William Finn and James Lapine's groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical FALSETTOS comes back to Broadway this fall in an all new production from Lincoln Center Theater. Lapine returns to direct an extraordinary cast featuring Stephanie J. Block (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Tony nom.), Christian Borle (Something Rotten!, Tony Award), Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, Tony nom), Anthony Rosenthal, Tracie Thoms, Brandon Uranowitz (An American in Paris, Tony nom.) and Betsy Wolfe.
FALSETTOS revolves around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin, his wife, lover, about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist, and the lesbians next door. It's a hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family... and a beautiful reminder that love can tell a million stories.
Not because this revival isn't terrific - it is, mostly. It's got tons of heart, unimpeachable performances by a cast of seven including the best kid actor since Fun Home's Sydney Lucas. But while the production - staged by James Lapine, who also wrote the book for the show, scored by William Finn (both won Tonys for their work) - left me teary in all the right places, and laughing in all the other right places, it never actually took flight. It's earthbound.
'It's about time, don't you think?' sings Marvin (Christian Borle) at the outset of the second act of Falsettos, and yes: It is. It's about time that William Finn and James Lapine's intimate, obstinate, heart-shattering 1992 musical has returned to Broadway, to poke us and amuse us and reduce us again to helpless tears. Few musicals have the range, idiosyncrasy and emotional punch of this profoundly unconventional and personal work. Directed by Lapine, the show's revival is very much about a specific Jewish family in the early 1980s, and while its story of a man who leaves his wife and child for a male lover may be less novel today, its larger truths continue to resonate. Seeing Falsettos now is like opening a time capsule and finding a mirror.
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