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| March 8–24, 2002 |
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| CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE |
Photographs
by Mark Oristano
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When Falsettos opened on
Broadway in 1992, it was immediately described as the first
musical that dealt with AIDS and complex gay relationships.
The musical went on to win two Tony Awards. Uptown Players'
production attracted acclaim from local and national theater
critics.
Cast: Donald Fowler; Jay Jackson; Chris Laymance; Doug
Miller; Stacey Oristano; Stephanie Riggs; and Julie Stirman. |
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| Lawson Taitte, The Dallas
Morning News |
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You can see why our more established
theaters would shy away from Falsettos, a musical about the
onset of the AIDS epidemic. Illness and death can be a hard
sell to a subscription audience. But Falsettos is a masterpiece,
and it is high time that a brave young company like Uptown Players
should tackle it.
The miracle is that the version under director
James Paul Lemons and music director Mark Mullino that opened
this weekend at Trinity River Arts Center is so powerful and
so polished. It does justice to a piece that is as difficult
musically and dramatically as it is in terms of subject matter.
William Finn (aided with the book by James Lapine) wrote this
musical in installments. He told the story of Marvin (here
played by Donald Fowler), a man who leaves his wife for another
man, in three one-act plays, then put the last two together
on Broadway and won a Tony Award for the result. Except for
the national tour of that production, this is Dallas' first
look at Falsettos as a whole.
We enter the story as Trina, the ex-wife (Stephanie
Riggs), begins seeing Marvin's psychiatrist, Mendel (Doug
Miller) – and falls in love with him. The former couple's
son, Jason (Jay Jackson), grows increasingly depressed, and
Marvin and his lover, Whizzer (Chris Laymance), break up for
a while. In the second act, Marvin's lesbian friends (Stacey
Oristano and Julie Stirman) become important characters as
well. Mr. Finn tells his story almost exclusively in song.
The musical idiom never strays far from Broadway-style pop,
but the songs' textures and structures are frequently so complex
that you could legitimately call Falsettos an opera. Certainly
the show's emotional ambitions could justify that word –
though it is also very funny and even sharply satirical.
Dramatically, this cast could hardly be better
(though Mr. Miller, an experienced performer, sometimes looks
way too young to be an established shrink). It's amazing that
Mr. Laymance, a Dallas cabaret singer, has never been in a
theatrical production before. His acting is as assured as
everyone else's. So is 13-year-old Jay Jackson's. Vocally
as well the cast rises to Mr. Finn's challenges, though an
occasional high note is strained or a fraction off pitch.
Mr. Fowler has grown enormously as a singer over the last
few seasons, and he copes with Marvin's high-flying music
beautifully. Mr. Riggs makes a definitive Trina, and Ms. Oristano
and Ms. Stirman supply spice and charm. |
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| John Garcia, Talkin' Broadway |
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A huge round of applause must
go to Uptown Players, a new theater company, for mounting Falsettos.
It's amazing that no one has even attempted to bring this musical
to life here before.
Uptown Players bravely did not start out with
a worn out and overly produced musical, but instead jumped
head first into the theater community and immediately tests
its artistic wings with this tough and emotional musical.
They have taken a major artistic risk as well, as a financially
one, with Falsettos. Let's face it, a musical that has gay
and lesbian couples, a man leaving his wife for another man,
and AIDS does not exactly ring Rogers & Hammerstein profits!
Future Uptown Players projects include The Last Session (another
regional premiere).
The design elements for Falsettos are all top
notch. Andy and Amy Redmon's scenic design, while sparse,
attains what it is sets out to do. The red tile floor and
coal black set pieces are very effectively stylized and chic.
Julie Simmons' gorgeous lighting design has the set bathed
in reds, providing strong symbolism. All this red conjures
subconscious images of the red ribbons or blood, which we
all know is a major factor in how AIDS is transmitted. With
no major set pieces or even backdrops, it is up to Simmons
to provide pools of light to signify everything from an apartment
to a racquetball court, to a hospital - and each time she
succeeds. With a theme of black and red is Regan Adair's period
costuming of the cast, which fits the piece quite nicely as
well.
Director James Paul Lemons has an incisive eye
for providing stimulating visual sequences with both his blocking
and staging. Lemons faces the major directing challenge of
having a minimalist set to work on. He has only a couple of
chairs and a therapist's couch at his disposal. Here is where
Lemons totally earns praise. He keeps the company blocked
in an array of patterns that work like clockwork with the
score. He knows where the focus should be and it shows in
abundance with his direction and blocking. Also marvelous
are some of the new choices he has made. For instance, he
uses a haunting image of a funeral to bookend the beginning
and the end of the musical, which gives the piece dramatic
flare and stark truth to life itself.
