Family is, indeed, what you make it,
and the extended family of the musical "Falsettos" has come a long
way from the nuclear families of countless television sitcoms.
This quirky play -- at once a comedy,
a drama and a musical -- makes its local premiere at the Costa
Mesa Civic Playhouse with the message that love and togetherness
can conquer most obstacles, except for the really big one -- AIDS,
which surfaced at the time the play is set, 1980 and 1981.
There's Marvin (director Kyle
Myers), a Jewish homosexual; his ex-wife Trina (Cathy Petz) who
goes into therapy and falls in love with her psychiatrist
(Joaquin Nunez); their precocious son Jason (Paul Pakler), who
not only accepts but virtually idolizes his dad's new lover
(Christopher Diehl); and the "two lesbians from next door"
(Janet McGregor and Jennifer Bridge), who add some spice to the
second act.
The specter of AIDS is
omnipresent. As you enter the theater, you're greeted by a huge
portion of the "names quilt," remembering those whose lives have
been claimed by the disease. In the second act, we see one of the
characters struggle with and ultimately succumb to the dreaded
infection.
On stage, "Falsettos" -- by
William Finn and frequent Stephen Sondheim collaborator James
Lapine -- is a story told entirely in verse. Finn's music and
lyrics are poignant and powerful, despite his proclivity for
repeating a key lyric over and over in many of the numbers.
Director Myers, forced to step
into the leading role late in rehearsal, delivers a powerful
interpretation of a gay man who traded his traditional family for
a homosexual relationship, which doesn't seem to be working any
better than his marriage did. Myers endows his character with a
brutal, soul-searing honesty as he searches for happiness in his
conflicted life.
Petz has some splendid moments as
she endures her own conflicts, spurned by one man and pursued by
another. Her singing voice is among the strongest in the show.
As Myers' faithless lover, Whizzer,
Diehl endures his character's heart-wrenching battle with AIDS
quite credibly. In a key scene, he arrives at Jason's baseball
game and gives him the advice that helps the youngster overcome
his ineptness, earning the lad's fervent admiration.
Pakler -- last seen on the Costa
Mesa stage in the central role of "Biloxi Blues" -- successfully
ages himself down to play the grade-schooler Jason. He's
especially effective as he wrestles with when, where or if he'll
have his bar mitzvah.
McGregor's concerned doctor and
Bridge's cutesy housemate and kosher caterer are another lovingly
contentious couple who provide some breadth to "Falsettos" after
intermission. Musical director and pianist Justin Pyne keeps the
tempo brisk as the show's one-man orchestra.
"Falsettos" is less a mocking of
traditional values as a declaration that alternative lifestyles
are equally valid and as fraught with emotional peril as the
straight life. It's sort of a low-rent "Rent."
TOM TITUS
reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear
Fridays.
