Growing up, one of the most important lessons you are taught is that in order to succeed, you need to be passionate about the work you are doing. After less than a minute of watching Maggie Luddy ’20 and Kenny Letts ’21 in rehearsal for their independent production of
The Last Five Years
, their passion and drive for the project became evident. As I put my bag down and began to prepare to interview them, it was interesting to see their dynamic as they moved across the stage singing, directing, and taking notes on what they could improve upon. Luddy and Letts have been officially co-directing, and in rehearsal for, the two-person musical for two weeks now. During the interview, their eagerness was palpable.
The Last Five Years
is a musical following the five-year relationship of 23-year-olds Jamie and Cathy, from beginning to end. The storyline works in a way that is chronological from Jamie’s perspective, and reverse chronological from Cathy’s perspective, with the two narratives intersecting at their engagement. When the musical first came to
Broadway, its premise centered around the idea of the two characters never being in the same scene until the engagement, when their stories finally came together. The popular Netflix adaptation of the musical pays little attention to this stage direction, and has its two stars, Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan, in multiple scenes together. In their production, Luddy and Letts are looking to find a happy medium. “During the songs where traditionally in the Broadway version they don’t interact, we have minimal interaction from the person who’s not primarily in the song,” Letts explains. “So they’re there reacting but they’re not necessarily singing.” Luddy continues this thought, saying that the pair “adapted it in order to create a more intimate connection between the characters” so the viewers have a better understanding of Jamie and Cathy’s relationship.
The duo came together during the 2018 spring semester after expressing their individual desires to bring the musical to Hamilton. Letts describes how their version of
The Last Five Years
is particularly relevant, as they are “setting it in 2018 and incorporating technology and social media.” They explain how the story “shows the struggles of finding ways to support one another through hardship and competition,” which is a dynamic to which many people can relate. Any student wanting to stage an independent production must go through Untitled at Large — Hamilton’s student-run theater organization — and submit a formal proposal to the E-Board. After receiving their funding from Student Assembly, Luddy and Letts started rehearsal earlier this month, and will be working closely with the Untitled at Large E-Board during the rehearsal process. While this is Luddy’s second time co-directing an independent performance, the fact that she is directing herself instead of an ensemble is an entirely new experience. “Most of the time one of us is performing and one of us is directing,” she says, “so within one rehearsal you get to play both roles, and we’re complete 50/50 partners in that way.” Letts adds that “we can change whatever we want about a scene, whenever we want and not step on any toes because it’s just the two of us.” He goes on to say that a major benefit of the two-person premise of
The Last Five Years
is that it can sometimes be easier than working with a full cast because, “there’s been a lot of moments when one of us has an idea and we’re able to just run with it because the formatting gives us the freedom to do so.”
When asked whether directing and starring in an independent production at Hamilton is worthwhile, the two immediately started gushing about how beneficial the experience is. Luddy gives it an exciting “10/10 would recommend,” and with this being the third independent student production she has starred in and the second she’s co-directed, she is definitely a reliable source. While this is Kenny’s first time co-directing a production at Hamilton, he talked about the creativity and potential he has already been able to tap into during these first two weeks working with Luddy. Independent shows on campus give aspiring actors and directors a new platform to explore their talents, and it seems like it is a nothing but beneficial experience.
The tentative dates for Luddy and Letts’ production of
The Last Five Years
are Dec. 7 and 8 in the Barrett Theater in the Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts (KTSA) and will, hopefully, inspire more students to take initiative and start thinking about their own independent projects.
