REVIEW: Falsettos (Keegan Theatre)

Keep on bringing out them World Pride productions! The Fruit Loop itself now has a production of its own, in the rambunctious Falsettos at the Keegan Theatre. William Finn (RIP!) and James Lapine keep up a lot of the pizzaz they may be known for with younger audiences from their later and more popular Spelling Bee, but this complex and often self-stumbling musical is a worthy work of art all its own as one of the first major productions to directly deal with the AIDS crisis upon its premiere in 1991. Does Keegan do this warm-hearted patriarchal parable justice?

Book/Music

Falsettos is the final two parts of a trilogy by Lapine, combining March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland into one two-act production. The entire triptych largely covers the evolution of Marvin, a typical middle-class father, as he initially struggles with his sexuality to the culmination of an affair (his questioning phase, is covered in In Trousers, the first part). As of the top of this musical, Marvin has abandoned his wife Trina and son Jason to start said affair with Whizzer, a man who doesn’t care much for monogamy. To cope, he and his wife separately go to a psychiatrist named Mendel who quickly takes a liking to the latter. Meanwhile, Jason is on the cusp of puberty and has had his entire concept of marriage, love, and relationships turned on its head as he reaches a critical time in his life. The plot this all encompasses is a quirky one that more responsibly handles the subject matter than expected, but you wouldn’t know it via the often weak lyricism alone. The good news is that it’s musically toe-tapping enough to look beyond this, including incredible ensemble harmonies and a very iconic baseball-themed patter song that always delights. The earworms are largely confined to Act I however, as Act II takes a noticeably darker and dramatic turn despite the introduction of a bubbly pair of Lesbians From Next Door. The heartbreaking ending is a huge 180 from the yada-yada-ing of “Four Jews In A Room Bitching” that kicks things off, a reminder that in the middle of all the playfulness that the Queer community is known for today, it’s in spite of centuries of mistreatment and ostracization. 7/10

Acting

Marvin is not a terribly dynamic character, so I would have liked to see John Loughney place more personality onto him. Conversely, Trina can be a dynamic character, so I was colored disappointed by a more modest portrayal — and though Ryan Burke’s Mendel is geeky as expected, he lacked a chutzpah that creates his purpose within the family dynamic so quickly. Kaylen Morgan is a terrific Wizzer, though; a prismatic organ of both free-spirited joie-de-vivre and grounded understanding of the human condition that successfully anchors the story. 6/10

Production

Kurt Boehm’s direction feels familiar, but not fresh. In many ways it evokes the minimalism of Lapine’s 2016 revival, including cool tones and blocky staging, but where this falters is its lack of vision in comparison. Additionally, there was the regrettable choice of placing the jangly piano at the forefront of the orchestrations, which overbore on the harmonies from both the other instruments and even the actors themselves. The scenic design itself is a disjointed eyeful; a combination of flanked suburban terraces and a view of a handful of skyscrapers whose windows have been chicken-scratched on with graphite. (Aside: no use of the revolve in this piece. Booo!) Lynn Joslin’s lighting design makes an honest effort to brighten things up, though, even if the amount of IKEA blue is overused; her window lights and dancing spectra are effective ensemble members in several numbers. 4/10

Viz

Neither the scrim nor the key art do the premise any justice — assuming the audience is familiar with it from the aforementioned revival, then this may not be an issue. But if you’re not into the art form enough to remember that production, that could lead to confusion. The program itself is just…rainbow-y, because gayness is definitely a part of this. But that is merely a fraction of the view into the show’s exploration of “gayness” beyond a monolithic entity of colors and flamboyance. The staging is similarly drab, with a flood of indigo lighting at a confusingly (sub?)urban stage with some buildings poking out of the back (whose windows appeared to be drawn on with scratchy pencil). We’ve got…city, check, and pride, check. One could imagine there’s more to breadcrumb without being so coy about it? 2/10

Verdict

Falsettos is a lukewarm take on a potential Pride hit, but the material alone is enough to make a crowd pleaser out of it yet. 19/40