"More powerful than any other American musical of its day."
—Frank Rich, New York Times
From the opening notes of Falsettos, it's clear that any preconceptions an audience has about the American musical are in for a beating. Three men and a boy burst onto the stage and sing "Four Jews in a Room Bitching", perhaps the strangest and funniest opening number in the history of musicals. A psychiatrist does a soft-shoe to the tune of "Everyone Hates His Parents". Two women introduce themselves as "the lesbians from next door" as they pass around samples of nouvelle bar mitzvah cuisine.
Something else you won't see in the average musical: a heart-melting love song is sung by a man to another man, who is dying of an unnamed disease—a disease that will soon be known as AIDS.
The plot is a simple one, and yet its frank treatment of gay themes makes Falsettos a landmark musical. Marvin (Nick Cloutier '05) leaves his wife and child for the love of another man. And yet he struggles to keep the affection of his wife and, most importantly, his angry son. Marvin wants, as he sings in his first number, "a tight-knit family." His plans are dealt a fatal blow when the lover (Jake Nicholson '05) contracts AIDS.
The book, music and lyrics are by William Finn. The first act was originally a stand-alone one-act called March of the Falsettos, which opened to rave reviews in 1981. Finn thought he was through with the characters, but as the AIDS crisis grew, Finn felt he had to take his characters through the epidemic. The result was a second one-act musical, Falsettoland. The two were combined under the title Falsettos for the 1992 Broadway run, for which Finn won a Tony Award for Best Score.
Falsettos is a "sung-through" musical, moving at breakneck speed through songs, sung dialogue and contrapuntal ensembles. It's a serious story, but strongly flavored by Finn's edgy, outrageous wit. His characters are complicated people—neurotic, obsessed, frantic and sometimes mean—but he loves them all dearly, and by the end of the musical, the audience has come to love them, too.
At Middlebury, Falsettos is a Department of Music production, directed by Douglas Anderson. The cast includes Angus Barstow, Adam Beard '06, Nick Cloutier '05, Allison Corke '08, Shannon Gmyrek '06, Jake Nicholson '05, and Hillary Waite '05. This production is supported, in part, by the generosity of the Jean Berger Discretionary Music Initiative.
Performances are Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30, at 8:00 P.M. in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Tickets are $5/4/3 and are on sale April 14 at the Center for the Arts Box Office.