The Last Five Years

In This Program

• The Show
• Cast and Crew
• Musical Numbers
• Who’s Who
• Print Edition
• More about The 5th
• More about ACT Contemporary Theatre

The 5th Avenue Theatre

Executive Director
BILL BERRY

and

ACT Contemporary Theatre

Interim Producing Artistic Director
ELISABETH FARWELL-MORELAND

PRESENT

Written and Composed by
JASON ROBERT BROWN 

Originally Produced for the New York stage by
ARIELLE TEPPER AND MARTY BELL

Originally Produced by Northlight Theatre
Chicago IL

Featuring
COLEMAN CUMMINGS

KEOLA KAPULANI HOLT

CASSI Q KOHL

JEFFERY WALLACE

Scenic Designer
JULIA HAYES WELCH

 Costume Designer
TY PYNE

Lighting Designer
ANDREW D. SMITH

Sound Designer
HALEY PARCHER

Associate Director &
Casting Director
BRODRICK SANTEZE RYANS

Associate Music Director
MICHAEL NUTTING

Assistant Lighting Designer
CASEY PRICE

Associate Sound Designer
KURT CONWAY

Intimacy Director
JASMINE LOMAX

Directing Advisor
TIMOTHY MCCUEN PIGGEE

Production Stage Manager
JEFFREY K. HANSON

Music Director
R.J. TANCIOCO

Director & Musical Staging
SHERMONA MITCHELL

Cast

Jamie Wellerstein
COLEMAN CUMMINGS

Cathy Hiatt
KEOLA KAPULANI HOLT

Cathy Hiatt
CASSI Q KOHL

Jamie Wellerstein
JEFFERY WALLACE

KEOLA KAPULANI HOLT and COLEMAN CUMMINGS
FEB 8, 9, 14, 15, 20, 21, 23 eve, 26, 27 mat, MAR 1 eve, 2, 7, 8, 13, 14, 16 eve

CASSI Q KOHL and JEFFERY WALLACE
FEB 11, 12, 13, 16, 19, 22, 23 mat, 27, 28, MAR 1 mat, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16 mat

Stage Management

Production Stage Manager
JEFFREY K. HANSON

Assistant Stage Manager
ISABELLA MARZIELLO

The actors and stage managers are members of Actors Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Orchestra

Conductor/Piano
R.J. TANCIOCO or MICHAEL NUTTING

Violin
KIMBERLY HARRENSTEIN

Cello 1
GRANT OLSON

Cello 2
VIRGINIA DZIEKONSKI

Guitar
ANTHONY POOLEY

Bass
OLIVIA HAMILTON

The Last Five Years is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Musical Numbers

MUSICAL NUMBERS

“Still Hurting”
Cathy

“Shiksa Goddess”
Jamie

“See I’m Smiling”
Cathy

“Moving Too Fast”
Jamie

“A Part of That”
Cathy

“The Schmuel Song”
Jamie

“A Summer in Ohio”
Cathy

“The Next Ten Minutes”
Cathy, Jamie

“A Miracle Would Happen/When You Come Home to Me”
Cathy, Jamie

“Climbing Uphill”
Cathy

“If I Didn’t Believe in You”
Jamie

“I Can Do Better Than That”
Cathy

“Nobody Needs to Know”
Jamie

“Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You”
Cathy, Jamie

COLEMAN CUMMINGS they/he (Jamie Wellerstein) could not be more honored to be trusted to bring this character to life, and to be working with such an incredible team. They were last seen at The 5th as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid and as Emmett in Legally Blonde at Village Theatre. Notable Credits: Roger (Rent - National Tour), Dmitry (Anastasia - Regional Premiere) Taylor (Shooting Star - Off Broadway), and Chip (The 25th Annual…Spelling Bee - George Street). A huge thanks to everyone involved in making this dream show possible! @colemanscummings 

KEOLA KAPULANI HOLT they/she (Cathy Hiatt) is beyond grateful to be living this dream and telling this story. They are a Seattle-based dancer, actor, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. They are honored to represent their community as a neurodivergent performer! Previous credits at The 5th include Mary Poppins (Swing) and Educational Touring Company: Northwest Bookshelf (Narwhal). Other favorite credits include Cinderella (Village Theatre) and The Hello Girls (Taproot Theatre). Gratitude to my Ohana. Mahalo nui loa. @keola_kapulani

