Falsettos/Falsettoland/March of the Falsettos/In Trousers

[thez914]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:31pm

Anyone care to take the time to explain the chronological development of these, and why there are so many versions? I actually am completely unfamiliar with the stories of any of them, and was wondering if they were worth looking into. I've heard good things about the music, and have seen several bios where talented actors have played "Whizzer", but thats about it.

Are they 4 different musicals? Variations on one? Which do you like the best?

Just wondering...

Updated On: 12/15/05 at 12:31 PM

[Patronus]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:37pm

From Falsettos.net:
In Trousers is about a man named Marvin who has a wife, Trina (though we do not know her name in this play), and a son, Jason. He tells the antics of his relationships with girls in the past including his high school sweetheart, his wife, and his high school English teacher, Miss Goldberg, who let him play Columbus in the school play. He then returns to the present telling us that he wants to be with men, not women, but does not know what to do because he has a family and does not want to desert his responsibilities or lose their love. In the end, he leaves his family for his gay lover, Whizzer Brown.

March of the Falsettos is about how Marvin deals with his "family." He wants to be with Whizzer, but he does not want to lose the affections of his ex-wife and son. He wants them all to be one big happy family. In the middle of all this, Marvin's psychiatrist, Mendel, is moving in on Trina, who he eventually marries. Marvin loses everyone in his frenzy not to do just that. Faced with this reality, he tries to talk to his son, who has been trying to deal with the fact that his father is gay, and gives him some fatherly advice that he must march to his own tune. In the end he has at least salvaged his relationship with Jason.

Falsettoland takes place two years later. Jason is almost ready to be bar mitzvahed, and is worrying about which girls to invite. Two other characters are introduced in this act, Charlotte and Cordelia, the lesbians from next door. Marvin and Whizzer get back together and Marvin finally learns to love unselfishly and unconditionally. At this point, Whizzer is struck with a horrible, life-threatening disease, which the audience knows is AIDS. As Whizzer dies, the audience sees that after all that Marvin has been through, he will lose what is most precious to him. Marvin's "family," however, consisting of the other characters in the show, gather around him and by being there, offer their love and support.

--

In Trousers, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland are all one act musicals.

Falsettos took March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland and made them two acts.

I highly recommend checking out all 3 of these shows. The music is by William Finn who also wrote Spelling Bee.

[thez914]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:41pm

Patronus thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

[Patronus]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:46pm

No problem. This has been one of my favorite musicals for about 10 years now. I hope you enjoy it.

[Danielm]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 12:50pm

The are all good, In Trousers and March... are lighter in tone. Falsettoland makes me blubber like a baby.

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 1:02pm

My favorite is definately In Trousers. I think it has the best music out of all three. the marvin Trilogy is definately something to invest in!!!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 3:15pm

There's a book "deconstructing harold hill" that talks about march of the falsettos, its a pretty good read if your library has it.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 3:31pm

I believe it was my senior year of high school when our community theatre put on Falsettos. Oh, I adored the show. I have never had the opportunity to see In Trousers, but would love to.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 4:36pm

I'd shock you all if you know how many times I saw "Falsettos"! Great Piece and a good cry & laugh every time!

[Danielm]

Posted: 12/15/05 at 5:22pm

"I'd shock you all if you know how many times I saw "Falsettos"! Great Piece and a good cry & laugh every time! "

Same here, when it was in LA at the Dolittle I went with my season ticket and then got rush tickets every following night. When it closed I really missed it.

[CJWesselman]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 4:06am

So, when people talk generally about In Trousers and its score, are you/they more commonly refering to the original or the revised version?

[jimmirae]

Posted: 12/16/05 at 4:57am

I have to ask, Did anyone see the tour around 1993 with Adrian Zmed? I just ask because it was such a GREAT cast! I also loved Mandy Patinkin and, Oh gosh, I LOVE this actress and her name I cannot remember right now, Barbara Walsh is it? She is the DEAL!

[AuditioningWaitress]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:14pm

I love FALSETTOS...It's one of my all-time favorite shows! Barbara Walsh was simply amazing in it!

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:15pm

Barbara Walsh has been growing on me lately. I just got a bunch of recordings with her, and her style is really growing on me. She does a Falsettos song on Broadway Unplugged.

[AuditioningWaitress]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:20pm

You need to get one of the Jamie DeRoy collections...I can't remember which one...She does "I Have A Garden" from the other version of LITTLE WOMEN (the composers that were fired)...It's simply the most people song and Barbara nails it.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:22pm

Oooh I'll look for that.

Have you heard A...My Name Will Always Be Alice? Walsh is superb.

[AuditioningWaitress]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:24pm

I love the A...Series...Wish they had recorded two separate recordings of both shows instead of the two as one.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 1:25pm

Me too. I have "All Girl Band" on repeat all the time. I also love the song LaChiusa contributed.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 4:54pm

Barbara Walsh always starts out wonderful. Trouble is, about a month into any show she does, she starts walking through her performances.

[FalsettosFan]

Posted: 12/17/05 at 5:27pm

I agree, I loved her FALSETTOS, but then saw her in BLOOD BROTHERS when Petula Clark and The Cassidy's came in and you are right, she pretty much walked through the role.

And FALSETTOS is the most amazing musical I ever saw! William Finn is a Theater God!