What is the Falsetto Musical About
HackettJC
Dear fellow friends of the musical scene,
I was in Borders Books and Music the other day, and I saw a musical that I
have never heard of before. It was called (I think) the Falsettos. I may
be wrong with the title here.. but it was something similar to that. My
questions are: what is this musical about? Is it good? Is it modern, or
old? What type of music is it? These are my big questions... but any
other information is good. If there are several different recordings out
there, which one should I get?
Thanks in advance for any help
Jeremiah Hackett
******************************
hack...@aol.com
"The history of the world, my sweet, is who gets eaten and who gets to eat." - SWEENY TODD
Michael Benedetto
In article <19970707233...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
hack...@aol.com (HackettJC) wrote:
>Dear fellow friends of the musical scene,
>
>I was in Borders Books and Music the other day, and I saw a musical that I
>have never heard of before. It was called (I think) the Falsettos. I may
>be wrong with the title here.. but it was something similar to that. My
>questions are: what is this musical about? Is it good? Is it modern, or
>old? What type of music is it? These are my big questions... but any
>other information is good. If there are several different recordings out
>there, which one should I get?
Huh? You noticed the script, but you didn't look at it hard enough to learn
anything about it or even remember the title correctly -- and you're
interested in it?
This sounds a little weird to me, but I'll give you the benefit of the
doubt. FALSETTOS is the title under which the one-acts MARCH OF THE
FALSETTOS (1981) and FALSETTOLAND (1990) were combined on Broadway in or
around 1992. It's generally centered around the character Marvin, who
recently left his wife for a male lover. The first act (MotF) deals with
the resolution of his relationships with the other characters (wife, son,
lover and psychiatrist), while the second (FL) is a more contemporary
continuation.
The show is through-sung, but it doesn't make use of recitative as such,
instead moving from one complete song to another. Hence there isn't a
strong plot; we see the characters comment on new developments and changing
attitudes rather than seeing the changes firsthand. It nevertheless works
-- it's quite funny and at times moving. The lyrics don't always make
sense, but they're in keeping with the wacky attitude of the show (at least
in the first half).
Each one-act was recorded separately, and the two are available as a
double-disc set. The show was not rerecorded for Broadway, as there were
only a handful of substantial changes. You may also be interested in the
recording of IN TROUSERS, the first musical to feature Marvin. It covers
his relationships with the women in his life, ending with him leaving his
wife. It's even more abstract and loosely plotted than the other two, and I
don't suggest looking at it until you've heard the FALSETTOS score.
-Mike
--
Me banana you banana Nim Nim Nim banana.
-Nim Chimpsky
Edward Yasi
HackettJC wrote:
> Dear fellow friends of the musical scene,
>
> I was in Borders Books and Music the other day, and I saw a musical
> that I
> have never heard of before. It was called (I think) the Falsettos. I
> may
> be wrong with the title here.. but it was something similar to that.
> My
> questions are: what is this musical about? Is it good? Is it modern,
> or
> old? What type of music is it? These are my big questions... but any
>
> other information is good. If there are several different recordings
> out
> there, which one should I get?
>
> Thanks in advance for any help
>
> Jeremiah Hackett
> ******************************
> hack...@aol.com
> "The history of the world, my sweet, is who gets eaten and who gets to
> eat." - SWEENY TODD
Jeremiah,
Falsettos is 2/3 of a trilogy created by William Finn and James Lapine.
The 3 separate one act musicals are IN TROUSERS, MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS,
and FALSETTOLAND that were written over 15 or so years and played
indvidually off-B'way.
In the early 90's, Graciella Danielle put the MARCH and FALSETTOLAND
together as a full show for the Hartford Stage. The response to the
show was enormous and the show was brought to B'way as FALSETTOS.
The shows were conceived as the the story of Marvin. In MARCH (set in
1979), Marvin leaves his wife (Trina) and son (Jason) to move in with
his male lover (Whizzer), yet Marvin wants them all to behave like one
happy family.
Trina begins seeing Marvin's psychiatrist (Mendel) because she is
breaking down and Jason is afraid that he will become gay due to
genetics. Marvin and Whizzer prove to be a less than ideal couple.
Mendel falls in love with Trina (and vice versa), and even Jason
encourages him to ask her to marry him. Marvin, who "wants it all"
finds it all slipping away. Mendel and Trina do marry, Whizzer leaves
him, and at the end of Act 1, Marvin is trying to repair his
relationship with Jason.
Act 2 is 2 years later -- "The year of Jason's Bar Mitzvah". Life is
stabilizing, except for the ex's trying to cooperate on the details of
the Bar Mitzvah.
We also meet Marvin's neighbors -- The Lesbians from next door. A
doctor (Charlotte) and a caterer (Cordelia) who specializes in "nouvelle
Bar Mitzvah cuisine.
Whizzer show back up at one of Jason's baseball games, and he and Marvin
-- older and wiser -- try it again -- this time successfully (which just
"thrills" Trina -- NOT!).
That is until Whizzer gets sick. It is the early 80's and "something
bad is happening" to young gay men. Whizzer has AIDS.
I could go on, but you get the general gist from this (I hope). The
show is all sung, so I would suggest buying it and listening to it.
There are also a few printed books on the show (The Marvin Songs and
Falsettos) available.
I am directing a production of this show this fall (auditions are next
week), so if you are in the Boston, MA area, let me know and I send you
some info on the production.
Russ
Kdowe7321
Falsettos is a combination of two one-act, off-Broadway musicals, March of
the Falsettos and Falsettoland, by William Finn; Falsettos ran on Broadway
and won Tony awards. The first act, which takes place in 1979-80, has
five characters, all Jewish New Yorkers: Marvin, Marvin's wife Trina,
Marvin's 10-year-old son Jason, Marvin's lover Whizzer, and Marvin's
psychiatrist Mendel. Marvin divorces Trina to be with Whizzer, Trina
marries Mendel, and Marvin tries desperately to gain the respect and love
of his son. The second act takes place three years later and has two
additional characters, also Jewish New Torkers: Charlotte, an internist,
and her lover Cordelia, a caterer. The two throughlines this time are
Jason's Bar Mitzvah and the onset in Whizzer of a strange new disease,
which we in the audience know to be AIDS. It is a tremendously complex
and moving show with a deep and catchy score reminiscent of, but not as
difficult on first listening as, some Sondheim pieces. The direction by
James Lapine was amazing storytelling.
The only recording that is available in retail is a double CD set which is
not actually of the Broadway production but of the two separate Off-B'way
productions, which is why a few of the roles (Trina and Jason) are played
by different actors on the two CDs. The performances by Alison Fraser,
Faith Prince, Chip Zien, Stephen Bogardus, Michael Rupert, Heather MacRae,
and Janet Metz are terrific.
Adam
You can find a complete synopsis on the web at (deep breath now):
http://www.tufts.edu/as/stu-org/tornticket/archives/falsettos/
falsettos-prog.html
just cut and paste that on into your browser.....
:)
--
Adam Grosswirth
New York City (center of the Universe)
http://www.panix.com/~adam2
Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only in contradiction to what
we know of it. -Chris Carter
It's not just about cats.... -Lord Andrew Lloyd Weber
You're right. I don't agree with you, but you're right. -Terrence McNally