Sometimes a product is good but it is the presentation of it that sells. When Jason Robert Brown wrote “The Last Five Years,” he produced a pretty good, if familiar product. That product is the plot of the play now on stage at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. It is about a nice Jewish boy named Jamie, played by Bob Simpson, who does what every Jewish mother dreads: he falls in love with, and marries, a good Irish Catholic girl, Cathy, played by Jocelyn A. Brown.

Jamie is an aspiring writer who is beginning to achieve a measure of success while Cathy, a struggling actress, is having trouble making her mark. The plot describes the last five years of their relationship and marriage.

That, essentially, is the product. The presentation…… the manner in which this story is told, however, is unique and interesting. The story is told musically by the two characters. They tell it singing fourteen different songs. There is no dialogue. That in itself is not very unusual; it happens all of the time in opera. However, Jamie relates his tale from the beginning of his relationship with Cathy while Cathy begins at the end of their life together. And……and this is unusual ….they do not address one another directly except for a brief time that depicts the middle portion of their life together. Following that, Jamie resumes relating forward and Cathy relates backward. It is an interesting concept executed very well by the actors.

A very simple set, designed by John Robinson is quite effective and the lighting design by Jon Langrell is interesting and imaginative. A pair of translucent screens at opposite side of the stage convey time and mood change. Music to accompany the songs is provided by Rob Blaney at the piano, Kyle Cahill on guitar and Jerry Motto on Bass. Oanh Nguyen directs the play which runs until March 12.

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