Composer William Finn (FALSETTOS, 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, A NEW BRAIN) dead at 73

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:08pm

RIP

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:15pm

Oh, no! :(

Rest well, Mr. Finn. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:17pm

I first fell in love with William Finn when I was in high school, when I tried to teach myself how to play "And They're Off" from A New Brain out of a musical theatre songbook. Every note of music I've ever written and will ever write has his fingerprints on it. May his memory be a blessing. Thanks for giving me a passion, Bill.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:17pm

AWWW RIP you brilliant man!

[devonian.t]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:18pm

Very very sad news.

 

I directed A NEW BRAIN in the UK and adored his work.

Dying- stupid thing he shouldn't have done!

x

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:18pm

One of the closest things we’ve had to a modern-day Sondheim.

May Bill rest in peace. 

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:20pm

Very sad. I would love to see a new production of Elegies. 

[Kitsune]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 1:59pm

It may be a simple lyric, but the "Day in Falsettoland" refrain of "Do you know all I want is you? Everything you do is alright, yes it's alright" is one of my favorite declarations of everyday love. 

May his memory be a blessing. 

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 2:14pm

So sad. One of the greatest, underappreciated composers of our time. Falsettos and A New Brain are genius, and this song from Spelling Bee is such a perfect showtune. 
 

The I Love You Song

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 2:31pm

I gasped when I read the sad news. FALSETTOS will always be one of my top 10 musicals of all time, a peculiar masterpiece! RIP

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 2:32pm

“A Really Lousy Day in the Universe”

He wrote characters and truth 

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 3:12pm

goddammit ):

[Kad]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 3:18pm

This one really hurts. Finn was truly a singular, idiosyncratic talent. The rough edges on all his work- the odd word choices and forced rhymes, the off-kilter subject matter, the grab bag of styles- somehow made it all seem more personal and, as rattleNwoolypenguin said above, true. I can't think of another musical theatre writer whose technical imperfections somehow worked liked his. His own messiness reflected life's messiness- and his shows were all generally about life's messiness.

The fact he wrote musicals about a man leaving his family for another man when he did (the deeply underrated In Trousers was '79, March of the Falsettos in '81) was remarkable- as well as the heart the shows had. And, of course, the direction he ultimately took the story with Falsettoland 9 years later was a brilliant, devastating reaction to the AIDS crisis. He was a pioneer of queer representation in musical theatre and feels sadly overlooked for that- as well as his representation of Jewish characters, as well.

Updated On: 4/8/25 at 03:18 PM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 3:30pm

At 18 years old, I saw Jonathan Kaplan sing 'My father's a homo...' on the Tony Awards and I thought, 'I have to see that before I leave for college.' My best gal pal and I went to see it a month later and, a month after that, I was finally out of the closet. 

Two years after A New Brain debuted, I found myself in a serious health crisis. When I recovered, I turned to the cast recording...specifically the section at the end with Gordo singing 'Everything's changed, and nothing's changed...' 

It felt like he was writing for me. Me, personally. I think a lot of people felt that about his work. I got to perform for him at an NYU musical theater writing reading and that was an utter joy. Today is hard. 

[schubox]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 4:08pm

Falsettos is a top 5 all time for me. And the first and only time I fully broke down in a theater was watching the revival a few years back. What a loss

[Idiot]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 7:45pm

I lent him a winter coat once because he didn't realize that it can get downright chilly in Los Angeles.  He kept it.

Definitely going to miss him more than the coat.  

The first time I heard Four Jews In A Room... it was a revelation.  You can do THAT in musical theatre?  God, he was good. 

Updated On: 4/8/25 at 07:45 PM

[UWS10023]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 7:47pm

I just loved his musicals. I must have listened to Falsettos a million times. RIP. You will be missed but your work will live on for generations to come. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 8:11pm

I hope we begin to rediscover his work.  "Romance In Hard Times" was incredibly problematic but also had such wonderful music and lyrics (and plot turns) that a good dramaturg might be able to make it viable.  And though Second Stage's "Little Miss Sunshine" was poorly directed (and cast) by its book writer, I have seen two subsequent productions, one at the Arcola Theatre in London and at a semi-professional theatre in Sydney, both those shows were delightful because of how the audience reacted to that family. How they cheered them, giving off the feeling we had for them in the film. And songs I apparently didn't like in New York I loved. I've never heard "The Royal Family" though. Is there anything salvageable there?   And every song in "In Trousers" is, IMO, a classic.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 8:43pm

I really love In Trousers. It would've been an excellent candidate for City Center's short-lived Off-Center series.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 9:01pm

The Loose Screws, Hot Flames and Infinite Joy of William Finn

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/theater/william-finn-appraisal.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-U4.7pyP.oGhYKQYT0-WI&smid=nytcore-android-share

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 4/8/25 at 9:11pm

If you need a Finn fix, Lisa Howard’s album Songs of Innocence & Experience is a wonderful compilation of his work, including many  lesser known songs. She is a perfect interpreter of his music. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/9/25 at 1:41am

Kad said: "This one really hurts. Finn was truly a singular, idiosyncratic talent. The rough edges on all his work- the odd word choices and forced rhymes, the off-kilter subject matter, the grab bag of styles- somehow made it all seem more personal and, as rattleNwoolypenguin said above, true. I can't think of another musical theatre writer whose technical imperfections somehow worked liked his. His own messiness reflected life's messiness- and his shows were all generally about life's messiness.

The fact he wrote musicals about a man leaving his family for another man when he did (the deeply underrated In Trousers was '79, March of the Falsettos in '81) was remarkable- as well as the heart the shows had. And, of course, the direction he ultimately took the story with Falsettoland 9 years later was a brilliant, devastating reaction to the AIDS crisis. He was a pioneer of queer representation in musical theatre and feels sadly overlooked for that- as well as his representation of Jewish characters, as well."

Beautifully said, Kad. And a beautiful Jesse Green tribute. 

[raddersons]

Posted: 4/9/25 at 3:26pm

Bought a copy of In Trousers on vinyl recently and it’s a prized possession of mine. I’ll spin it right now.