Falsettos (Drama, Plume) [Paperback]

William Finn (Author), James Lapine (Author), Frank Rich (Afterword)

Book Description

Series: Drama, Plume | Publication Date: July 1, 1993

Musical

Music and Lyrics by William Finn. Book by William Finn and James Lapine. A seamless pairing of March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, acclaimed off Broadway musicals written nearly a decade apart, Falsettos won 1992 Tony Awards for best book and musical score. It is the jaunty tale of Marvin who leaves his wife and young son to live with another man. His ex wife marries his psychiatrist, and Marvin ends up alone. Two years later, Marvin is reunited with his lover on the eve of his son's bar mitzvah, just as AIDS is beginning its insidious spread.

"Exhilarating and heartbreaking.... Falsettoland gains exponentially in power by being seen only 15 minutes, instead of 9 years, after the first allment."---The New York Times

"A masterly feat of comic storytelling and ... visionary musical theater."---Variety

"What a treasure this is: brave and hilarious, charming, disarming, loaded with honest sentiment and cynicism."-- The New York Newsday

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Plume (July 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452270723
• ISBN-13: 978-0452270725
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,205,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it., April 9, 1998

By 

Molly Richards ([e-mail]) (Berea, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falsettos (Drama, Plume) (Paperback)

This book is the libretto for the musical "Falsettos" which is sung entirely, so unless you have the music, the book is incomplete. But for "Falsettos" lovers this is a must have. The music is a bit confusing with a lot of subtext. The book allows you to analyze each character to find the deeper meaning (and believe me, there is a lot of underlined meaning). The best part of the book is that it includes one version of "In Trousers" (which is vertually unavailable in a sound recording). "In Trousers" was the first of the three one-acts written and tells of Marvin's struggle with his sexuality when he was in high school. There are three versions of "In Trousers": the original, the revision, and a combination of both. This version is the combination. Perhaps "In Trousers" is the most insightful of all three shows, although it is the hardest to understand. If you like to analyze scripts, this one is a welcomed challenge. All three deal with the idea of homosexuality and family life. It is a funny, heart warming, heart wrenching story as you follow Marvin's struggle to accept his homosexuality and still maintain a relationship with his young son and (ex)wife. It has good family values and some beautiful ballads. One of my all time favorite musicals. A definite for any musical library.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Falsettos- What's not to Love?, May 4, 2001

By 

JustMe123 "jennifer123" (Boca Raton, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falsettos: A New Musical (Paperback)

William Finn is a genius. He is the composer and lyricist of all 3 musicals in the 'Falsettos Trilogy'. This vocal selections book has highlights from the first and second musicals in the trilogy, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. There are 17 songs in all, which is a rather large amount. In this book are: The Baseball Game, A Day In Falsettoland, Everyone Hates His Parents, What More Can I Say, What Would I Do?, Something Bad Is Happening, Holding To The Ground, Unlikely Lovers, You Gotta Die Sometime, Father To Son, I'm Breaking Down, March Of The Falsettos, 4 Jews In A Room Bitching, Marriage Proposal, Making A Home, The Games I Play, and I Never Wanted To Love You. The lyrics are both touching and hysterical. The songs both develop the characters and show the genius of the composer. 'Four Jews Bitching' is a fantastic musical theatre piece for four males. I can't reccomend this book enough!!!

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for a good show, February 4, 2011

By 

W. Smith "Future Tony Winner" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Falsettos (Paperback)

I was glad to finally get this book and read through it. It's a surprisingly breezy read for being over 150 pages. I recommend listening to the combo cast recording while reading through it. A very moving story. The only thing that has me giving it four stars instead of five is the lack of any sort of essay or commentary materials in the book. Of all shows, this is one where there is probably alot to say about the show. All the same, a great buy.