Jason Robert Brown, creator of “The Last Five Years,” will craft new orchestrations for the musical’s upcoming Broadway premiere. The previously announced production is scheduled to begin previews on March 18 and open on April 6 for a limited run through June 22 at the Hudson Theatre.
In a statement, Brown said that the new orchestrations “will honor the intimacy and emotion of the score while also bringing a soaring new energy and power to match the greater panorama of a Broadway stage.”
In addition to penning “The Last Five Years,” Brown is known for his Tony Award-winning scores to “Parade” and “The Bridges of Madison County,” the latter of which also earned him a Tony for the musical’s orchestrations.
Also newly announced is that “The Last Five Years” will feature music direction by Tom Murray and music contracting by Tomoko Akaboshi.
Murray is a Broadway veteran and a longtime collaborator of Brown, having served as musical director and conductor on Broadway’s “Parade” revival as well as “The Bridges of Madison County” and “Honeymoon in Vegas.”
Akaboshi is the musical coordinator, violin player and concertmaster for Broadway’s current “Gypsy” revival. His other Main Stem credits include “Illinoise,” “Here Lies Love,” “A Strange Loop” and “Amazing Grace.”
The nine-person orchestra for “The Last Five Years” will be led by conductor Paul Mutzabaugh (also on piano/keyboard) and feature Fung Chern Hwei (violin/concertmaster), Maria Im (violin), Adda Kridler (violin/viola), Ken James Kubota (cello), Zachary Brown (cello), Hidayat Honari (guitar), Julia Adamy (bass) and Jamie Eblen (drums/percussion/celeste).
As previously announced, Whitney White is at the helm of the musical, which will feature choreography by Jeff Kuperman and Rick Kuperman. The two-hander is set to star Adrienne Warren as Cathy and Nick Jonas as Jamie.
“The Last Five Years” is being produced by Seaview, ATG Productions and the Season.
