The last time Alan Brincks and Faith Fossett were on Nebraska Wesleyan University’s theatre stage, he was proposing to his fellow theatre guru.
Now the 2009 alums have returned to that stage and have gone from being stars of the show to the orchestrators behind the scenes as they direct Nebraska Wesleyan’s first production of the season, The Last Five Years.
“To come back to my alma mater at this point in my life and be at the teaching end is unimaginable,” said Fossett, the music director for The Last Five Years.
The Last Five Years opens Thursday, July 29 and continues through Saturday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee show on Sunday, August 1. All shows will be held in Miller Theatre, located at 51st Street and Huntington Ave.
The Last Five Years is a 2002 off-Broadway musical. The one-act musical follows the five-year relationship between Jamie, a novelist, and Cathy, an actress. Cathy tells her story in reverse chronological order, starting with their divorce and ending with the beginning of their relationship, unlike James who tells his story chronologically. Both Cathy’s and Jamie’s stories only intersect with one another at their wedding in the middle of the show. Patrick O’Hare of Wauwatosa, Wis. will play the role of Jamie and Cherie Ronhovde of Lincoln will play the role of Cathy.
Admission is $10 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and $5 for students. For tickets, contact the box office at 402.465.2384.
Once the curtain closes on The Last Five Years, Brincks and Fossett will be finishing the details on their next big production: their wedding on August 13. The couple will continue pursuing jobs in acting and directing. They spent the past year working for the Virginia Stage Company and the Nebraska Shakespeare Company.
“That’s the great thing about this business,” said Brincks. “You take opportunities as they come. It’s either boom or bust.”
In addition to The Last Five Years, Nebraska Wesleyan will present 14 main-stage productions this year. The following shows will be performed:
- Reefer Madness: Aug. 19-22, Aug. 26-29
- How I Learned To Drive: Sept. 9-12, Sept. 17-19
- Iphigenia: Sept. 23-26, 30, Oct. 1-3
- Odd Couple/The Female Odd Couple: Sept. 30-Oct. 3, Oct. 7-10
- Oklahoma!: Oct. 21-24; Oct. 28-31
- Romeo and Juliet: Nov. 4-7; Nov. 11-14
- A Christmas Carol: Dec. 2-5, Dec. 9-12
- The Seafarer: Jan. 27-30, Feb. 3-6
- Dead Man’s Cell Phone: Feb. 10-13, Feb. 17-20
- Company: Feb. 24-27, Mar. 3-6
- Listen To Me: Mar. 3-6, Mar. 10-13
- The Mousetrap: Mar. 31-Apr. 3, Apr. 7-10
- Charlotte’s Web: Apr. 14-17
- Sweeney Todd: Apr. 28-May 1, May 5-8