Falsettos PBS Broadcast

[morosco]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 1:32am

So disappointed with this broadcast mainly because the orchestra can barely be heard.  Bad sound mix/balance.  A Cappella Falsettos? 

Updated On: 10/28/17 at 01:32 AM

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 1:38am

I think I'm going to wait for Holiday Inn next month. Mostly I'll watch for Corbin Bleu because any HSM lovers like me here?

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 1:51am

This show was not the show I saw.  They don't show the transitions which is instrumental to the show.  Everything seems rushed also.  I loved this show live.  What did they do to it?

[mamaleh]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 6:00am

I think they went for too many closeups.  Sure, you gain intimacy of a sort, but you lose the bigger picture of  what is happening with the other characters and their reactions. I enjoyed the broadcast but not nearly so much as the live performance.   

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 8:23am

Did anyone else think the neon “March of the Falsettos” costumes didn’t come through on TV that well?

[pmensky]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 1:31pm

I agree that there were too many close ups.  Whizzer’s entrance during “What Would I Do” was one of the most memorable moments I’ve ever experienced in live theatre, and this recording totally washed over it.  

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 10/28/17 at 8:42pm

The sound didn't bother me as much as the visuals.

* The lighting - was pretty ugly throughout (at least on camera) and at times just totally wrong. It hid the actor's faces in shadow when shot from the side, and when shot from the front it looked boring and washed out. 

* The set - UG-LY! What's with that parachute cyclorama around the back that looks like a local cable TV affiliate from 1982? Who wants to look at that? And those grey blocks - again they look horrible. Did it look that bad in the theater? I might shrug and let that pass for a college production, but for Broadway - why would someone work that hard to look that bad?

BUT - the cast and the performances were stellar. Christian Borle especially manged to thread the needle of Marvin's dilemma so well. And he found layers in the character that I have never seen before. I am so glad this was taped and will be available because if nothing else it preserves the performances and William Finns spectacular work. 

Nitpick - I think the choreography could have been much better, even with non-dancers. The staging concepts just weren't that interesting. 

The direction and performances though are time-capsule perfect. (And, just for context, I saw the original productions of both Falsettoland and Falsettos. I cried at both of those, and I cried last night as well. 

[schubox]

Posted: 10/29/17 at 12:37am

Totally agree with the complaints here. The fade outs after some songs is so weird and jarring. Also agree with too many close ups. There were a lot of moments I remember from seeing it in person that the broadcast missed. Sound was also not great. I saw it in the theater and thought it was just a bad mix there, but it wasn't much better on PBS. It's even more disappointing after seeing how well She Loves Me was captured

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 10/29/17 at 1:28am

quizking101 said: "Did anyone else think the neon “March of the Falsettos” costumes didn’t come through on TV that well?"

YES. Was thinking this exact thing while watching that number.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 10/29/17 at 8:41am

yes yes yes to all the nitpicking here about the physical production and telecast...but also  big thumbs up for PBS broadcasting this obviously flawed production for the PERF0RMANCES!...i saw it in the movie theatre and cried and did so again even more in the intimacy of my own home...POWERFUL PERFORMANCES from all!!..and like it was already said here these performances are now captured for the ages!!...I LOVE CHRISTIAN BORLE!

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 10/29/17 at 9:51am

I didn't think the show was particularly interesting to look at when it was on stage so the filmed version captured what I remember seeing. Not sure what people expected to see on screen as the live production was mostly a bare stage and college-level backdrop so it makes sense they'd opt for tighter framing. The close ups, at least, let the audience appreciate the performances being given.

Also, for me, the band sounded thin and uninspiring in person so again, the broadcast was right in line with the production. Updated On: 10/29/17 at 09:51 AM

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 10/30/17 at 3:36pm

My thoughts, as someone who never saw the show live...

Link!

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/30/17 at 5:50pm

I liked the set, which got us from here to there without fussy scene changes to kill the momentum while keeping the focus firmly on the performances.  I always knew exactly where they were at any given moment.  I wasn't enamored of Rosenthal's performance but the others were all wonderful, especially Borle.

[bwayandstuff]

Posted: 10/30/17 at 8:08pm

I didn't love Falsettos the first time I saw it. Granted, I had just found out I needed glasses and everyone was pretty blurry from the rear mezz... I appreciated the performances, the music, the story... but something just didn't click for me initially. When I watched the PBS Broadcast I found myself enjoying the show much more than I did when I saw it in person. I think being able to see the cast up close really changed the game for me. Then again, I didn't see it a ton of times to notice any shortcomings in the live broadcast.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 10/30/17 at 8:39pm

I didn't really enjoy the telecast. I know this show is very loved but except for Whizzer and Jason I just didn't care about any of the characters and I also thought the music was abrasive. 

As for the filming there is such a thing as too close -- when you can see exactly how thick and tan Stephanie J. Block's hose are and how much they don't match her skin tone, you are officially filming too close. 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 12:58am

There may be a thread on this but I really enjoyed She Loves Me. 

