Review: FALSETTOS at Victory Theatre

Let’s face the music: Falsettos, written during the Reagan administration’s brutal fumbling of the AIDS epidemic and polarizing of the LGBTQ+ community, remains strikingly relevant to today. No doubt this clear comparison led the Conundrum Theatre Company to stage a production of it now. Located at the Victory Theatre in Burbank, CA, this take on Falsettos remains as dysfunctional and dissonant as always. Even the excellent performances do not make this an easy show to sit through. Composer-lyricist William Finn wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Falsettos has an unusual history as a musical. William Finn wrote a trilogy of one-act musicals during the 1970s and ‘80s (In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, and Falsettoland). The latter two merged in the early ‘90s, stealing moments from the first as well, to become Falsettos, which went to Broadway in 1992. (While it won various Tony Awards for that original run, it has experienced a massive resurgence in the past decade due to a star-studded revival in 2016, with the likes of Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, and Stephanie J. Block leading the cast.) James Lapine, the lauded librettist of Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods, collaborated with Finn from March of the Falsettos onward. They tweaked and trimmed the two one-act shows to splice together in a more appropriate manner. Did they succeed? The number of experienced, enthused, and engaged fans in the theatre when this reviewer saw the Conundrum’s performance says yes. This reviewer’s critical (and perhaps cold) eye for story structure says no.

Indeed, Falsettos played to a sold-out crowd at this reviewer’s attended performance – a crowd that cheered when characters were introduced, hooted and hollered at their jokes and zingers, and sobbed all through the second act. It is safe to say Falsettos has become a cult classic, if not a classic in its own right. 

The musical, here directed by the Conundrum Theatre Company’s Jack Filsinger, has discordant acts due to Finn and Lapine’s melding of the two plays. Act One, set in 1979, focuses on family dynamics when the father, Marvin (Michael Vandie), divorces his wife, Trina (Morgan Meadows), and runs off with his male ‘friend,’ Whizzer (Danny Holmberg). Act Two ditches most of the chaotic questions about family life and calms down, only to descend suddenly into a new form of chaos: a mysterious, unnamed disease “that spreads from one man to another.” Two new characters appear out of nowhere for Act Two. This reviewer doesn’t recall their names even being said. The program calls them Charlotte and Cordelia; this reviewer calls them “the lesbian neighbors” or “the caterer” and “the doctor,” as do the other characters. These characters are certainly necessary for the second act, and they improve morale with a depiction of a much happier and more functional romantic pairing – belated foils for the insanity of the Marvin-Trina-Whizzer-Mendel criss-crossings. 

What makes Falsettos intriguing to this reviewer is not the emotional turmoil of Act One. Indeed, he could do without the contrapuntal shouting. Rather, it is the evolution of the depictions of the queer community. Because the two acts were written a decade apart, Finn and Lapine’s treatment of queerness reflects two different points in the fast-moving gay liberation. For example, Marvin refers to Whizzer exclusively as his “friend” throughout Act One, though it is made clear very early on that they are much more than that. A decade passes, and Finn and Lapine switch to “lover” in Act Two. Act One Marvin expects Whizzer to behave like in roles attributed to women: doing the cooking and the cleaning and submitting to Marvin, but Whizzer resists. For a gay man like William Finn to write a protagonist making such demands surprises initially. It is both a heteronormative and misogynistic view of relationships. Marvin, embracing his queerness after his straight marriage, expects the same dynamics with men, which may be an intended strike against the protagonist. As the story enters the ‘80s, we hear nothing more of these dynamics: the pigeonholing perspective of the ‘70s loosens. Whether Marvin changed or Finn did is anybody’s guess. 

The cast of the Conundrum Theatre Company excel in their roles. Morgan Meadows stands out especially as Trina. Her solos “Holding To The Ground” and especially “I’m Breaking Down” are highlights of the show. “I’m Breaking Down,” her humorous yet devastating attempt to comprehend her situation, outshines the rest. However, Meadows does not waste a moment of stage time to delight and demand compassion as the scorned ex-wife. 

Myia LaShaun’s performance as the doctor, Charlotte, makes one wish she had had something to do in Act One. She has both a lovely voice and wonderful chemistry with her on-stage partner Katelyn Coon (the caterer, Cordelia) but is deprived of a true solo in the show. The most she gets is the solo reprise of a duet. Nevertheless, LaShaun makes her doctor loveable and brings increasing concern for the “something bad” that is happening.

Jack Rogers plays Mendel, the psychiatrist who desperately needs his license revoked, with great humor and flair. Some of his standout moments include those encouraging Jason (Dylan von Halle), trying to survive his parents.

Falsettos is a difficult musical with its depictions of dysfunctional families and disease. The tumultuous relationship dynamics are brought out through Finn’s helter-skelter music and lyrics, creating an uncomfortable experience that is not without ridiculous humor. However, the enduring fanbase that Falsettos has collected shows that this is a musical that can thrill and capture hearts. If there ever was a production that can accomplish such feats, it is the Conundrum Theatre Company’s.

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