There are good reasons why such a long-standing show as Falsettos continues to be revived for new audiences. The production at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg in partnership with Theatre@CBT demonstrates the musical’s staying power and ongoing relevance.
Long before there was Frankie and Grace whose husbands left them for each other, Marvin, played winningly by Rinaldo Martinez, has left the family for his male lover, Whizzer, a buoyant Ryan Walker. As Marvin and Whizzer, Martinez and Walker anchor the show, tagging in and out of their affair, their strong voices looping through the score. Marvin’s character is notoriously problematic to portray with his self-absorbed tendencies and embedded conflicting emotions, but Martinez delivers a wonderfully layered performance with depth and grace. Lauren-Nicole Gabel’s Trina is the noble wife handling the situation like a trooper with her young teenage son in tow, a playfully cast Megan Hastie as 14-year-old Jason. Sparks start to fly when Marvin’s psychiatrist Mendel, an appealing Rob Milanic, becomes hopelessly smitten with Trina. All kinds of boundaries are hurdled in the ebb and flow of Jason’s teenage angst and the adults’ romances all while there are quiet hints of a devasting infection lurking in the background.
The music by William Finn while beautiful and flowing is not easy, and there’s plenty of it, with almost 20 songs in the first act alone. The musical interludes blend into each other nonstop with barely time to take a breath between scenes. The opening number sets the tone — “Four Jews in a Room Bitching” — and lets you know you’re not in The Sound of Music, and that’s a good thing. The performers handle the dynamic pacing, tight harmonies, and occasional atonal passages with ease while portraying emotional twists and turns and shifting interactions. An example of the skill and depth needed is evident in “A Tight-Knit Family/Love Is Blind,” where the characters shift from traditional expectations to totally off the charts. The cascade of songs continues in that vein, sophisticated, swaggering, vulnerable, and hilarious as well as heartbreaking.
Ensemble sections are effectively rendered to include imaginary settings (with great sound and lighting by Sarah Katz and Jim Robertson, respectively) like being at baseball and racquetball games, a Hebrew temple, and a hospital room. The show also includes the roller-coaster drama of setting up then nearly canceling Jason’s Bar Mitzvah. The finely tuned cast members, with excellent direction by Michael Abendshein and musical direction by Paul Roseen, make all the gyrations work.
Set design is effective and simple with a large backdrop of the New York City skyline along the back and also painted on both sides allowing left and right exits. The actors move cushioned squares for single seating, a couch, a table, and at one point even a bed in creative configurations.
What makes Falsettos so timeless and endearing is that the messages feel tailor-made over the decades. First performed in 1991 with the country overcast with the residue of the AIDS epidemic, the show was remounted in New York in 2016 in a tightening conservative grip. Today the effects of a pandemic scourge still linger while there’s still grappling with issues of gender identification and personal freedoms. Through its music, tender lyrics, and complicated characters, Falsettos provides glimpses of love that perseveres despite a family’s dysfunction and that manifests in unexpected, messy, funny, and stunning ways. For all kinds of reasons, it’s a great show to catch here and now, its final weekend, while you can.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
Falsettos plays through August 18, 2024 (Friday and Saturday at 8 PM; Sunday at 2 PM), presented by The Gaithersburg Arts Barn in partnership with Theatre at CBT performing at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets ($25; $23, students 15–21; $16 youth, 14 and under), buy them at the door or purchase them online. Online ticket sales end two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Arts Barn box office or by contacting the Arts Barn (301-258-6394).
Recommended for ages 12 & up.
Falsettos
Based on the novel by William Finn & James Lapine
Music & Lyrics by William Finn
CAST
Marvin: Rinaldo Martinez
Trina, his wife: Lauren-Nicole Gabel
Jason, his son: Megan Hastie
Whizzer, his lover: Ryan Walker
Mendel, their therapist: Rob Milanic
Dr. Charlotte: Chrissy Barnett Miller
Condelia: Jessica Cooperstock
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Director: Michael Abendshein
Music Director: Paul Rossen
Choreography: Lisa Singleton
Sound Engineer: Sarah Katz
Lighting Engineer: Jim Roberson
Costumes: Lauren Fielding, Ella Fielding, Jessa Gabel, Sari Gabel
Properties: The Issadore Family, Jen Larry, Same and Ethan
