The 1992 William Finn/James Lapine musical "Falsettos" returns to Broadway. Roma Torre's filed the following review.
There is irony in the title: Falsettos feels so achingly honest. The sung-through musical is being revived in high style with a bravura Broadway production.
It's a merging of two one act plays that ran previously - "March Of The Falsettos" in 1981 and "Falsettoland" in 1990. William Finn who composed the music, and co-wrote the book with director James Lapine, crafted a deeply thoughtful domestic drama in the AIDS era that delves into the heart and nerve center of its 7 characters, and all the while it's rife with natural humor.
Conceived dramatically like a puzzle, each character has to figure out how and where they fit. Marvin is a divorced self-centered man who's left his wife Trina and son Jason for Whizzer. Marvin's psychiatrist Mendel and Trina end up together. And in Act 2, a lesbian couple enters the mix...and they're all inextricably linked.
Finn's superlative music and lyrics give fervent voice to each of them. And Lapine's intelligent staging, helped by geometric set pieces, shape the narrative with extreme sensitivity.
Everyone is outstanding. That most certainly includes young Anthony Rosenthal with the instincts of a seasoned veteran. Christian Borle and Andrew Rannels run the gamut of emotions as Marvin and Whizzer. And Stephanie J. Block and Brandon Uranowitz - simply flawless. Together, they ooze humanity in all its messy glory.
I can't say enough about this wonderful production. It is a mirror on life, as truthful and pure as only theatre can be.