of two twenty-something New Yorkers who dive head first into a marriage fueled by the optimism that comes with finding “the one.” But in a city where professional and personal passions collide and only the strongest relationships survive, navigating the waters of love and matrimony can sometimes prove too much. Funny, honest and intimate, with an exuberantly romantic score, The Last Five Years takes a bold look at one young couple’s hope that love endures the test of time.

On the heels of directing this production of The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown is currently working on two new musicals. Honeymoon in Vegas, with a book by Andrew Bergman, will premiere at the Paper Mill Playhouse this fall, and a musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County, which he wrote with Marsha Norman, will open on Broadway in January 2014 under the direction of Bartlett Sher.

The Last Five Years featured scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Jon Weston. The musical director was Thomas Murray.

Tickets and information are available at
www.54Below.com . Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 PM are only
available by calling (646) 476-3551.

# # # # #