Falsettos: “Four Jews in a Room Bitching” and So Much more

MUSICAL: Falsettos 

WHERE: National Tour at the Kennedy Center

The tour is only in DC through June 23^rd and then in Charlotte from the 25^th-30th

Falsettos is a show I have wanted to watch for years — especially since the Tony winning revival a few years ago. The Kennedy Center brought that opportunity through the national tour with an uber-talented cast to say the least.

The show, originally three separate one acts, is a combination of the last two acts and revolves around the story of a man leaving his wife and kid to be with his young Male lover. The man’s therapist, plays a central role in the story, and in the second act we meet the lesbians from next door and how they are all trying to plan or contribute to the son’s Bar mitzvah. All this takes place as the US is just discovering HIV/AIDS and realizing the impending crisis.

The cast itself was the highlight of the show — each actor has such impressive credits and was brilliantly chosen for the role. I can’t imagine Falsettos any other way.

Nick Blaemire plays Mendel (the therapist) – his voice is stunning and he plays the slightly sleazy but hysterically funny character so well. Been wanting to see him perform live ever since I started listening to Dogfight and the Chicago Spongebob Cast Album, and was so glad I did. He is a DC native too!

Nick Adams plays the young and sexy Whizzer and does so with finesse. Audrey Cardwell plays Trina, and I was ecstatic to see her live again after seeing her lead the Bright Star tour (also I honestly don’t know what her real hair color is since I only see her wearing wigs in shows). Eden Espinosa, most recognized as an Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, plays Trina so incredibly well – the character seemed built for her and her cutting voice. Jonah Mussolini played the son, Jason, in my performance – he is really talented and can’t wait to keep seeing him in more shows. Of course it was wonderful seeing Bryonha Marie Parham back in DC performing as Dr. Charlotte. Every group number her voice would stand out with such power and gusto, it was incredible. And lastly, Max von Essen, most recently seen in Anastasia, played Marvin. He was perfectly cast for this role – quite frankly I can’t imagine anyone else in it (Sorry, Christian Borle). He was so well connected with the character and great chemistry with all the actors – he really took us along for the emotional roller coaster of Marvin’s life decisions.

Special shout out to Max Grossman, who is the associate conductor, who has one of the funniest twitters of all time (also second production I’ve seen (listened?) him involved with!)

Falsettos is cool because it is a sung-through musical, meaning the show is all songs (no dialogue). And much of the time many of the actors are on stage observing in character things the other characters are doing, even if it is a solo, which is really interesting. There are two songs, the opening one, and another in neon blacklight tracksuits, that made me go “omg what did I pay to watch” and that to me is the magic of theatre because both were great, hysterical numbers, and that sort of thing could only happen on stage.

Other highlights included Trina’s “I’m Breaking Down” and one of the big group numbers, “The Baseball Game” my new favorite song, which was performed in the 1992 Tonys. The later was so funny — could listen again and again. Not many things that sound like that have ever been put on stage, and that’s what makes this show so special.

The attention to detail was also remarkable. A simple set that made the intimate stage feel even more intimate with seamless transitions. There were two racquetball scenes, which I had seen pictures of before but not realized it was from this show. Not going to spoil the significance of the two scenes, but the subtle differences in the clothing are such an amazing costuming choice — really impressive attention to detail.

The show itself will make you laugh. Leave you thinking about relationships, love, being yourself, and death. And of course, the show will make you cry. The ending is so powerful and is a great glimpse into life in the US in the late 70s/early 80s

This theatre’s stage door is on the outside right side of the Kennedy center when facing the front, across from the Watergate hotel. All 7 of the cast members came out and were all extremely kind. Strongly encourage you meet and thank all of them.

RUN, don’t walk, to see this show. Certain sites have apparently been giving $20 student tickets, but show tickets are fairly affordable otherwise for even Orchestra seats (and can be bought with no fees at the box office). Also check out todaytix.com for great deals. •

 

Miss Saigon: One of My New Favorite Musicals

MUSICAL: Miss Saigon

WHERE: National Tour at the Kennedy Center

The tour is only in DC through January 13th

A little over a month ago I found some discounted tickets to the tour of Miss Saigon at the Kennedy Center and decided to treat my mom to the famed show over the Holidays. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The show itself was inspiring for me – it was great to see so many (appropriately casted) actors of Asian descent on stage. Even though a show primarily set in Vietnam would logically have many Asian actors, representation still means so much to me on the stage.

Miss Saigon is a sung-through musical that opened in the West End in 1989 telling the tale of the romance between a United States Marine and a South Vietnamese woman during the Vietnam War. The story takes place around the time of the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and three years afterwards in ’78.

The show has had issues in the past with not using actors of Asian descent in the original production and some claiming racism in its portrayal of Asian characters, many have applauded professional productions of the show for highlighting an important part of Vietnamese history and for casting members of the Asian community. This production also has a few adjustments to lyrics from the original West End production, impacting mainly two scenes.

w/ Red Concepcion

This tour of the show was indeed brilliantly cast. Red Concepcion stole the show as the Engineer – commanding the stage every scene he was in. He brings the necessary humor and style the role requires and was absolutely fantastic. Emily Bautista was powerful as Kim – expertly displaying shyness and strength at appropriate times. The audience clearly connected with Kim and felt for her every scene. Anthony Festa who played our Marine Chris was phenomenal because he wasn’t the macho military man that some choose to portray Chris as; Festa showed panic and anger when needed, tenderness when needed, and of course some macho-ness when needed. J. Daughtry and Christine Bunuan were also of special note – their voices were phenomenal. Stacie Bono plays Ellen with grace and talent. It’s a complicated character, and honestly I really felt for Ellen. And of course, it was awesome to see Adam Roberts on stage again!

w/ Adam Roberts

The music itself was great – entertaining, informative, and emotional. Fun fact: there are 77 different percussion instruments used in the show!

The set pieces and costumes were by far my favorite part! From creating a Vietnamese bar to a more old-school-Las-Vegas bar with all the bright lights to a Chinese lion dance to a literal helicopter taking off on stage and the great illusion of it flying away – I was absolutely blown away. It was so cool.

The show is powerful and moving right up to the very last scene. You’ll be talking about it for hours afterwards, trying to think of alternative actions the characters could have taken, and you will really be thinking about the meaning of love. Could not recommend this show enough!

 

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