Customer Reviews

Falsettoland (1990 Off-Off-Broadway Cast)

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Written a decade after "March of the Falsettos," "Falsettoland" picks up the story of Marvin, Trina, Jason & Company as Jason prepares for his Bar Mitzvah. It's the early 1980's: yuppies reign supreme, Ronald Reagan is in the White House and a mysterious killer virus (as yet unnamed) seems to be killing predominantly young gay men. As Marvin's lesbian neighbor, Dr. Charlotte puts it, "something bad is happening," and she and other members of the medical profession are helpless to stop the virus. And so it is that the shadow of AIDS crosses the paths of our lovably dysfunctional Jewish-American family, bringing down Whizzer Brown in his prime and drawing the extended family together in support of a bereft Marvin. "Falsettoland" addresses the question of true family values and what constitutes a family. It also raises awareness in an age when AIDS is still a threat after twenty years with no cure in sight. No matter who you are, you can identify with one or more of these characters. While not as wacky as "March of the Falsettos," "Falsettoland" achieves a depth and a pathos not as evident in the two previous chapters (the first being "In Trousers"). The cast is uniformly strong, headed by Michael Rupert whose chemistry with Stephen Bogardus is unmatched. By the way, if you enjoy the "Marvin" stories, you'll also enjoy Finn's warm and wonderful "A New Brain," also on CD. Add him to your musical library if you haven't already.

It was a long drive. A friend who was riding with me played the William Finn CD in my CD player. After listening to the entire CD, there is only one thing I can say: GREAT! I got the story the first time I listened to it. I need not see them perform. Their voices and the words that came out of their lips gave out the entire story. And I was hooked. The song "What more can I say?" is a very beautiful song of "surrender" to something beyond human-ness, beyond one's own limitations. The song "What would I do?" is a very soulful complaint to that something that is "beyond one's human-ness". "What more can I say?" "Nothing. All you have to do is let the love flow." "What would I do?" "Nothing. All you have to do is let it flow. And maybe, just maybe, something good will come out of this." Beautiful. Great. Wonderful. Just a thought: Will a fourth installment be detrimental to the trilogy? I don't think so. Maybe, Finn should write a fourth installment, with Marvin dealing with alone-ness and grief and a new love.

The final chapter in the story of Marvin, Trina, Jason, Wizzer and Mendel, this show deals with the effects that AIDS had on the gay community during the early eighties. The recording is filled with both humorous (The Baseball Game, A Day in Falsettoland) and poignant (Something Bad is Happening, You Gotta Die Sometime, What Would I Do?) songs. William Flinn has put together an astounding series of songs to bring this story to a close.

Saw this on Broadway (as the second half of "Falsettos") and loved it; have listened to the cast album so often, I'd have worn it out if it had been vinyl. Powerful, emotional, loving, surprising, funny, tragic--all appropriate descriptions for this album. {ProfJonathan}