So, when I became aware that the show was coming back to LA after all these years, (via the National Tour of the 2016\u00a0Broadway revival,) I was not one of the many people hopping on the\u00a0Falsettos\u00a0<\/em>bandwagon. But I love seeing\u00a0anything\u00a0at downtown LA\u2019s Ahmanson Theatre, so off I went, with an intelligent worldly pal, Jo-Ann, who had never even\u00a0heard<\/em>\u00a0of this show before, so I would also have the opinion of someone who was viewing it through virgin eyes.<\/p>\n Photo by Joan Marcus, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n And my verdict this time is\u2026I actually enjoyed it! A lot. Perhaps that\u2019s because the show seemed so much better-directed than the original, even though co-book-writer, James Lapine, did the honors\u00a0both\u00a0<\/em>times. Or maybe I\u2019ve just matured.\u00a0 (Yeah, right, like\u00a0that\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0really a possibility!)<\/p>\n Since this is an all-singing show, (meaning no\u00a0spoken<\/em>\u00a0dialogue,) the actors\u2019 singing voices are of paramount importance. And everyone comes through in that department.<\/p>\n Nick Blaemire, who plays the psychiatrist, has the best voice. I felt a sort-of peace whenever he sang.\u00a0 And he was both of our favorite player, in general. I wanted to hear Bryonha Marie Parham, (who plays one of the \u201clesbians next door,\u201d along with Audrey Cardwell) really wail, which I could tell she can, but alas, this score does not allow for that.<\/p>\n What Would I Do<\/em>, the very last number, a duet between Max von Essen and Nick Adams, who play the lovers, is very powerful.<\/p>\n Max von Essen and Nick Adams. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n Thatcher Jacobs, (who performed the shared role of the young son on opening night,) more than holds his own among the grown-ups, which is far from always the case. I was shocked to\u00a0discover that this is his first major musical role; his performance is so mature and professional. (And not the usual kid-actor-obnoxious, thank goodness.)<\/p>\n I\u2019m assuming the big draw among the cast is Broadway\u2019s Eden Espinsa. I don\u2019t recall ever seeing or hearing her work before, though I\u00a0have<\/em>\u00a0heard her name. (New York stars don\u2019t usually translate to LA consciousness, except for the bi-coastal peeps.) Her tour de force moment comes with I\u2019m Breaking Down<\/em>, which is the most defined, stand-alone number in the production. The opening night audience went nuts over her rendition of\u00a0it.<\/p>\n The little dancing, or more accurately,\u00a0movement<\/em>, there is was cleverly-choreographed by Spencer Liff. Those steps are very welcome whenever they happen.<\/p>\n Thatcher Jacobs and Nick Blaemire. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n Jo-Ann went berserk over the very interesting simple-looking yet deceivingly-complicated set, which was designed by David Rockwell. She could not stop raving about it! Before the show begins, we see a lone giant gray cube in the middle of the stage, which then unfolds into a zillion different configurations during the action to convey many different locations. I particularly admire that it becomes an entire living room! And big kudos to the actors for being the ones to move it all so unobtrusively.<\/p>\n The opening of the second act revealed that the smallish, hip-looking band was above the set, covered by part of the backdrop. Including that info in a song is an inventive way to give the musicians their props.<\/p>\n Now that all my technical thoughts are out of the way, let\u2019s discuss the script. Falsettos<\/em> is surprisingly charming at times. It\u2019s always hard for me to decipher narratives when there\u2019s no actual dialogue, but since I knew the story going in, it was a bit easier this time. And the fact that I could make-out most of the lyrics really helped. (So, thanks to the cast for enunciating so well!)<\/p>\n Writing it was a lot of work, I\u2019m sure. I can\u2019t even imagine it. One person, William Finn, wrote all<\/em> the music and lyrics, which seems like a gargantuan task to me. (The book of it was written with director James Lapine.) I<\/em> fret over just writing these reviews! And there\u2019s no music involved in them, (except for the Beatles\u2019 Help<\/em>, the refrain of which plays over and over in my mind every time I look at yet another blank page!)<\/p>\n Audrey Cardwell and Bryonha Marie Parham. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n So here\u2019s what I meant by \u201cpart of it\u201d in the second paragraph above: The two halves are actually two different shows that were written a decade apart, by the same team I just mentioned. Act II is a continuation of the story from the the first half. A tad confusing, I know. Jo-Ann didn\u2019t know\u00a0any\u00a0<\/em>of that, but she correctly felt that Act I was an entire show unto itself. She told me that she would have been much happier if it had ended there, without the depressing second half.