Review - Broadway Originals at Town Hall

Those four Jews were in a room bitching again last Sunday afternoon. No, I don't mean The Marvelous Wonderettes. I mean Whizzer, Jason, Mendel and Marvin, also known as Stephen Bogardus, Jonathan Kaplan, Chip Zien and Michael Rupert. As any fan of neurotic, gay musical theatre will tell you, they were the quartet who first opened the 1992 Broadway production of Falsettos with William Finn's frenetic patter, "Four Jews in a Room Bitching."

Town Hall was the room where the original Broadway company of Falsettos reunited as a special feature of this year's edition of Broadway Originals, the traditional Sunday afternoon finale to Town Hall's fifth annual Broadway Cabaret Festival. Taking his usual spot at the stage left podium, Scott Siegel explained how the unusual gestation of this musical about a charming fellow named Marvin who tries to mold a functional family out of Trina (the wife he divorced), Jason (the son he adores) and Whizzer (the man he loves) began with Finn's three separately produced one-act Off-Broadway musicals: In Trousers (1979), its sequel, March of the Falsettos (1981) and finally Falsettoland (1990). The latter two (with a bit of material from the first) made up acts one and two of the Broadway production.

Having originated the same roles in March..., Falsettoland, and Falsettos, the trio of Rupert (Marvin), Bogardus (Whizzer) and Zien (Mendel, the family psychiatrist) are naturally strongly identified with this material. Joining them were Barbara Walsh (Trina), a 29-year-old Jonathan Kaplan (who played the 13-year old Jason) and, as "the lesbians from next door," Heather MacRae as Dr. Charlotte and Janet Metz as the kosher caterer, Cordelia. (Metz, though she originated her role in Falsettoland, did not appear in the Broadway production because she was already contracted to another show.) The camaraderie and affection the performers have for both the material and each other was clearly visible through the multiple on-stage hugs and warm smiles throughout the ten-song presentation.

Bogardus' heavily emotional "The Games I Play" and Rupert's tender "What More Can I Say?" were gorgeously sung highlights, as was Walsh's hilariously frustrated, "I'm Breaking Down." Zien and Kaplan (whose voice has developed into an attractive baritone) set comical sparks with "Everyone Hates Their Parents," and MacRae and Metz joined Rupert and Bogardus for a beautifully harmonized "Unlikely Lovers." By the time the evening ended with Rupert singing "Father to Son" to the now grown-up Kaplan (who would be flying off to get married the next day) there were very few dry eyes both on stage and off.

But that was only Act II of Broadway Originals. The first act followed the usual form of having various original cast members from the past sing a number they either introduced on Broadway or re-introduced in a revival. While previous editions have featured performances that stretched back to over fifty years of Broadway history, this year's show focused on the more recent past. Sharon McNight held the distinction of presenting the most vintage performance, reprising her rousing showstopper from 1989's Starmites, "It's Hard to Be Diva." Marc Kudisch followed his comically self-satisfied "Breezing Through Another Day" (The Wild Party) with snake-like moves for The Apple Tree's "Forbidden Fruit."

Celia Keenan-Bolger displayed her vocal versatility, first perkily explaining the joys of "My Friend, The Dictionary" (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and then with an intense and emotional "On My Own" (Les Miserables). Kerry O'Malley's charming "Moments in The Woods" (Into The Woods) was followed by her lush and sensual "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" (White Christmas), where she was joined by Bogardus who countered with "How Deep Is The Ocean." And it was a pleasure to once again hear Julia Murney ("Beautiful Boy" from Lennon), Manu Narayan ("The Journey Home" from Bombay Dreams) and Stephanie J. Block ("Get Out and Stay Out" from 9 To 5) repeat their personal successes from not quite successful musicals.

The special surprise guest, Daisy Eagan, who at age 11 became the youngest female Tony Award winner ever for her performance in The Secret Garden, flew in from Los Angeles to sing a lovely rendition of "The Girl I Meant To Be."

With music direction by John Fischer and stage direction by Scott Coulter, this year's Broadway Originals was once again an immensely enjoyable afternoon for lovers of musical theatre.

Photo by Genevieve Rafter Keddy: Stephen Bogardus and Michael Rupert

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