Local 1101 steward to star in local musical in Minneapolis

In his free time, Local 1101 Steward Jamie Marshall enjoys singing, mostly in choirs, but will soon star in a musical, The Last Five Years, which will open in Minneapolis on Aug. 30 and run through Sept. 8.  

When he is not singing, he serves as a program officer at the Minnesota State Arts Board. He is one of four grant officers working with arts project grant programs, which requires knowledge and a history of working in the arts. His background includes working in nonprofit arts organizations where he managed community arts programs. This experience has helped him create scoring rubrics for the Arts Board’s grant programs.  

“Being on the grant maker side of my job with artists, it is helpful to be engaged in artmaking in some way. I am also one of the members of the musical’s production team. Almost all of my colleagues are engaged in some kind of artmaking process,” he added.  

The Last Five Years is not the only leading role Marshall is preparing for: he will become a first-time father next month. His wife Laura’s due date is Sept. 19. “I am hoping if she is early, it is 10 days and not 11,” he joked, in reference to his musical’s closing date.  

He said he is grateful MAPE fought for and won the Paid Parental Leave Policy several years ago for state employees. He became a MAPE member within his first month of state service in 2021 and became a steward the next year. “I joined MAPE right away and was very excited to join, my first union job. I believe in unions and organized labor because I believe staff and employees should have a strong voice in the workplace and be involved in the way workplaces are run,” Marshall said.  

Marshall said he’s thrilled to be a part of The Last Five Years, a musical by Jason Robert Brown that tells the story of Jamie and Cathy’s five years together, “It’s just the two characters and my co-star Jillian Bader is fabulous. The story is told really uniquely – it starts with Cathy singing a song at the end of their relationship and Jamie sings a song at the start of their relationship.” 

“It’s a deep show, kind of heavy, that explores two imperfect people in a broken relationship. They’re very human and relatable characters and you see what’s driving them. I’m really excited to be a part of it and share the story with audiences,” he added.  

The Last Five Years will open Aug. 30 and run through Sept. 8 at the Phoenix Theater, 2605 Hennepin Avenue, in Minneapolis. Tickets are available for purchase on SimpleTix.