The Center for the Arts continues its 2019 season with The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s intimate window into a dissolving marriage. With an emotional score, the characters tell the story of how they met, fell in love, married and ultimately decided to part ways.

Cathy (Savannah Gannon), a struggling New York actress, begins at the end of the story and moves backward in time to when they first met. Jamie (Thomas Holt Kirkindoll), a novelist on the brink of success, moves forward in time. The characters’ stories converge at their wedding.

The Last Five Years opens on Friday, Aug. 2.

“This show buried itself deep in my heart and never left. It is an opportunity to reevaluate what we consider good, bad, generous, selfish, success, failure and the way we view our own adventures in love,” said director Bekah Thoe. “We get to participate in both the great joys and great heartbreaks of Cathy and Jamie’s story. The Last Five Years serves as a reminder to have grace for ourselves and each other.”

This honest, poignant and sometimes humorous look at love and marriage has enraptured audiences since its Off-Broadway premiere in 2002.

“This is a lesser-known show compared to some of the others in our 2019 season, but we know that our audience will love it,” said Patience Long, executive director at the Center for the Arts. “The characters grab your attention from the opening scene.”

The Last Five Years, the Center’s only production to be performed intimately in the art gallery this season, features a live musical accompaniment led by Mark David Williams and Nick True.

Showtimes for The Last Five Years are 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, 3, 9 and 10; and 2 p.m. Aug. 4 and 11. The show is rated PG-13.

Tickets are on sale at boroarts.org, by calling 615-904-ARTS (2787) or at the Center for the Arts Box Office, 110 W. College St., in downtown Murfreesboro.