East Village Cabaret Last 5 Years

The Last Five Years

by Jason Robert Brown.

A Backlot Arts Production

starring Two Brilliant Casts of Two in Rep.

Berry Ayers & Katherine Tanner (top)

Steve Dawson & Dianne Dawson

More info below

Admission $20.00 - schedule:

Wednesday Jan 30: 8pm, Ayers & Tanner

Thursday Jan 31: 8pm, Dawson & Dawson

Saturday Feb 2: 8pm, Dawson & Dawson

Sunday Feb 3: 8pm Dawson & Dawson

Wednesday Feb 6: 8pm Ayers & Tanner

Sunday Feb 10: 2pm Dawson & Dawson

Wednesday Feb 13: 8pm Ayers & Tanner

Friday Feb 15: 8pm Ayers & Tanner

Sunday Feb 17 2pm Ayers & Tanner

Sunday Feb 17 8pm Dawson & Dawson

Purchase Tickets Online

The Last 5 Years: by Jason Robert Brown. Opened in Chicago in 2001. Played off Broadway in 2002. A musical in one Act, starring a man and a woman. The all musical story explores a five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein (guy), a rising novelist, and Cathy Hiatt (girl), a struggling actress. The show uses a novel form of storytelling in which Cathy travels backwards in time (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie travels forwards (starting with the couple's first date). The songs are presented as soliloquies, except for a wedding song in the middle, where the two characters share a duet. Perfect for our venue, the East Village Cabaret, here in Lakewood Ranch, an intimate, comfortable, theatrical atmosphere, where we will demonstrate that there is no need to go to NYC for superb talent when our local talent is second to none.	Our Director: Michael Sebastian East Village Cabaret's Artistic Director, Director and Musical Director of The Last 5 Years, graduated from the University of Michigan and The Lancaster Conservatory of Music. Fresh out of college he joined The New College String Quartet (later becoming The Florida String Quartet) and was Principal Cellist of The Florida West Coast Symphony. He has worked under conductors Eugene Ormandy, Zubin Mehta, Jeanne-Pierre Rampal, Arthur Fiedler, Leroy Anderson, Mitch Miller and Juan Carlos Menotti, among others. He has since performed internationally as conductor and/or soloist with artists such as Bernadette Peters, George Benson, Red Skelton, Johnny Mathis, Paige O'Hara and Smokey Robinson.	Michael Sebastian, Director	Michael's commitment to music education has allowed him to serve on the faculties of Interlochen National Music Camp, The University of South Florida, The University of Tampa and The Bennington Chamber Music Festival. Sebastian has focused on theatrical music directing for the past 16 years, and has over 100 credits to his name. His award winning work has been seen at countless theaters across the country, including Florida Studio Theatre, The Asolo (both in Sarasota, Florida), Gateway Theatrical (Long Island), and The Mack-Haden (New York). We are so proud of these two talented ensemble casts, in this venue, with this show, we hope all the tri-county area theater lovers will make a point to see this very special production.
Below we list our cast's credits	in alphabetical order
Berry Ayers cast A Credits Off Broadway, LA & National Tours Naked Boys Singing! Naked Maid Actor’s Playhouse, Off-Broadway A Little Bit Off Featured John Houseman Theatre, Off-Broadway Naked Boys Singing! Naked Maid Celebration Theatre, Los Angeles Reefer Madness Jimmy Harper Cover Stagedoor Theatre, Los Angeles A Chorus Line Paul Networks Productions, National Tour Regional Sophisticated Ladies Featured Tampa Bay PAC, Dir/Chor Anne Reinking Sleeping Beauty King St. Louis MUNY, Orig Cast Workshop The Colors Of Love Voicestra Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Orig Cast The Weekly Actor of The Year Jimmy Lamb Orlando Fringe Festival, Orig Cast Willm S Christopher Marlowe Willm S Productions, Orig Cast I Heart New York Berry Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, Orig Cast Evita Migaldi Theatre Winter Haven Chicago Mary Sunshine Theatre Winter Haven Hair Berger Theater On The Square Fiddler On The Roof Mendel* Alhambra Dinner Theatre Some Like It Hot Gangster 2 Alhambra Dinner Theatre You’re…Charlie Brown Linus Alhambra Dinner Theatre Forever Plaid Jinx/Sparky US Alhambra Dinner Theatre Camelot Page/Mordred US* Alhambra Dinner Theatre Singin’ In The Rain Prod Tenor/Cosmo US* Alhambra Dinner Theatre State Fair Wayne Frake Mark Two Dinner Theatre Show Boat Frank Schultz* Mark Two Dinner Theatre Titanic Harold Bride* Mark Two Dinner Theatre Man Of La Mancha Juan/Barber* Mark Two Dinner Theatre Joseph…Dreamcoat Isachar/Baker* Mark Two Dinner Theatre The Music Man J C Squires* Mark Two Dinner Theatre Kiss Me, Kate Hortensio* Mark Two Dinner Theatre West Side Story A-rab Orlando Broadway Dinner Theater Annie Rooster Orlando Broadway Dinner Theater