The curtain rises to Hasidic Jew hand puppets, the parting of the Red Sea, dancing, flashlights and “four Jews in a room bitching” ? and this is just the first 60 seconds of “Falsettos.”
The energy and enthusiasm of the cast is palpable in this amalgamation of two one-act shows, “March of the Falsettos” (itself a sequel to William Finn?s “In Trousers”) and “Falsettoland,” set in 1979 and 1981.
Songs include such topics as a middle-aged father?s homosexuality and Jewish kids playing baseball. Toss in a psychiatrist who makes a Kermit the Frog doll part of this therapy and a Lightsaber battle between competing suitors, and you?ve got an odd but engaging show that exposes the foibles of a Jewish family as they face the specters of divorce, death and a man in need of serious anger management.
The “maniac” in question is Marvin (Larry Munsey), who “wants it all” and initially has it ? wife, Trina (Shelly Work), and son, Jason (Benjamin Miller), all posing together as if for a Sears family portrait ? but leaves it, and the closet, to pursue a passionate love-hate relationship with a homme fatale named Whizzer (David Gregory).
Whizzer and Marvin sing of wanting to “kill for the thrill of first love,” and kill is an appropriate term as their relationship seems like a choreographed battle, played out on chess boards and the dance floor where both fight to lead.
In between, Trina falls for Marvin?s psychiatrist, Dr. Mendel (Stuart Gladstone). Trina sings, flails and collapses in her song of the struggles of starting a new relationship and dealing with a son who “seems like an idiot” while keeping a well-decorated Jewish home. The performance was a show stopper as the audience seemed to genuinely relate to her ? a middle-class, middle-aged woman, her family “breaking up” while she is “breaking down.”
“March of the Falsettos” ends with Marvin reconciled with his son but still in”fitful coexistence” with Whizzer and his ex-wife. In “Falsettoland,” “something bad is spreading, a virus has been found,” and while AIDS is never mentioned, it would seem a logical assumption.
There?s a death-bed bar mitzvah scene and a reprise of the song “March of the Falsettos,” the ballad of all the players who, in life?s great struggle, are simply toy soldiers ? fighting, playing and loving as best they can.
IF YOU GO
“Falsettos” directed by Bill Kamberger with musical direction by Michael Tan
» Venue: Fells Point Corner Theater, 251 S. Ann St., Baltimore
» Times: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through June 10.
» Tickets: $20, $17 for students and seniors
» Info: 410-276-7837
