Stage Right Performing Arts & Education will christen its new home in Aspinwall with a special winter musical.

“The Last Five Years” will be the first production by the acting group at its new digs in Aspinwall Riverfront Park. Written and composed by Jason Robert Brown, the show will be Feb. 14-16. Tickets are available at stagerightpgh.org.

Local actors Jenna Hayes and Will Docimo star in the intimate show, which chronicles the five-year life of a marriage.

“It somehow manages to combine happiness and heartbreak and make it artistic and beautiful,” said Hayes, a graduate of Fox Chapel Area High School and Duquesne University.

In the show set mainly in and around New York City, Hayes stars as Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress from Ohio. Docimo, also a Fox Chapel Area grad, plays Jamie Wellerstein, a writer who starts to experience success at the start of their relationship.

The show’s unconventional structure follows the couple, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. Hayes’ character tells her story backwards while Docimo tells his story chronologically; the two characters meet only once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

“When I first listened to the show in its entirety, I couldn’t believe the emotional ups and downs,” Hayes said. “Music has always made me ‘feel,’ and this particular show brings out true emotions in the listener and audience member.”

Hayes has directed, choreographed and produced plays and musicals at Fox Chapel Area and previously served as the choir director at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church. Last year, she led Stage Right’s junior summer theater camps, introducing children to the basics of theater.

“The Last Five Years” was named one of TIME Magazine’s 10 best shows of 2001. A film adaptation was released in 2014.

Stage manager Jamie McDonald said a six-piece string orchestra will accompany the show and added the theater group is excited to launch its new venue on Valentine’s Day weekend. The group announced the move earlier this year, saying leaders are more determined than ever to cultivate a commitment by youth to local theater.

In its 54th season, the group also announced the formation of a junior board of directors. McDonald said it was formed because of the success of a fledgling program last year and will comprise teens from Fox Chapel Area School District who will reach out to young people interested in stage production.

Aspinwall Riverfront Park is a 10-acre campus at 285 River Ave. It has an open-air marina building with river views and a smaller stage among a swathe of native plants.

Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya at 412-782-2121, ext. 2, tpanizzi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tawnyatrib.

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