GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JUNE 25, 1993

ENTERTAINMENT

Falsettos bridges AIDS decade with wit, love and song

New York production in second year

Reviewed by Barry Daniels Falsettos (music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Finn and James Lapine) is not an ordinary Broadway musical. It is a chamber piece for a cast of seven and a four person band, currently playing at the John Golden Theatre, one of Broadway's more intimate houses. It is the story of a gay Jewish man, his lover, his ex-wife, his son, and friends, set in New York between 1979 and 1981. The text is entirely sung; Finn has created a sort of pop-opera in which motifs repeat thematically creating a musical texture out of which develop songs using the pop forms of a traditional Broadway musical. The two acts originated as individual productions at Playwrights Horizons Theatre in New York: March of the Falsettos in 1981 (Act I) and Falsettoland in 1990 (Act II.

At the beginning of Act I, Marvin, a neurotic Jewish man, leaves his wife, Trina, and his ten year old son, Jason, for an attractive young man, Whizzer. Marvin is a self-centered man, demanding love, but incapable of giving anything in return. He believes he can "Have it All," and tries to preserve "A Tight Knit Family," which includes his bitter ex-wife, confused son, and Whizzer. This family breaks up when Trina falls in love with Marvin's "short insomniac" psychiatrist, Mendel. As the new family, Mendel, Trina and Jason begins "Making a Home," Whizzer, tired of Marvin's self-absorption, packs his bags and leaves. This essentially serious action is lightened by the wit of the manic psychiatrist (a fine performance by Chip Zien) and a liberal supply of Jewish jokes. Trina

(Barbara Walsh) has a show-stopping comic mad scene, "I'm Breaking Down." And Jason (Sivan Cotel) is a nicely realized character, not too cute, but, in his innocence, much wiser than the adults around him. If there is any hope for Marvin to escape from his confusion and self-absorption in this act, it comes from his relationbeautifully expressed in the concluding ship with his son. His feelings for Jason are number, "Father to Son," set as a lullaby.

Act II takes place in 1981. Two years have passed; Jason's bar mitzvah is being planned. The cast now includes Marvin's neighbors, a lesbian couple, Dr. Charlotte (Heather MacRae) and Cordelia (Maureen Moore), whose kosher catering service is a source of many of this act's jokes. Jason, in his wisdom, manages to reunite his father and Whizzer during a hilarious Jewishboys-playing-baseball number. This time the relationship works. Marvin has matured and is capable of expressing love. In bed with his sleeping lover, Marvin sings the first love song in the play, "What More Can I Say." Unfortunately, "Something Bad is Happening," sings Dr. Charlotte. She has been tracking an as yet unnamed virus that seems to attack single men. Whizzer becomes sick. His death occurs during Jason's Bar Mitzvah, which Jason has chosen to hold in the hospital room so that Whizzer can be present.

By itself, Act I, March of the Falsettos, seems dated and somewhat disturbing in 1993. The relationship between Marvin and Whizzer is more a matter of sex than love as they sing "The Thrill of First Love." Whizzer's solo, "The Games I Play," is a hymn to his own shallowness; he is just a

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"Today, my son you are a man”: Marvin (Mandy Patinkin), and his son Jason (Sivan Cotel) at Jason's hospital-room bar mitzvah.

cute trick. The piece is permeated with Marvin's confusion with his homosexuality, which includes a hint of self-loathing.

Act II, Falsettoland, reflects the ten difficult years that separate the two original productions, the 1980s. The opening number of the act, "Welcome to Falsettoland," concludes with the lines: "It's about growing up. Getting older./ Living on a lover's shoulder./Learning love is not a crime./It's about time."

Confronted with the mysterious disease, the characters exhibit a strength of spirit that reflects the maturity of their love as well as a growing sense of community. This is eloquently expressed in the song, "Unlikely Lovers." In it Marvin insists on spending the night in the hospital in Whizzer's arms: it is the first love duet for the two men. They are joined by Dr. Charlotte and Cordelia; the duet becomes a quartet; the four unlikely lovers have formed a community to help each other face the worst of possible times. In many ways it is the culminating moment of the play, demonstrating the power of love and friendship. If the reality of AIDS is de-emphasized, it is because Falsettos is more about the journey Marvin and Whizzer have taken than what ends that journey. In the haunting finale, Marvin begins a song to his dead lover, "What Would I Do?" Whizzer enters. When he asks, "Do you regret . . .' Marvin stops him with "I'd do it again/I'd

Lyric Opera

like to believe that I'd do it again/ And again and again and/What more can I say?" The last line picks up Marvin's earlier love song to Whizzer, who now joins him in this song.

Falsettos is beautifully staged by James Lapine. Douglas Stein's set is a row of black flats backed by a black scrim. The band is placed on a platform behind the scrim. The floor is blood red as is a single door. All the furniture and props are grey. When Whizzer is hospitalized in Act II, the door is white and a white curtain is used to close off the hospital room. The door and all the props are on casters and are moved by the actors. This allows for a fluid shifting and overlapping of scenes that is the perfect equivalent of the continuous flow of the music. All the performers are firstrate singing actors. Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer and Mandy Patinkin as Marvin deliver fully realized portraits of the two men at the center of the action. I found Patinkin's distinctive tenor with its lovely high range much more musically compelling than the performance of Michael Rupert, who originated the role.

Falsettos is now in its second year on Broadway. It is playing at the John Golden Theatre, 252 West 45th Street. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 pm; Wednesday and Saturday at 2 pm; and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets can be reserved through Telecharge at 212-239-6200.

OUTINGS

Five performances of C.W. von Gluck's enduring story of mythology's most famous lovers, Orpheus & Eurydice, run July 1-10 in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Principals include Hillary Nicholson, Peg Cleveland and Robin Blitch. The production is choreographed by Wendy Lehr, conducted by Daniel Harp and directed by Michael McConnell.

You can bring your own picnic or arrange for catered picnic suppers. Tickets range from $15 to $28, discounts are available. Call 231-2910.

Near West Theatre

Another in the special "Coffee and the Arts" series takes place Saturday, June 26 at 8 pm at St. Paul's Community Church, 4427 Franklin Blvd. Sample a special blend of Cleveland's talent with rich coffee and homemade bakery in an informal, coffeehouse setting. $2 admission. 651-2037.

Dobama Theatre

The Owen Kelly Adopt-a-Playwright Program presents two new plays by local playwrights workshopped in repertory. These are Park Goist's WOB, a musical celebration of

the life of Joe Hill; and Mary Gibson's Mother's House, a portrait of three generations. Open rehearsals are July 6-15 with workshop performances July 16-18.

Admission to rehearsals is $2, to performances $5; a festival pass is available for $10. 1846 Coventry Rd. 932-6838.

Beck Center

Me & My Girl, a grand musical comedy about a British commoner who suddenly becomes royalty, closes the Beck Center's theater season on the main stage. Remaining performances are Thursday through Saturdays at 8 pm, Sunday June 27 at 2 pm, through July 3.

Tickets are $11 and $10. 17801 Detroit Ave. Call 521-2540.

Akron Symphony Orchestra

Two free "Picnic Pops" concerts remain on the schedule, with the orchestra conducted by Alan Balter. The program consists of light classics, a medley of Broadway hits, and an "International Dixieland Jamboree." Performances are on Saturday, July 3 at 8:30 pm at the Bicentennial Park in Fairlawn; and Sunday, July 4 (rain date July 5) at 8 pm at the Akron Innerbelt Park. Both of these shows include fireworks. Call 535-8131.