Randy (Lei) Chang, Taylor Long, Mona Hillis, Max Goodman, Luca McPhee, Olivia Daniels and Joshua Kilimnik in ‘Falsettos’, Photo by Valentina Caballero
Before I get into the weeds, here’s the important point: Bowtie Productions’ presentation of Falsettos is absolutely stunning! I fell hard for it; the whole audience did, especially a young man I noticed in the front row who just beamed the whole time, fully transported by every damn second!—I understand, sir.
The intimacy of Annex Theatre’s tall yet compact space allows for thrilling proximity to this solid ensemble as they deliver top tier musical theatre realness. The production itself is decidedly minimalist. The only props and furniture elements provided by designer Robin Kadirgamar are those with which the characters interact directly, only a handful. Rather than feeling austere, this eliminates all distractions from the vibrant performances. The white and black chess squares that mark the floor are a motivic indicator—that this is all an emotionally taxing game.
The story drops us unceremoniously into the late 1970s and the chaos of a bunch of neurotic assholes as they bicker, cajole and kvetch. That’s a bit harsh, they aren’t assholes, but certainly eccentric, needy, self-serving and—no, Marvin (Taylor Long) is definitely an asshole. He redeems himself eventually, however, but it’s a bumpy and traumatic journey.
After leaving his dutiful yet exasperated wife Trina (Olivia Daniels) and their precocious, manipulative 10-year-old son Jason (Max Goodman), for Whizzer (Randy (Lei) Chang), a stylish man with his own obnoxious foibles; he still wants to maintain the perfect American family unit. His controlling instincts wreak havoc. Everyone has skin in the game and so we have the ingredients for a pungent brew of fraught interpersonal dynamics. Marvin’s opportunistic yet endearing psychiatrist Mendel (Joshua Kilimnik)—who’s lusting after his patient’s ex-wife—throw him into the works and we now have a fully hilarious toxic stew.
For the most part, William Finn’s numbers are musicalized banter and rants—fast-paced, clever and surprisingly naturalistic. The book, by Finn and James Lapine, has characters constantly interjecting, talking and singing over each other, even during scenes in which they are not together—commenting on situations with meta-theatrical abandon.
Directed and choreographed by Meredith Shedden, there isn’t a single wasted gesture here. Characters bound, swirl, crouch and caper around each other as their charged interactions propel them forward. The pacing is nuanced and dynamic with an unbroken momentum. Every theatrical punctuation is on point; this team knows how to set-up and execute a perfect button. It’s all so crisp and heightened and undeniably human. These characters can be kind of awful, but aren’t we all sometimes? We can’t help but recognize our own dysfunctional potential in their self-sabotaging antics.
The second act jumps a couple of years into the future: Marvin and Whizzer have separated; Trina and Mendel are married; Jason is anticipating his upcoming Bar Mitzvah (which is causing a great deal of angst for all concerned); and we meet two fabulous new characters—the Lesbians from Next Door, Charlotte (Luca McPhee) and Cordelia (Mona Hillis).
One of the sweetest moments in the production is Long’s “What More Can I Say?”, a number he sings to Chang’s sleeping Whizzer as they lay in bed. This is just after their reconciliation and, for the first time, Marvin is fully exposing his vulnerability. The heartbreaking irony is that Whizzer isn’t even awake for it.
While the set-ups are all mostly upbeat, a darkness creeps into the narrative after Marvin slaps Trina. Those grim tendrils spread throughout the second act. Just after Charlotte (who is a doctor) laments that “Something Bad is Happening,” Whizzer collapses during one of his heated tennis matches with Marvin. We are now into the 1980s and the AIDS crisis has found its pernicious way into the gay community’s consciousness.
As the event looms large, the boy’s desire for Whizzer to be present leads to the emotional sucker punch to the gut that is “Jason’s Bar Mitzvah,” in which he’s brought to Whizzer’s hospital room. Really, that scene just ruined me. And from there, the waterworks intensify through “What Would I Do?” as Marvin pays tribute to his lost friend and lover.
Madcap, aching and beautiful—it’s got transcendent style and all the feels! Go see it, please.
Falsettos
running April 19 to 27, 2024
Annex Theatre (736 Bathurst St.)
running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes (including intermission)
Olivia Daniels, Randy (Lei) Chang, Taylor Long, Joshua Kilimnik and Max Goodman in ‘Falsettos’, Photo by Valentina Caballero