McLean Drama put on a performance called The Last Five Years starring McLean High School juniors, Lily Lord and Alex Stone on Sept. 28th. The concert version of the performance showed for only one night and featured just two cast members. The play follows the five year relationship between aspiring actress Cathy Hyatt, played by Lily Lord, and Novelist Jamie Wellerstein, played by Alex Stone, but with a twist: Cathy tells the story opening with the end of their relationship to the beginning, while Jamie tells his side from the beginning to end.
On Sept. 28th, McLean Drama put on a performance called The Last Five Years starring McLean High School juniors, Lily Lord and Alex Stone.
The play follows the five year relationship between aspiring actress Cathy Hyatt and Novelist Jamie Wellerstein, but with a twist: Cathy tells the story starting with the end of their relationship to the beginning, while Jamie tells his side from the beginning to end.
The cast put forth months of preparation in order to ensure a noteworthy performance.
“We had rehearsals almost every day,” junior Lily Lord said, who played . “We learned music, practiced facial expressions, and discussed the meaning of the songs. Alex and I listened to the soundtrack all summer long and memorized lyrics so we could be ready to go our first day of rehearsal.”
Unlike most productions, The Last Five Years follows the story of only two characters, Cathy Hyatt and Jamie Wellerstein, so the cast is very small, which came to serve as an advantage for Lord.
“I think my favorite part about working on the show was getting to work with such a small cast,” Lord said. “We got lots of one on one time with our directors, and they really helped the both of us to be the best we could be.”
Although the recent performance on the 28th of September was the concert version showing for one night only, Compared to the hour long concert version performance, the play will be cut down to a 45 minute one-act, complete with an 8 person ensemble choreographed by Marielle Burt, junior, to compete at the VTA, Virginia Theatre Association, theatre conference.
The remarkable performance from Lord and fellow cast mate, Alex Stone, received a standing ovation from the audience.
“It was really well done,” junior Grace Venes said. ” I know Alex and Lily are really talented and everyone knew it would be a great performance; they didn’t disappoint. They were amazing.”
The performance was a success in the cast’s eyes as well.
“We didn’t have a huge audience necessarily, but I really learned a lot,” Lord said. “I think it was a great experience that really helped me grow as an actor. We all had a great time working on it, and I think that’s what matters at the end of the day.”
