FALSETTOS Revival?- Page 2

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 11/15/08 at 10:25pm

I love Falsettos, and I saw all three musicals in their original New York productions (yes, I realize that In Trousers was not a part of Falsettos). I adore William Finn.

Having typed this, am I the only person who's tired of theater with major gay themes that center around AIDS or coming out? Please don't get me wrong... I understand how important AIDS - and coming out - is to gay culture, but we're more than these two themes.

This might be off subject, but a while ago I decided to explore the body of "gay" films. Netflix in hand, I started renting movie after movie. Most of them, AIDS or coming out. Come on. My experience as a gay man is so much more than these two themes. I am tired of being represented as a sexually awkward / repressed man and / or a tragic character.

Love Falsettos, but now more than ever, we need stories that represent the full spectrum of our culture.


Updated On: 11/15/08 at 10:25 PM

[Boq101]

Posted: 11/16/08 at 12:15am

Scott, I agree. I am sick and tired of young adult gay fiction being about closeted little boys.

But, I LOVE FALSETTOS.

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 11/16/08 at 1:16am

Woohoo! Someone agrees with me. This really is a pet peeve of mine. I'm ready for a wide range of stories expressing the infinite complexity of our lives. If we are to gain true equality, it will be because we are seen as the huge spectrum of human experience that more accurately reflects our lives.

Falsettos is a wonderful show. When it's time to revive it as a period piece I'm all for it. Now, I think we need new works that tell a much broader story.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 11/16/08 at 1:20am

After seeing Martha Plimpton in PAL JOEY tonight, she too is now someone I'd be interested in seeing play Trina.

[dalefully]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 8:14pm

Scott, I definitely agree with you, and I feel like Finn was really able to accomplish that with A New Brain. Here, you have a character whose homosexuality is not his defining trait and has pretty much nothing to do with the plot.

Personally, I definitely agree that the gay pop culture has become very one-note in the past few years, but at the same time I don't think I would categorize Falsettos with some of the more recent stuff, since at the time, AIDS and coming out in general were very prominent issues that had not been covered to such a great extent.

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 10:24pm

I absolutely agree. I wrote what I wrote not as a criticism on Falsettos, but as a criticism on reviving Falsettos now. I think there will be a time when Falsettos will be revived as a period piece and it will be important.

Please don't get me wrong, I am a great fan of William Finn's body of work.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:56am

Scott: I know what you are saying - I'd love to see more Broadway musicals about differnt kinds of gay men - but I think FALSETTOS has lost none of its relevance. At a time where gay men on Broadway are mostly comic relief punch-lines (SPRING AWAKENING) or lisping drag queens (THE PRODUCERS, the FLOWER DRUM SONG REVIVAL, and yes, LA CAGE) , A big element of FALSETTOS is about two gay men finding their way around a relationship. Like any other couple, Marvin & Whizzer may bitch at each other, but there is a lot of love and affection expressed there too.

15 years after FALSETTOS, Broadway musicals seem to have regressed in depictions of gay men. I would love to see a revival. It's a fresher (and still more daring) musical than you think.

Updated On: 11/18/08 at 12:56 AM

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 10:53am

My comment regarding "period piece" is only a reference to it being set in a particular time. I absolutely think that the dynamic between Marvin and Whizzer and their struggle to come to terms with their love for each other "fresh" and yes even "daring". Please understand, I love Falsettos. I just think now is not the time.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 11:07am

OK. I just hope it's revived before the next GYPSY. :)