“Everything has its season” and this is the right time for Falsettos. Topics that were once taboo are now commonplace. Many television shows feature mixed-race couples and homosexual partners. AIDs is no longer a secret and the epidemic is somewhat under control. The musical evolved in stages. With music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Finn and James Lapine, Part I opened off-Broadway in 1981 as March of the Falsettos. Later in 1990 Finn completed his play with Falsettoland. Falsettos is the combination of the two.
The show opens with the quirky number, “Four Jews in a Room Bitching,” a funny number that introduces us to the male characters in the play. All revolve around Marvin (portrayed by the marvelously talented Christian Borle) who has divorced his wife, Trina (Stephanie J. Block), and left her and their son, Jason, to go off with Whizzer (Andrew Rannells). Brandon Uranowitz plays Mendel, Marvin’s psychiatrist, who ultimately weds Trina, making it all a strange “A Tight Knit Family” (another musical number). The cast is terrific and young Andrew Rosenthal (Jason) makes a very impressive Broadway debut. Marvin is understandably angry and annoyed when he loses his psychiatrist to his wife, or is he upset that he’s lost his wife?
Ten-year-old Jason finds solace in his chess board. He’s angry at his father but also fearful that he may become like him. Act I may have worked well on its own originally but combined with Act II, it drags and goes on too long.