CASSI Q KOHL she/her (Cathy Hiatt) hails from Portland, where she fell in love with this show as a teenager. She is now thrilled to share it amongst her favorite people here in Seattle! You may recognize Cassi as the knife-slinging Bernadette from POTUS here at ACT Contemporary Theatre, and other favorites include: The Little Mermaid (The 5th), Cinderella (Village Theatre), and Hello Girls (Taproot Theatre). Love to her fiancée Amanda for always setting out her favorite breakfast. @thunderdyke

JEFFERY WALLACE he/him (Jamie Wellerstein) is so honored and ecstatic to be making his debut with The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Contemporary Theatre. Theatre credits: Village Theatre's Legally Blonde; Once on This Island; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Hello, Dolly!. MST’s All Shook Up; Peter and the Starcatcher and more. Off stage, Jeff is an interior designer, set designer, and costumer. He is blessed to share his God-given gifts and for the love and support of his incredible family and friends. @JBrianjr_

JASON ROBERT BROWN (Book, Music and Lyrics) is the ultimate multi-hyphenate - an equally skilled composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director and performer - best known for his dazzling scores to several of the most renowned musicals of our time, including the generation-definingThe Last Five Years, his debut song cycle Songs for a New World, and the seminal Parade, for which he won the 1999 Tony Award® for Best Score. Jason Robert Brown has been hailed as “one of Broadway’s smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and his “extraordinary, jubilant theater music” (Chicago Tribune) has been heard all over the world, whether in one of the hundreds of productions of his musicals every year or in his own incendiary live performances. The New York Times refers to Jason as “a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical.” Jason’s score for The Bridges of Madison County, a musical adapted with Marsha Norman from the bestselling novel, received two Tony Awards® (for Best Score and Orchestrations). Honeymoon In Vegas, based on Andrew Bergman’s film, opened on Broadway in 2015 following a triumphant production at Paper Mill Playhouse. A film version of his epochal Off-Broadway musical The Last Five Years was released in 2015, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan and directed by Richard LaGravenese. His major musicals as composer and lyricist include: 13, written with Robert Horn and Dan Elish, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and was subsequently directed by the composer for its West End premiere in 2012; The Last Five Years, which was cited as one of Time Magazine’s 10 Best of 2001 and won Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and Best Lyrics (and was later directed by the composer in its record-breaking Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theatre in 2013); Parade, written with Alfred Uhry and directed by Harold Prince, which won both the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best New Musical, as well as garnering Jason the Tony Award® for Original Score; and Songs for a New World, a theatrical song cycle directed by Daisy Prince, which has since been seen in hundreds of productions around the world since its 1995 Off-Broadway debut, including a celebrated revival at New York’s City Center in the summer of 2018. Parade was also the subject of a major revival directed by Rob Ashford, first at London’s Donmar Warehouse and then at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Jason conducted his orchestral adaptation of E.B. White’s novel The Trumpet of the Swan with the National Symphony Orchestra, and recorded the score for PS Classics. In 2024, the world premiere of a new chamber musical created with Daisy Prince and Jonathan Marc Sherman called The Connector debuted Off-Broadway; and in 2022 Mr. Saturday Night premiered on Broadway, a musical collaboration with Billy Crystal, Amanda Green, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel. Future projects include an adaptation of Lilian Lee's Farewell My Concubine, created with Kenneth Lin and Moises Kaufman. Jason is the winner of the 2018 Louis Auchincloss Prize, the 2002 Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyrics and the 1996 Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Foundation Award for Musical Theatre. Jason’s songs, including the cabaret standard “Stars and the Moon,” have been performed and recorded by Ariana Grande, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Billy Porter, Betty Buckley, Renée Fleming, Jon Hendricks and many others, and his song “Someone To Fall Back On” was featured in the Walden Media film, Bandslam. As a soloist or with his band The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, Jason has performed concerts around the world. For the past four years (and ongoing), his monthly sold-out performances at New York’s SubCulture have featured many of the music and theater world’s most extraordinary performers. His newest collection, “How We React and How We Recover”, was released in June 2018 on Ghostlight Records. His previous solo album, “Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes”, was named one of Amazon.com’s best of 2005, and is available from Sh-K-Boom Records. Jason’s 2012 concert with Anika Noni Rose was broadcast on PBS, and he was the featured soloist for a live episode of Friday Night Is Music Night, broadcast from the London Palladium and featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra. His collaboration with singer Lauren Kennedy, “Songs of Jason Robert Brown”, is available on PS Classics. Jason is also the composer of the incidental music for the Broadway revival of You Can’t Take It With You, David Lindsay-Abaire’s Kimberly Akimbo and Fuddy Meers, and Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery, and he was a Tony Award® nominee for his contributions to the score of Urban Cowboy the Musical. He has also contributed music to the hit Nickelodeon television series, The Wonder Pets as well as Sesame Street. Jason spent 10 years teaching at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and has also taught at Harvard University, Princeton University and Emerson College. For the musical Prince of Broadway, a celebration of the career of his mentor Harold Prince, Jason was the musical supervisor and arranger. Other New York credits as conductor and arranger include Urban Cowboy the Musical on Broadway; Dinah Was, Off-Broadway and on national tour; When Pigs Fly Off-Broadway; William Finn’s A New Brain at Lincoln Center Theater; the 1992 tribute to Stephen Sondheim at Carnegie Hall (recorded by RCA Victor); Yoko Ono’s New York Rock, at the WPA Theatre; and Michael John LaChiusa’s The Petrified Prince” at the Public Theater. Jason orchestrated Andrew Lippa’s john and jen, Off-Broadway at Lamb’s Theatre. Additionally, Jason served as the orchestrator and arranger of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams’s score for a proposed musical of Star Wars. Jason has conducted and created arrangements and orchestrations for Liza Minnelli, John Pizzarelli, and Michael Feinstein, among many others. Jason studied composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, with Samuel Adler, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner. He lives with his wife, composer Georgia Stitt, and their daughters in New York City. Jason is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and the American Federation of Musicians Local 802. Visit him on the web at
jasonrobertbrown.com.

