US musical theatre stars Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt are to star in a West End concert staging of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years.
The production, marking 25 years of the musical, will be staged at the London Palladium, where Zegler recently starred in the musical Evita – which drew large outdoor crowds while she sang the musical’s most popular number from an outside balcony.
The new concert staging, directed and conducted live by Brown and produced by Lambert Jackson, will play from March 24-29 next year.
The musical follows two New Yorkers who fall in and out of love over the course of five years, and was made into a film starring Anna Kendrick in 2014.
Zegler, 24, rose to fame after staring as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, which saw her win the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a musical or comedy.
She has since garnered a series of film credits including for the Hunger Games franchise, appearing in the prequel, The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, as Lucy Gray Baird, and also starred in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, both of which were released in 2023.
She went on to make her Broadway debut in 2024, starring as Juliet in Romeo And Juliet with clips going viral after Heartstopper’s Kit Connor, who played Romeo, did a pull up on stage to kiss her.
In September, the actress claimed the prize for best West End debut performer at The Stage Debut Awards 2025 for her role in Jamie Lloyd’s production of Evita, where she played Argentina’s former first lady Eva Peron.
She recently performed her first solo concert in the West End as well, also at the London Palladium.
Speaking to ITV’s This Morning on Monday, she said: “It’s the best theatre. It’s so beautiful and and I love Ben Platt, who’s going to be my male lead on that.”
Speaking about Evita, she added: “I always wanted to be in that white dress, in that blonde wig, sing those songs, and I can’t believe I got the chance to do it in such a way, and here in London of all places.”
Actor and singer Platt, 32, is known for playing the lead role in musical film Dear Evan Hansen, adapted from the production that saw him win a Tony Award in 2017.
He has also starred in Pitch Perfect and comedy-drama series The Politician.
He released his third studio album, Honeymind, in 2024.
Jamie Lambert, of Lambert Jackson, said: “This beautiful show which has impacted so many people around the world deserves this stellar cast for its 25th anniversary.
“Getting to work with Jason Robert Brown again, one of the greatest composers of our time, is a total privilege and his faith in Lambert Jackson is something we are forever grateful for.”
Ticket pre-sale for The Last Five Years starts at 10am on October 30 with general sale starting at 10am on October 31.
