THE HANGOVER REPORT – William Finn and James Lapine’s FALSETTOS once again sings on Broadway, albeit in a different America

The company of "Falsettos" at the Walter Kerr Theatre

The company of “Falsettos” at the Walter Kerr Theatre

As much as I am thrilled to see Falsettos back on Broadway (where the Lincoln Center Theater revival opened last night at the Walter Kerr Theatre), the question remains: why revive it now? Besides reveling in the quirky glories William Finn and James Lapine’s wildly irresistible sung-through score (I was close to tears several times in the theater as these driving songs of love, family, community, and life grabbed me all over again), I don’t think I have a good answer. When the show, which tells the story of a man (Marvin) who leaves his family for another man (who eventually succumbs to AIDS), first opened – first as two one act musicals Off-Broadway, then put together into a single evening on Broadway – there was a sense of urgency in our country, and the show. The AIDS epidemic was running rampant and marriage equality was just a twinkle in our eyes. America is a very different place today; AIDS is no longer the scare it once was and being gay is very much in the mainstream. Hence, the show now feels like a time capsule of its time, and that’s okay. I will be happily revisiting it again (and again?) before the limited the revival’s limited run ends in January.

Mr. Lapine once again returns to the musical as director, and he miraculously finds nuances in the show I hadn’t seen before. His cast is very good, although I have some reservations about the casting of Christian Borle in the central role of Marvin. Mr. Borle has won admiration and two Tony Awards for portraying over-the-top, larger than life supporting characters (Hook in Peter in the Starcatcher and Shakespeare in Something Rotten!). Marvin, however is a multifarious character. Indeed, at one point, he exclaims, “I want it all!”, and you should feel the statement in your gut. Mr. Borle, however, at least at this point in time, doesn’t appear to be quite comfortable with letting himself loose in the role, and his introspective performance registers at some points as merely bland. Fortunately, he’s surrounded by some outstanding performances. Stephanie J. Block kills the role of Trina, Marvin’s tweaked out ex-wife, in performance that’s more neurotically assertive than other actresses I’ve seen in the role in the past. Additionally, Andrew Rannells plays Whizzer with uncommon sensitivity and Brandon Uranowitz is utterly charming as Mendel, as is Anthony Rosenthal as Jason (Marvin and Trina’s confused son). Lastly, Tracie Thoms and Betsy Wolfe are perfectly fine as the “lesbians from next door”.

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FALSETTOS
Broadway, Musical
Walter Kerr Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through January 8

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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