Staff Picks: FALSETTOS
Staff Picks is a regular series where Samuel French staff members get the chance to chat about their favorite musicals or plays.
Okay, let’s do this. Name and job title.
David Kimple. Professional Licensing.
We’re chatting about favorite musicals today. What is one of yours?
Falsettos.
And who wrote it?
Music and lyrics by William Finn. The book by William Finn and James Lapine.
What genre would you say it is?
Drama.
Now, when did you first see or listen to this musical? Can you talk a bit about that experience?
I first heard music from this show when I was in college. I was an acting major and my program didn’t have any required musical theatre classes but I’ve always loved musical theatre so I would go to watch my friends sing in their studio class each Tuesday. Falsettos was assigned to one of the older students at some point and, though it was just class work and not a full production, the music and story really knocked my socks off. It’s hysterical and meaty with drama. I find it very striking.
So, how did it become one of your favorites?
Aside from simply loving the music, which is a wonderful combination of innovative and traditional in style, the subject matter and relationships really captivate me. These days, I feel that stories similar to this one often come across as quite dull or damp because we live in an entirely different world than we did when Falsettoswas originally produced. This show was one of the first to tell this kind of story, one of queer families and their struggles to adapt to societal standards- and I really admire that willingness to push things forward.
A lot of people will reference Rent from this time-period of musical theatre, but Falsettosreally created the space for something like that to exist. Falsettos and La Bohème of course. I think this musical served as a much more important bridge than we often realize. Though the New York theatre community seems to be very accepting of varying sexualities and stigmas now, it wasn’t (and isn’t) always like that. A major portion of USAmerican and non-USAmerican cultures still find the premise of this musical to be salacious. Here we are almost 20 years later and as of this week, bans on same-sex marriage are still being enforced; that is pretty sad to me. It only proves that stories like this one are still very relevant.
Favorite song, name it.
“What More Can I Say?” because, my goodness, who hasn’t felt this way? It’s a beautifully honest love song that plays with the emotion, poetry and fear of loving someone. It makes me want to sing and cry and laugh nostalgically.
How can I express
How confused am I by our happiness?
I can’t eat breakfast,
I cannot tie my shoe.
What more can I do?
And your favorite character?
Honestly, I think it is Trina. She goes through so many layers of growth from the start of the show to the end. The “I’m Breaking Down” moment is such knock out example of how desperation can propel both drama and comedy at the same time. Strong female characters are some of the most memorable characters in theatre and I think that this woman is one that gets over-looked.
Okay, time to sell it. Why should a company produce this show?
It is an incredibly fun, heart breaking and meaty show. The characters are full, the stakes are high, and there is a great universal journey that these people go on. It’s the kind of show that invites the audience in. When the show is over, you feel like you know these people, what they went through and their experience becomes your own. I’d love to see it in a really intimate theatre.
Photo Credit: Helen White, Darlinghurst Theatre Company.
