The last time I saw the cult-hit musical “The Last Five Years,” written by Jason Robert Brown, was at an events barn, with only several cubes, chairs, one piano, and a single theatrical lighting unit. So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the ’92 Theater on Saturday to see the closing performance of the Second Stage production and found myself staring at an enormous gorgeously lit, raked stage surrounded by a circular walkway. The platform filled about half of the ’92’s floor space. To say that it was a change is an understatement.

The set and lighting looked beautiful throughout the production, which was directed by Dylan Zwickel ‘14. A portrait of a marriage that goes sour seen from two opposite points in time—one looking backward, the other forward—“The Last Five Years” has a challenging concept with challenging music, made all the more difficult by the fact that in strict terms, it is a song cycle and not a musical (there is no spoken dialogue). The shift from love to hate and vice-versa, the challenges inherent in a partner story where the partners are only on stage together at once, and the breadth and depth of vocal power required of both performers, all speak to the technical mastery needed to manage even a minimally competent production.

This production was far better than just competent. The design (set and lights by frequent co-workers Evan DelGaudio ’12 and Ross Firestone ’12, respectively) remained strong, pulling the performers together or isolating them as needed. Sara Schineller ’12 and Spencer Hattendorf ’12, both strong performers, played the couple, Jamie and Cathy. Zwickel’s staging was strong and generally smart, using the circular paths of the stage to great effect and staging a number of small interludes in the background of songs that added some depth and intimacy to the somewhat generic characters.

For all this, it seemed to me that there were small problems in the production that robbed it of the chance to be truly great. Schineller and Hattendorf are both extremely capable vocalists, but they are not equal vocalists, nor are they necessarily the best suited to this show; both sounded as though they were stretching themselves perhaps a bit farther than they wanted to in their upper registers. It was also strangely incongruous to have the entire orchestra, capably directed by Brian Lee ’13, mic’d, but only one of the performers mic’d. Having both unmic’d would have been fine if the singers could sustain it. And although they both shone in certain songs, there was a feeling in the more dramatic moments that they were holding back—perhaps too focused on singing, always a clear and present danger in musical theater.

Zwickel’s direction, while highly competent, sometimes seemed disconnected from the musical moments on stage. Songs that had a frenetic, energetic sound (notably “Shiksa Goddess”) sometimes lacked the physical momentum to justify the mood. Even more important moments, especially some song climaxes, were thrown away, lost in trivial realistic action. The rules of the rake and the ring around it were confusing as well—near the end of the show, Jamie stepped onto the actual floor of the theater as he sat down, which left me puzzled. These were small problems, but they were legitimate distractions.

Ultimately, “The Last Five Years” was a roaring success. The beauty of the design and the performers, as well as their more-than-capable abilities, made the show one of the better ones I have seen through Second Stage. And to have put such a large production up so incredibly quickly is certainly worthy of commendation. I was moved and entertained; everything about the show was promising. I was only disappointed that the show had to stop just shy of the brilliance it might have attained with a little more time than the last five weeks.