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The long-awaited opening of The Last Five Years on Broadway feels a little like a holiday for Tony Award-winner Adrienne Warren. There are party dresses and photo ops, not to mention plenty of buzz, heightened, in her case, by the show's 24-year journey to becoming a fully-fledged Broadway production. Before stepping onto the stage in character as Cathy, a flailing actress and one-half of the couple who will fall in and out of love seven times a week through June 22, Warren planned to hand out presents to the cast and crew. "I told Nick [Jonas, her costar], it's going to feel like Christmas for his first opening on Broadway," Warren says a few hours before walking the red carpet.
But Warren's April 6 opening night isn't your typical celebration—even for A-list-centric events. Other stars sit back and watch their hard work unfold on a screen during their premiere night. On the other hand, Warren performs a 90-minute show for her closest friends and family in the audience. "You try not to get too excited because we also have to tell this very intense and beautiful story, in the middle of it—and then go and party," Warren laughs. "It's a very interesting cycle of a night."
It's an event where tears are guaranteed, accompanied by a crescendoing score and a gut-wrenching script. The Last Five Years became a global musical theater phenomenon partly because it is so relatably and recognizably heartbreaking. (Cathy opens the show with "Still Hurting," an iconic breakup ballad about the end of her marriage.)
On Warren's schedule, the step-and-repeat serves as her warm-up before going onstage—and comfort is prioritized more than on other carpets. (Translation: You won't see any cinched-in corset dresses here.) "I don't want to put anything that makes me feel restricted or uptight because my muscles need to be relaxed because I have to get ready to perform," she explains. "I need to be able to, like, drop into my body and give this performance."
She and stylist Shiona Turini found an equally relaxed and regal dress from Loewe for the occasion. It resembles one artfully folded and draped piece of tangerine material, cascading in sections over Warren's shoulders to meet at her navel in a deep plunge neckline secured with a gold-plated buckle. Underneath, a skirt in the same vibrant shade fell just above her knees, with a front-facing train grazing her pointed-toe heels.
Doing a show like 'The Last Five Years' where it is quite heartbreaking, it's nice to put on something that feels like sunshine and joy.
Pulling it on in fittings before the show, the star immediately lit up. Its shade was an antidote to the emotional rollercoaster she experiences onstage. "Doing a show like The Last Five Years, which is quite heartbreaking," Warren explains, "it's nice to put on something that feels like sunshine and joy."
The dress's "sexy and chic" lines were also Warren's nod to New York, representing her interpretation of Cathy, a character portrayed in a film adaptation by Anna Kendrick and by numerous actresses in off-Broadway productions. "She's a little artsy and a little rock and roll," Warren says. In New Yorker terms, "She's a girl that lives in Harlem but also moved to the Upper West Side, you know what I mean?" asks Warren.
Loewe follows a press run in which Warren and Turini have also sampled Ferragamo LBDs and shimmering silver mesh dresses over matching satin pants. All of these pieces are intended to convey how much the actress, now in her thirties, has grown up since her first Broadway musical in 2012 (Bring It On).
In previous roles—like her 2020 Tony-winning performance as Tina Turner—Warren hasn't gotten to bring her entire self onstage. "I haven't even been able to use my own voice in shows for years because I've been playing so many different characters," she says. "But in this character, Cathy, I get to actually just be me. I get to use my voice. So we wanted to go in that direction with our fashion for press so far—just be Adrienne and enjoy everything that that is."
After Warren's final bow onstage at the Hudson Theatre, she planned to change out of her costume and right back into her Loewe dress. Forget about a separate after-party look—the original dress is her own opening night gift that keeps on giving. "You know what? It just feels good, and it's the exact dress I'm going to want to put on afterward."
Photographer Tyler Gustin | Stylist Shiona Turini | Hair and Makeup Artist Geo Brian
