The road to the musical Falsettos, which opens this week at the Ahmanson Theatre, is a circuitous one. In 1979, William Finn wrote the book, lyrics and music for a one-act musical called In Trousers. In that show we are introduced to Marvin, who has a wife and two children. We learn that he’s secretly gay and has to make a decision that may harm his family.
Then came 1981’s March of the Falsettos. Finn continues the journey of Marvin as he falls in love with Whizzer Brown while trying to maintain a relationship with his wife, Trina and his son, Jason. Complicating things is Marvin’s therapist, Mendel, who falls in love with Trina.
In 1990, Finn joined forces with James Lapine who wrote the book for the third one-act musical called Falsettoland. In this show Jason is getting ready for his Bar Mitzvah and Whizzer is battling an unknown illness.
In 1992, Finn and Lapine combined March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland into a single two-act musical that was then called Falsettos. The show was nominated for 7 Tony Awards and won two. Finn won for best score and he and Lapine won for Best Book of a Musical. The show ran for over a year.
The fall of 2016 found Lincoln Center putting together a revival of Falsettos. The production received five Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Musical. It is that production which finds itself touring and landing at the Ahmanson Theatre.
The cast for the Falsettos tour includes Max von Essen (An American in Paris) as Marvin, Nick Adams (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) as Whizzer, Eden Espinosa (Wicked) as Trina, Nick Blaemire as Mendel with Thatcher Jacobs and Jim Kaplan sharing the role of Jason.
This is not your typical Broadway show, but having seen all three individual pieces and also the revival on Broadway, I can assure you that this is a show for people who like clever lyrics, atypical show tunes and stories that are both moving and funny.
Come back later this week for our interview with Max von Essen.
For tickets go here.
Main photo of the Company of “Falsettos” by Joan Marcus. Courtesy of Center Theatre Group