SHERMONA MITCHELL she/they (Director/Musical Staging) is an accomplished actor, director, and adaptor whose artistic journey has taken them from Kentucky to Seattle and beyond. For over two decades, she has brought compelling stories to life on stages across the Pacific Northwest, nationally in Washington, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, and internationally in Canada and Turkmenistan. Their work has been featured and celebrated at theatres such as: The 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT Contemporary Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Sound Theatre Company, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, and more. As a Co-Artistic Director of Sound Theatre Company, Shermona is committed to creating spaces where diverse stories and perspectives take center stage, championing a vision of theater that is vibrant, inclusive, and transformative.

R.J. TANCIOCO he/him (Music Director) Select musical direction credits include: Spring Awakening, The Little Mermaid, Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, Urinetown, Mamma Mia!, Jasper in Deadland, Little Shop of Horrors, RENT, Joseph..., Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Hair (The 5th); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Cinderella, ..Charlie Brown, She Loves Me, In the Heights, Hairspray, Newsies, Dreamgirls (Village Theatre); The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It, The Odyssey, Here Lies Love (Seattle Rep); A Christmas Carol (ACT); Twelfth Night (Seattle Shakespeare); Head Over Heels, Violet, American Idiot (ArtsWest); The Spitfire Grill (Showtunes!); Sister Act, Daddy Long Legs, Bright Star (Taproot Theatre). A 2010 Gregory Award and 2011/2014 Gypsy Rose Lee award recipient, Tancioco is a vocal coach, arranger, and composer who enjoys educating theatre to youth and cultivating new musicals.  We chase it, we lose it, but TIME is never lost, it simply moves, remain grateful for the now.

JULIA HAYES WELCH she/her (Scenic Designer) is thrilled to be back working with The 5th Avenue Theatre and ACT Contemporary Theatre, where she previously designed POTUS, The Lehman Trilogy, Pass Over, Skylight, Alex and Aris, and Bad Apples. Her local credits include Seattle Children’s Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, Seattle Shakespeare, Book-It Repertory, Seattle Opera, Washington Ensemble Theatre, ArtsWest, and others. She is a recipient of the Gregory Award: People’s Choice for Outstanding Designer for her work during the 2017-2018 season.  She holds an MFA from the University of Washington and is a member of USA 829.  Much love to W, M & AJ. jhwelchdesigns.com

TY PYNE (Costume Designer) Originally from Las Vegas, Ty Pyne is a Filipinx costume designer and Craftsperson in Seattle. They strive to support young QTBIPOC to see themselves in all aspects of storytelling. Ty seeks to work with material that highlights and honors diverse perspective. 