[schubox]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 9:32am

Wilmingtom said: "I liked the set, which got us from here to there without fussy scene changes to kill the momentum while keeping the focus firmly on the performances. I always knew exactly where they were at any given moment. I wasn't enamored of Rosenthal's performance but the others were all wonderful, especially Borle."

I adored the show and didn’t have any issues with the set. My only real complaints were with the broadcast. Some of the closeups were nice and let you see some of the more nuanced acting, especially with Rannells and Borle. But I really wish there was more wide shots, and I hated the transitions between songs. The broadcast of She Loves Me was far better because it let the show play out and didn’t mute the audience.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 9:43am

I was a huge fan of the close ups. I saw the show twice-- once from the mezz and once from the front row (via lottery). Seeing those little details from the front row (SJB's neckace, Whizzer checking Marvin's tie label during the bar mitzvah) added so much to the experience. Those performances deserve to be shot that close.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 6/3/19 at 10:52pm

PBS is repeating this on Friday June 7 as part of Gay Pride Week.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/3/19 at 11:56pm

I remember thinking to myself as I was leaving MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS in 1981 that I was giving up directing for good, because I could never hope to match the staging James Lapine achieved with a couple of office chairs and a coffee table or two. I got past the "I'll never..." nonsense, but Lapine's minimalist staging affected me in profound ways.

I saw the revival on TV first and now have also seen the national tour. Though there were clever moments, certainly (and Stephanie J. Block and Andrew Rannells are my new gold standards for Trina and Whizzer), nothing that was done with the giant cube thrilled me like that original staging.

I also liked the "March of the Falsettos" number better when it was just flashlights held under the chin like kids do at Halloween. It was far less clear what the number was supposed to mean, where the current version is too "on the nose".

I realize that as Broadway prices rise, so, too, rises the expectation of expensive spectacles, but that has nothing to do with why I go to the theater.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 10:33am

GavestonPS said: "I remember thinking to myself as I was leaving MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS in 1981 that I was giving up directing for good, because I could never hope to match the staging James Lapine achieved with a couple of office chairs and a coffee table or two. I got past the "I'll never..." nonsense, but Lapine's minimalist staging affected me in profound ways.

I saw the revival on TV first and now have also seen the national tour. Though there were clever moments, certainly (and Stephanie J. Block and Andrew Rannells are my new gold standards for Trina and Whizzer), nothing that was done with the giant cube thrilled me like that original staging.

I also liked the "March of the Falsettos" number better when it was just flashlights held under the chin like kids do at Halloween. It was far less clear what the number was supposed to mean, where the current version is too "on the nose".

I realize that as Broadway prices rise, so, too, rises the expectation of expensive spectacles, but that has nothing to do with why I go to the theater."

 

I had the same reaction to Lapine's direction when I saw the original production. He influenced me as well when I went on to direct some cabaret shows and minimalistic reviews. I was thrilled when he revisited A New Brain at City Center a few years ago and his directorial flair was as sharp as ever.. The other thing about his directing is that actors blocking seems to flow effortlessly and nothing is extraneous or unmotivated. Any Encores director could learn volumes from him.

 

[ELP]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 3:31pm

The 2017 Falsettos cast caught lightning in a bottle!! For those who never saw the B'way show I encourage you to watch/record it on Friday. Never again to be replicated, in my opinion, of course.

[Pose2]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 12:37am

2016 cast, actually.  Pure brilliance on that stage.  

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 1:57am

I preferred the original cast to the actors that were assembled for the revival. Chip Zien had more charisma than Boyle, the actor who originally played Whizzer was gorgeous, had a more masculine take and when he sang his 10 O'clock number it sent shivers down my spine. I also adored Allison Frazier and her vocal quality was perfect for the score.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 2:29am

SmoothLover said: "I preferred the original cast to the actors that were assembled for the revival. Chip Zien had more charisma than Boyle, the actor who originally played Whizzer was gorgeous, had a more masculine take and when he sang his 10 O'clock number it sent shivers down my spine. I also adored Allison Frazier and her vocal quality was perfect for the score."

Chip Zien was so good that Uranowitz seemed to be doing an impersonation of Zien's Mendel, but I don't know why you are comparing him to Christian Borle. Borle certainly didn't have the charisma of Michael Rupert's truly legendary performances as Marvin, but neither did many other male leads in my 50 years of theater-going.

As for Whizzer, maybe you saw Brent Barrett, who took over for Stephen Bogardus early in the run of "March". Bogardus was not more handsome than Rannells, not by any definition of male beauty I have ever heard, and not more handsome than Barrett. I realize some people don't like Rannells' style of male belting--but I do very much and, anyway, Bogardus, a strong actor, sings almost everything sharp. (I'm listening to him right now.)

I agree with your praise for Alison Frazier, but she is clearly flat much of the time on the recording. Maybe vocal pitch isn't your "thing". LOL. I remember Carolee Carmello being much funnier when FALSETTOS first came to LA (I had moved by then), but nowhere near as funny as Block.

Updated On: 6/6/19 at 02:29 AM