William Finn and James Lapine's groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical FALSETTOS comes back to Broadway this fall in an all new production from Lincoln Center Theater. Lapine returns to direct an extraordinary cast featuring Stephanie J. Block (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Tony nom.), Christian Borle (Something Rotten!, Tony Award), Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, Tony nom), Anthony Rosenthal, Tracie Thoms, Brandon Uranowitz (An American in Paris, Tony nom.) and Betsy Wolfe.
FALSETTOS revolves around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin, his wife, lover, about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist, and the lesbians next door. It's a hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family... and a beautiful reminder that love can tell a million stories.
Notwithstanding Mr. Finn's inability to write once-heard-never-forgotten tunes, the musical numbers are cleverly crafted and the overall tone is appropriately tart, this being a show in which no one is very likable. (The title of the first song, 'Four Jews in a Room Bitching,' sums up 'March of the Falsettos' pretty comprehensively.) In 'Falsettoland,' by contrast, a hideously painful situation is portrayed with a sincere but cloying sentimentality that occasionally curdles into kitsch. If you're old enough to have witnessed the AIDS epidemic at first hand, the second act of 'Falsettos' might just make you cry in spite of yourself. If not...well, it probably won't.
There are a handful of take-your-breath-away numbers in the new revival of the musical 'Falsettos,' now playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway, but none quite so impressive as 'I'm Breaking Down,' a comic wail of despair sung by Stephanie J. Block. Playing Trina, whose husband Marvin (Christian Borle) has just left her for a man with the curious name of Whizzer (Andrew Rannells), Block manages to draw out both the comedy and anguish of this woman's unusual plight - sung all the while she's ostensibly making dinner. ('Let me turn on the gas / I saw them in the den / with Marvin grabbing Whizzer's ass.') Block sends the show to such dizzying heights that it takes the audience a few minutes to recover.
1992 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2016 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
2019 | US Tour |
US Revival Tour US Tour |
2019 | West End |
West End European Premiere West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Brandon Uranowitz |
2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Falsettos |
2017 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Christian Borle |
2017 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Falsettos |
2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Christian Borle |
2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Andrew Rannells |
2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Andrew Rannells |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Brandon Uranowitz |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Christian Borle |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Stephanie J. Block |
2017 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Musical | Falsettos |
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