ANDREW D. SMITH (Lighting Designer) is a Seattle-based lighting designer, and has worked with ACT since 2014, most recently lighting The Lehman Trilogy, A Christmas Carol, and Choir Boy. National work includes: Arizona Theatre Company (Native Gardens), Indiana Repertory Theatre (The Diary of Anne Frank), Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Flint Youth Theatre, Horizon Theater Company, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Seattle work has been seen at Seattle Rep, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Book-It, Seattle Shakespeare, New Century Theatre Company, Washington Ensemble, Azeotrope, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Seattle Public Theatre, Theater Off Jackson, ArtsWest, On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, and Broadway Performance Hall. Andrew holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from the University of Washington, where he currently teaches.

HALEY PARCHER (Sound Designer) is a Seattle based sound designer. Recent credits include Broadway: Monty Python’s Spamalot, Regional: Annie and Something Rotten (Stratford Festival), Mary Poppins, Something’s Afoot, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and The Wiz (The 5th Avenue Theatre), Schmigadoon!, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, NINE, Bye Bye Birdie, Tick Tick…Boom!, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard, and Guys & Dolls (Kennedy Center), Cabaret (The Old Globe), Mamma Mia! & Guys & Dolls (Village Theatre), And So That Happened (ACT), How Can I Love You (Cave B), and We’ve Battled Monsters Before (ArtsWest). Love to her family. 

BRODRICK SANTEZE RYANS he/him (Associate Director/Casting Director) is a Seattle-based musical theatre artist, director, and casting director, dedicated to inspiring through performance and theater education. He has worked with numerous local companies and recently served as Casting Associate and Artistic Liaison for The 5th Avenue Theatre. Brodrick recently directed Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth by Cris Eli Blak and is thrilled to join this phenomenal team. He sends heartfelt thanks to his partner, BJ, for their unwavering support.

MICHAEL NUTTING (Associate Music
Director) is very excited to working on this production. Michael’s favorite past shows include: Mamma Mia!, Into the Woods (The 5th), Howard Barnes, String (Village Theatre), Urinetown, (ACT Theatre), and The Hello Girls (Taproot Theatre). When not music directing, he is busy working as the Artistic Executive at NM Entertainment. Special thanks to those whose dedication and hard work are fueling this production. Love to Jerra.

KURT CONWAY he/him (Associate Sound Designer) Previous Seattle area credits include: Legally Blonde, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Little Shop of Horrors, Songs for a New World (Village Theatre). He also designs shows for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Originally from the mountains of North Carolina, Kurt currently works for The 5th Avenue Theatre as well as freelances as a designer and mix engineer in Seattle and internationally.

JASMINE LOMAX (Intimacy Director) is a Cornish College of the Arts Original Works graduate. Some of their favorite credits include The Niceties (Associate Director/ Fight Choreographer) with Intiman Theatre, Tiara’s Hat Parade (Director) with Book-It, and PASSOVER (Intimacy Director/Co-Fight Choreographer) with The Spot Sun Valley.

JEFFREY K. HANSON he/him (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to return to ACT Contemporary Theatre where he has spent the majority of his career. A proud AEA member for 35+ years as part of Seattle’s theatre community! Over those years Jeffrey stage managed over 100 productions for ACT. He is grateful for his relationship with The 5th Avenue Theatre where he also feels like part of the family. Most recently, Jeffrey was the stage manager for Mary Poppins. He has been stage manager for many ACT/The 5th co-productions including: Urinetown, Jacque Brel Is Alive And Well, Grey Gardens, and Little Shop Of Horrors. Around town: Seattle Rep (next up Laughs In Spanish), Seattle Children’s Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Intiman and - for those who remember - The Bathhouse Theatre (where he got his Equity card).

ISABELLA MARZIELLO she/her/ella (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back at ACT Theatre for The Last Five Years! A few of her favorite credits include, Village Theatre: Legally Blonde, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Hello Dolly!, ACT Theatre: STEW, Seattle Children’s Theatre: The Boy Who Kissed the Sky. Isabella holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Puget Sound. She sends her endless love and thanks to her friends and fiancé for their constant love and support.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is a member of the League of Residential Theatres (LORT), a nationwide association for not-for-profit theaters.

The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

The Director / Choreographer are members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.

Backstage employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (or IATSE) Local #15 and IATSE Local #488. Costume shop and Wardrobe staff and Child Actor Guardians are represented by IATSE Local #887. Hair and Makeup staff and scenic painters are represented by IATSE Local #488.

All the musicians playing in the orchestra for this performance are represented by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, Local 76-483, AFL-CIO.

The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists local USA-829 of the IATSE.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Founded in 1985, NAMT is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. Members, located throughout 34 states and abroad, are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world, and include theatres, presenting organizations, higher education programs, and individual producers.

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