About the Show

Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren star in the Broadway debut of Jason Robert Brown’s breakup musical.

The Last Five Years follows the rise and fall of a romantic relationship between Jamie, a rising novelist, and Cathy, a struggling actor—told through an inventive structure where Cathy moves backward in time from their breakup, while Jamie moves forward from their first date. Their timelines intersect only once, in the middle of the show, on the day they marry. With a running time of 90 minutes, the musical is a compact and emotionally charged portrait of love gained and lost in New York City.

This Broadway premiere stars Grammy® and Golden Globe nominee Nick Jonas (Les Misérables, Jersey Boys) and Tony Award® winner Adrienne Warren (Tina – The Tina Turner Musical). Directed by Tony nominee Whitney White (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding), the production reimagines Jason Robert Brown’s cult-favorite score—featuring songs like “Still Hurting,” “If I Didn’t Believe in You,” and “Goodbye Until Tomorrow”—with a bold and contemporary sensibility.

Originally premiering Off-Broadway in 2002, The Last Five Years has developed a devoted following for its emotional clarity, intricate musicality, and inventive narrative form.

Critic Reviews (10)

"In the show’s first Broadway incarnation, starring the resplendent Adrienne Warren and an underpowered Nick Jonas, the structure (along with the balance) has been compromised."
Read more

"The fault of this version of The Last Five Years is not in itself, but in its stars... The problem is not that Jonas can’t sing the part, though he doesn’t sing it especially well. (He’s fine in his middle range but wobbly at the bottom and strained at the top.) It’s that the persona he has crafted over time and the performance habits that go with it... are at a polar distance from what he is asked to play in The Last Five Years."
Read more

"The score, as ever, is jammed with gems. But like a troubled couple, the production has issues. Under the direction of Whitney White, Warren and Jonas overdo their performances, pushing too hard too often."
Read more

"Emotionally, this Last Five Years goes the route it’s easiest for the show to go: It belongs unquestionably to its Cathy, the luminous Adrienne Warren."
Read more

"Despite a short 90-minute runtime, “The Last Five Years” is never “moving too fast.” You’re five years older by curtain call. Now, add in woefully miscast leads in Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren and barely-there direction by Whitney White and what you get is the dirge that opened Sunday night at the Hudson Theatre — one of the worst musical productions of the season. It’s appallingly bad."
Read more

"There's no question that both of these stars know how to command a stage. Jonas' pop star status means he is no stranger to winning over a crowd, while Warren is a proven success with a Tony already under her belt. But the emotional disconnect is impossible to overcome in a show that's almost entirely sentimental ballads. "
Read more

"While there’s plenty of screaming, the wound appears oddly bloodless in this overcooked production from director Whitney White... leaving audiences with a top-notch recital of favorite audition songs—but a mostly unmoving theatrical experience."
Read more

"[Warren] has the more difficult assignment of having to begin heartbroken and end hopeful; in less capable hands, this character could easily become merely a doormat... Her clarion voice and forceful belt, which she applies to ravishing effect in "I Can Do Better Than That," is thrilling. Her bravura performance pointedly demonstrates that she can singlehandedly carry a show on her own"
Read more

Cast and creative team

Jason Robert Brown

Composer / Bookwriter / Lyricist