<\/p>\n And the reason that it\u2019s depressing is that one of the characters is dying from AIDS. It was actually somewhat weird to see a show about AIDS in 2019. I had pretty much moved my thoughts on that insidious disease, which occupied so many of our minds and hearts in the \u201880s and \u201890s, onto the back burner. I\u2019m grateful that we\u2019ve come so far in getting it under control. (We\u2019re still not even close to all there yet, but two years ago, the CDC\u2019s Dr. Jonathan Mermin said, \u201cHalf of Americans with HIV now have the virus under control.\u201d That\u2019s a big step, even though so much more work is needed.)<\/p>\n With all the recent Magic Johnson sports news the week before the\u00a0Falsettos<\/em>\u00a0opening night, I had even marveled that no one has talked about him being HIV-positive in decades! So seeing its horrors depicted up there on the Ahmanson stage made me, (and I\u2019m sure many of my fellow audience members, judging by all the sniffles near the end,) remember so many people whom we lost to AIDS-related illnesses. That renewed sadness and anger made me go home and research the topic extensively. Any show that can encourage people to think outside of their own situations in life is more than an entertainment\u2014it\u2019s a service to humanity.<\/p>\n Eden Espinosa and Nick Blaemire. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n So now I feel shallow pointing-out the only two quarrels I have with\u00a0Falsettos<\/em>, but here goes. My general complaint is that it\u2019s waaaay too long!\u00a0 It\u2019s well over two-and-half hours. There\u2019s so much that can be cut, from\u00a0both<\/em>\u00a0acts. Each little nuance of the tale does not need to be pounded home so many times! Even\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0wind-bag self goes back over every column and removes some verbiage before publication, (which I\u2019m sure is news to you.) It\u2019s called editing, people\u2014this show needs to use that concept! (Of course, since this is a pretty old show, I don\u2019t know just\u00a0who<\/em>\u00a0would be allowed to do the trimming of it, both now and in subsequent productions. But, as Coco Chanel taught us\u2014that we need to \u201clook in the mirror\u201d before we leave the house and \u201ctake one thing off\u201d\u2014 that\u2019s what the powers-that-be need to do with this show.)<\/p>\n And what I (and Jo-Ann) absolutely\u00a0detested<\/em>\u00a0was the wardrobe. At one point, echoing what I was already thinking to myself about the wife\u2019s outfit, someone sitting near me asked their companion, \u201cWhat the f**k is she wearing???\u201d\u00a0The character’s attire is not part of what defines her, so why would the costume designer, Jennifer Capri, make her look so dowdy? I know this show is set in 1979 and 1991, but this is ridiculous. We both found Eden\u2019s outfits\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0bad wig (by Tom Watson) to be distracting. (But at least they totally explain why her husband left her. Just saying.\u2019)<\/p>\n Eden Espinosa, Thatcher Jacobs, and Max von Essen. Photo by Joan Marcus.<\/p><\/div>\n But guess what?\u00a0All\u00a0<\/em>of the costumes miss the mark! On\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0character. The kid<\/em> is even dressed like a tribute to Sheldon on\u00a0The Big Bang Theory<\/em>. They should have just asked\u00a0me<\/em>\u00a0to do the wardrobe because I looked my most adorable in the \u201880s! (If I do say so myself.)<\/p>\n But wardrobe and length of show aside,\u00a0seeing Falsettos<\/em>\u00a0is a very worthwhile experience. Besides the entertainment value, it reminds us of the brevity of life. And affirms what I<\/em> always espouse–that we should all grab happiness when we find it, no matter with whom nor the circumstances. (Without breaking any laws, of course.) And that the definition of \u201cfamily\u201d is what you make of it.<\/p>\n So grab a loved one or pal, and some tissues, and go to the Ahmanson to see\u00a0Falsettos<\/em>. And maybe bring a matzoh or two to snack on.<\/p>\n Falsettos\u00a0<\/em>running through May 19, 2019 FALSETTOS This Jewish-themed\u00a0musical is here in LA just in time for Passover. That\u2019s brilliant scheduling on someone\u2019s part! About two decades ago, a music producer pal and I saw Falsettos, (or at least\u00a0part\u00a0of it, which I\u2019ll explain further along in this review,) elsewhere in town. We both hated it so much that we tried to<\/p>\n![\"](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/c_-_The_Baseball_Game_-_0322r.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Max](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/a_-_Marvin_and_Whizzer_-_0457r-1.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Thatcher](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/h_-_Jason_and_Mendel_-_0216r.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Audrey](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/e_-_Cordelia_and_Dr_Charlotte_-_0770r2.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Eden](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/d_-_Trina_and_Mendel_-_1030r2.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Eden](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/b_-_Trina_Jason_and_Marvin_-_0287r.jpg\")
<\/a>
\nAhmanson Theatre 135 N. Grand Ave. 213-972-4400 www.CenterTheatreGroup.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"