Warren-directed FALSETTOS Proves A Potent Reminder of How Life Once Was

For gay men of a certain vintage in America, the differences between 1979 and 1981 were monumental. In 1979, basking in the glow of a life well-lived and without reservation, the future seemed limitless and without bounds. Two years later, however, with the specter of a newfound plague that seemed designed to decimate the gay community, what once seemed promising and exhilarating was now potentially deadly.

It was a part of life only understood completely, if experienced, and its impact continues to be felt today in ways you can sometimes predict, although oftentimes it invokes unexpected memories that take you completely unaware. That explains why I’ve taken so long to compose this review of Falsettos – which ends its three-weekend run this weekend at Nashville’s The Barbershop Theatre in another superb Street Theatre Company musical production – and which I saw last week during its last Sunday matinee performance.

Originally conceived as two parts of a trilogy of plays – with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Finn and James Lapine – Falsettos focuses on the character of Marvin, a heretofore middle-class Jewish man with a wife and son at home who decides to move in with his male lover in 1979 in March of the Falsettos, and with whom we check in again during Falsettoland (set in – you guessed it – 1981) and with the addition of two lesbians who live next door, we learn that Trina, Marvin’s now-ex-wife, has married his shrink Mendel, with all of them gearing up to celebrate son Jason’s bar mitzvah.

Marvin’s lover Whizzer – handsome and profligate in a way that only a gay man can be in plays like this (make no mistake about it, Falsettos is very much the product of its time, with the first stanza seeming almost frozen in time, while the second act seems more universal in scope) – plays an important role in both halves of Falsettos and it is his death from AIDS that proves to be the catalyst for major realizations, if not developments, in the lives of every other character.

Directed by Deonte Warren, with musical direction by Randy Craft, STC’s Falsettos has the power to evoke memories and to unleash every emotion, with the story brought to life by a superb cast of Nashville actors whose presence elevate the material with their shared experience and a sense of bon homie that is instantly palpable.

Ryan Greenawalt, in what may be his best performance ever in a long line of stellar roles, is wonderfully self-centered and even surly at times as Marvin in Act One, while he allows us to witness a softer, kinder and gentler version of the character in the second act. Mike Sallee Jr. once again shows off his theatrical bona fides as Whizzer, bringing him to life with a devastating sense of authenticity (during his most dramatic moments in Act Two, I had to pay closer than ever attention to the playbill in my hand so that I might refrain from ugly crying in public).

Scott Rice is ideally cast as Mendel, proving once again how bereft Nashville audiences would be had he not moved here when he did. As Trina, Anastasia Teel completely transforms, offering a revelatory performance as she effectively conveys her character’s inner struggles, as she comes to accept her new lot in life that is the result of loving the wrong person.

Falsettoland is livelier, in comparison to March of the Falsettos, thanks to the inclusion of the two lesbians from next door, played by Delaney Amatrudo and Miya Burt, who provide a jolt of adrenaline to the proceedings upon their first appearance and who instantly become part of this onstage family we have come to know. Amatrudo’s character, Dr. Charlotte, represents every lesbian to whom gay men owe so much for their efforts during the continuing battle to eradicate AIDS, while maintaining the dignity of patients often rejected and vilified by their own families.

Finally, young Alex Hillaker completes the ensemble as Jason, delivering a performance that is far beyond his years. Never precocious or cloying, Hillaker plays Jason like a real kid and he has the emotional wherewithal to make him utterly believable.

Warren’s deft direction of the piece – which at times, particularly in Act One, seems rather precious and very much representative of a particular period in American history – is fluid, and he takes a very naturalistic approach to relating the story to underscore its continued importance in the canon of American musical theater. Completely sung-through, Falsettos (it could be argued) may be an opera and, clearly, its themes are often larger than life and Craft ensures the singers deliver the goods, with an artful blend of freshness, theatrical experience and a finesse that is sure to impress.

In addition, Craft’s four-person band – that includes Makai Keur on synth, Max Dvorin on reeds, Andrew Bannon on percussion and Craft himself on piano – perform Finn’s score with expressive skill and noteworthy professionalism.

Ang Madaline-Johnson’s costumes for the ensemble are perfect evocations of the fashions of the era and set designer Noel Rennerfeldt provides the actors a versatile playground upon which to create art. Kudos are due to Cameron Cleland, for his terrific sound design amid the intimate confines of The Barbershop, and to Kristen DuBois for her exceptional lighting design for Falsettos.

If you had asked me before last Sunday, I’d have answered (somewhat authoritatively, in the way I answer such queries) that we’d never seen Finn and LaPine’s work on a Nashville stage, but upon taking my seat I suddenly remembered (however vaguely) a production at Actors’ Playhouse of Nashville – for which The Barbershop is the most obvious successor in today’s theater scene – of March of the Falsettos in the late 1980s. For the life of me, I can’t remember the complete cast or who directed it (Brian Hill, perhaps?), but I can recall the late Thom Byrum, whom I had met in Memphis in 1979, had played Whizzer. That recollection led to all manner of other reminiscences flooding my psyche and I fought back tears as I remembered the two lesbians who lived next door to me (one a doctor, the other a nurse) at the time and the heartache of losing a first love, which of course reminded me of another lover who died of AIDS after I had made the move to Nashville.

(I must confess that my eyes filled with tears as I wrote that previous paragraph, my heart overflowing with memories of people I once loved – and still do, if truth be told – who are no longer on this mortal coil. It never fails: As I grow older, golden-hued nostalgia and heartfelt memories of lost love will make me cry with unfettered ease.)

As with many musical theater offerings that feature a timeline set in the past, Falsettos is very emblematic of the times in which it is set: it’s definitely a period piece and that accounts for some of its charm, to be certain, but there are among the show’s attributes those things that you might not be familiar with unless you lived through them yourself. For that – and for the complete experience of Falsettos – I am eternally grateful.

Falsettos. Music and lyrics by William Finn. Book by William Finn and James Lapine. Directed by Deonte Warren. Stage managed by Breanna Theobald. Presented by Street Theatre Company, at The Barbershop Theatre, Nashville. Though Saturday, June 1. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (with one 15-minute intermission). For more information, go to www.streettheatrecompany.org.

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