FALSETTOS Reviews — Page 3

South Florida said: "She hardly gets a mention in the Tony 2017 thread.





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She got a huge, huge applause after I'm Breaking Down at the performance I saw.

Andrew Rannells gives a gorgeous performance.

Bumping because I saw this tonight. Absolute perfection. I don't have a single complaint. Every single person on that stage is a star. Stephanie J. Block stole the evening for me.

I hope the show is showered with Tony love. Particularly for the performances and Lapine's direction.

Luscious said: "I wouldn't trust the judgement of anyone who "hated" this show either. It speaks volumes about their taste in musical theater. That's not to say that my taste is better than theirs, or theirs better than mine. But it tells me that our tastes are so opposite that we're not even in the same ballpark. Why would I, or how could I, trust their opinion or judgement about other shows when they "hated" this show that I "LOVED" so much? Different strokes. I LOVED every minute of it! It's what real musical theater is and should be about. Just my opinion, of course.



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I don't even know you and won't be able to see the revival, but if you like FALSETTOS I can say it: your taste is better.

When Drood was closed they were nominated for best revival but they didn't get to perform, and Stephanie was nominated for actress. This same scenario seems to be developing. Not having seen the show yet I wonder if she could perform her big number without any help from the cast. I'd like to see her perform on the Tony's.

Literally on a train home after seeing the show tonight. Simply stated, it is a brilliantly constructed ensemble piece with no weak link in the cast. Wonderful. SJB's performance of "I'm Breaking Down" was one of the best show stoppers (and it did) I've seen in a long time.

I also saw the show and thought it was brilliant! Stephanie did indeed bring down the house. Beautiful performances and vocals all around

I finally caught this this past weekend and I'm so glad I did - it's a theatre going experience I'll never forget. I've loved this show for almost ten years now - since I was 16, closeted (even to myself) and not too proud of my Jewish identity. Now, I'm 26, openly gay and proudly Jewish - over this last decade I learned more about Judaism, spent years studying it, had a brush with religious observance which ended pretty badly and now I'm back to being a fiercely secular proud Jew with more knowledge about Talmud and Jewish law that I know what to do with. When I first heard the music I didn't know what the line "looking at Whizzer is like eating treif" meant and now I know entirely too well what it means. I wrote a paper about Falsettos for my Jewish Theatre class my senior year in college which I then developed into a conference presentation, spending more time on this than any other academic endeavor. I've lived and breathed this show, staged multiple productions in my head and pulled open and examined so many of the lyrics, but up until Saturday night, I never saw it live. Needless to say, my standards were very high. Every single one of my expectations were exceeded.

First off, this cast is absolutely perfect - there isn't a single weak link among these seven actors. I was most surprised by Brandon Uranowitz and Anthony Rosenthal. Listening to it I never really cared much for either Mendel or Jason but these two made me fall in love with their characters. The bumbling neurotic therapist who needs his own therapist may be something of a cliche, but Uranowitz inhabits it so well, it feels completely fresh. For the first time I actually understood what Trina saw in Mendel. I'm not one to get too excited about child actors' performances (aside from Sydney Lucas, of course), but Rosenthal was the exception. The fact that he can give such a nuanced performance and put in nearly as much singing, acting, dancing and stage time as any of the adult actors AND do it eight times a week is nothing short of amazing. When he came out in his tallit and kippah I practically felt like he was my own kid.

Despite the whole cast being superb, it's definitely Stephanie J. Block who throws it out of the park. I would gladly watch her performing "I'm Breaking Down" on a loop forever. I remember through all the revival talks (before and after it was announced) there were so many names brought up for actresses who could play Trina, most of whom I wasn't crazy about at all. Trina is probably my favorite character in the musical theatre canon and I'm so glad I got to see such a powerhouse actress/singer take her on. I'm not a Wicked fan and missed her in Anything Goes and Edwin Drood, but after this, she's definitely gotten a new fan. I know a million other shows are going to open by the time the Tony noms roll around, so I won't be surprised if this show doesn't get all the credit its due, but I desperately hope she gets recognized.

Since I know the show so well, I wasn't expecting to be so emotionally attached but during the Racquetball reprise this giant knot formed in my stomach that I couldn't let go of for the rest of the night. The second half of Act II is painful to watch (in the best way possible), and I give most of the credit to that to Andrew Rannells. He played Whizzer with all the pretty boy charm in the script, but also wasn't afraid to go over the top either in terms of arrogance or silliness, and it all came together to form a surprisingly human and even more surprisingly, lovable character. Having to lose him slowly and painfully, even though I knew all too well it was coming, was almost impossible to watch.

In general, I love to hate Marvin. I think Michael Rupert played the perfect asshole, embodying the toxic masculinity that made Falsettos what it was. I was taken aback by how quick I was to forgive Christian Borle's Marvin. Sure, he was every much the asshole he was supposed to be, but by the time Act II rolled around, I wanted to protect him and hated seeing him in pain. Also, I watched the interview where Borle said that Lapine told him to hold off on crying until the very end and I can't tell if Borle (or Lapine) chose to change that or if Borle just has a really hard time sticking to that, because he was all sniffles in Father to Son. Once again, I'm almost frustrated by how hard he makes it to hate Marvin.

Tracie Thoms and Betsy Wolfe were both great with what they had, but I'll agree to they're not given much to work with. In any other show, this would adequate, but here every other character is so well developed that it becomes apparent.

I thought the combination of David Rockwell's scenic design, Lapine's staging and Spencer Liff's choreography rendered this show's frenetic energy and Finn's fantastic, quirky music so damn well. I know this was one of the most divisive things about this production, but I think that up until the second half of Act II the show should feel restless and frantic (aside from Father to Son, maybe), and this cast is definitely up for the challenge. They make it all looks so easy, even knowing that it's exactly the opposite. I also really enjoyed Jeff Croiter's lighting. I wasn't bothered by most of the changes (it helped that I knew to expect them), save for a few lines that I missed and some words changed here and there that I wasn't sure about. A lot of the changes I loved and felt that they added to the emotional depth, like the reprise of Trina's Song (plus any added material on SJB's part is a blessing).

Mostly, seeing this production awakened so many emotions that I never had just listening to it, especially because the combination of the libretto and the performances make you feel as if you're watching these characters mature and smooth out their flaws right in front of your eyes. I loved this show so much before, and after seeing it I think I'm ready to say it's my absolute favorite musical.

Updated On: 11/22/16 at 12:31 PM

Their affinity for one another in this is enjoyable. Happy Thanksgiving!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6uhlWQew4E

So bummed there are no shows this weekend! I so wanted to catch this show!!!

Yellibean2, thanks for the info!

Updated On: 11/25/16 at 01:28 AM

ebontoyan said: "Yellibean2, thanks for the info!




PS: I got tix to today's matinee
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