Wonderful Town Lonigan Golden Apple Dinner Theatre Cats Mukustrap/Gus Cover Golden Apple Footloose Willard Hewitt Golden Apple Urinetown Bobby Strong Golden Apple Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Cogsworth Golden Apple Dinner Theatre The Full Monty Dave Bukatinsky Golden Apple Dinner Theatre Plaid Tidings Jinx Golden Apple Dinner Theatre Production The Magic of KVB Genie/Asst/Dancer KVB Theater; Branson, MO Various Shows Silver Sea Cruises Walter Painter Productions Training University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, BFA Musical Theatre 1997	Dianne Dawson cast B Originally from Salem, Massachusetts, Dianne has performed on many local stages since moving to the Sarasota area in 2000. Credits For the past two years, she was honored to receive Sarasota Magazine's Best Actress in a Musical Award for the roles of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd and Meredith Parker in Bat Boy: The Musical. Other favorite credits include Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde, Eliza in My Fair Lady, Maria in West Side Story, Fromme in Assassins, Cinderella in Into the Woods, Edna Louise in Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Titania in A Mid summer Night's Dream, Elma in Bus Stop Eva in The Rimers of Eldritch. She is grateful for the opportunity to work with the team at the East Village Cabaret and to once again be cast alongside her husband, whom she met in her first local production almost eight years ago.	Steve Dawson cast B Credits Jekyll and Hyde (Jekyll/Hyde) Players Theater of Sarasota Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd) Manatee Riverfront Theater Golf the Musical (man 2) Venice Little Theatre Assassins (John Wilkes Booth) Venice Little Theatre Batboy (Dr. Thomas Parker) Manatee Riverfront Theater Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus) St. Andrew Playhouse George M! (George M. Cohan) Players Theater of Sarasota West Side Story (Tony) Players Theater of Sarasota My Fair Lady (Freddy) Players Theater of Sarasota Zorba (Nikos) Players Theatre of Sarasota Caberet (Cli_ ) Players Theatre of Sarasota Forever Plaid (Frankie) Manatee Riverfront Theater Forever Plaid (Frankie) Venice Little Theatre Barefoot in the Park (Paul) Golden Apple Dinner Theater - Venice Barnum (P.T. Barnum) Players Theatre of Sarasota Arsenic and old Lace (Mortimer) Venice Little Theater I Do, I Do (Michael) Venice Little Theater Singin' in the Rain (Cosmo Brown) Players Theatre of Sarasota Of Thee I Sing (The French Ambassador, Louis Lippman, Sam Jenkins) Theatre Works The Wizard of OZ (Scarecrow) Players Theatre of Sarasota The Wizard of OZ (Scarecrow) Venice Little Theater Grand Hotel (Otto Kringelein) Players Theatre of Sarasota Pirates of Penzance (Frederic) Players Theatre of Sarasota Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph) Players Theatre of Sarasota City of Angels (Angel City Four) Players Theatre of Sarasota Sweeney Todd (Anthony) Players Theater of Sarasota Camelot (Mordred) Golden Apple Dinner Theater The Fantasticks (Matt) Manatee Riverfront Theater Phantom (young Cariar/Ensemble) Golden Apple Dinner Theater Call Me Madam (Kenneth) Players Theater of Sarasota A Little Night Music (Henrik) Players Theater of Sarasota The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Narrator & Aggie boy) Players Theater The Sound of Music (Rolf ) Venice Little Theater Hello Dolly (Ensemble) Golden Apple Dinner Theater Guys and Dolls (Ensemble) Golden Apple Dinner Theater Showboat (Ensemble) Golden Apple Dinner Theater Babes in Arms (Valentine) Players Theater of Sarasota Ain't She Sweet (Billie Barkley) Players Theater Sarasota Narnia (Tumnus The Fawn) Players Theater Sarasota The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe (Aslan) Ringling School of Art & Design Godspell (Ensemble) MCC/Center for the Performing Arts	Katherine Michelle Tanner Cast A Credits Katherine was last seen as Jane in Jane Eyre at the Gorilla Theatre and just completed originating the role of Evan in the World Premiere of Fill Our Mouths at New Theatre. At American Stage she was Catharine in Suddenly Last Summer, Catherine in Proof, which earned her the 2005 “Best Actress Award” from Creative Loafing, and Margot in Dial “M” for Murder. At Florida Studio Theatre, she was Myrrha in Metamorphoses and Alice in Sundew. At the Asolo Theatre Festival, some credits include The Diary of Anne Frank, The Crucible, The Blue Room, The Imaginary Invalid and her acclaimed one-woman show Idiot Servant. Other favorites include Helen in The Cripple of Inishmaan, Lisa in Collected Stories and Cinderella in Into The Woods. She holds a B.A. triple major from St. Olaf College and an M.F.A. in Acting from The Asolo Theatre Conservatory.