Mark Mullino once again proves why he is one
of the most respected and admired musical directors within
our artistic community. Since there is no dialogue in the
musical, it really is up to Mullino and his three piece band
to set pace and tempo. This is where Mullino shines like a
star, as when he created magic in Lyric's As Long As I Can
Sing with just a piano. Here he creates emotion with his piano
playing as well as with his conducting of the duet of band
members. This follows the mood and emotion that is being explored
on stage, presenting musical theatre beauty in its purest
form.
The first problem that arises from Falsettos
is the musical itself. Act one has twenty two songs, while
act two has twenty. The score begs to have numbers in both
acts cut. Some of the songs dwell on a certain theme over
and over again, or they stop the momentum of the piece dead
in its tracks. There is just too much filler and not enough
substance within the score. After a while the numbers begin
to run together and sound similar. The lyrics, though, are
spotless. They give the right emotional impact and subtext
that is woven into the piece.
The company members, for the most part, sing
beautifully. Finn puts his characters through two and a half
hours of almost nonstop fast-paced patter interspersed with
intricate four-, five-, and even seven-part harmonies. The
majority of the cast handles this difficult score with outstanding
vocals that sound lush, strong, and full of vitality and power.
But a couple of times diction problems arise that make some
of the lyrics hard to decipher. Throughout the evening there
are major hits within all those solos and ensemble pieces,
but there are also numbers that simply do not achieve the
emotional impact they were intended to give out to the audience.
I do question a slap and the odd use of some
props that do not make sense. In the "song scene" called "Marvin
Hits Trina", there is a huge heated argument that results
in Marvin slapping Trina. But there is no actual slap; instead
it is a stage fake slap. This simply kills the emotion that
the scene setup which results in the scene coming off false
and stagy. In the production number called "March of the Falsettos"
in act one, the four men in the cast have Day-Glo Styrofoam
rods configured around their bodies. I had no earthly idea
what they were supposed to represent. Another problem of this
production deals with chemistry not being there for some of
the relationships on stage and the lack of connection of character
to actor.
Donald Fowler is Marvin, the central role around
which all the characters revolve. Fowler brings his elegant
tenor vocals to the stage with a successful result. His tenor
is backed by a pure and clean vibrato that achieves musical
beauty within the score, although it is easy to lose what
he is singing when he hits the lower notes in his register.
Alas, Fowler simply looks too young to be the father of a
ten year old son. But the chemistry between Fowler and Jason
(Jay Jackson) is tight and extremely believable. Their best
song that shows this powerful chemistry is in the ballad "Father
& Son". Fowler shows touching affection and care for his son;
as his eyes fill with tears, you can hear his voice break
with emotion. But Fowler has a harder time connecting with
some of the other characters, especially with Whizzer (Chris
Laymance). You just don't feel the passion, heat, and love
between both characters; instead the relationships come off
lukewarm and rigid. This clearly shows during the final number
"What do I Do?" Fowler creates heartbreaking emotion on his
side, with tears forming in his eyes, his voice breaking from
choking back the tears. He is totally "in the moment" during
this duet, but Laymance seems not in sync with Fowler on the
emotion or heartache, thus this emotional duet becomes one
sided. While Fowler does succeed in some moments and aspects
of Marvin, you wish that connection was there for the entire
evening.
Chris Laymance's bio states that this is his
first full length production, and his limitations are evident
in his portrayal of Whizzer. This is an extremely difficult
role, having to deal with breaking up and worse. Laymance
simply does not possess the acting tools needed to bring the
character to life. His face and emotion seem to stay on one
level, that of anger. He provides no subtext, and just cannot
reach the proper emotions required for his character's arc.
There is barely a blip within Laymance's acting that shows
the decaying of his body from this horrific disease. There
are singing problems as well. Laymance cracks or pops on practically
every belting note written in his music. He simply runs out
of breath or pushes too hard for volume, thus causing him
to crack vocally. On the lower notes, however, and the times
he sings softly, he sounds soothing and wonderful. It's when
he goes for the belt or crescendo that his vocal limitations
are exposed. As stated above, there is just too little chemistry
between Laymance and Fowler. I could not believe that these
two men truly love each other.
Stacey Oristano (as Cordelia) and Julie Stirman
(As Charlotte) are the lesbian couple who are friends of Marvin
and Whizzer. Both actresses sing with charm and strength.
But once again the chemistry here is not as strong as it should
be. By looking at their body language and character connection,
you just don't see a loving couple, but instead they are more
like friends. There is no fire or passion between the actresses.
Stirman, though, is very moving and touching as a doctor who
is seeing first hand how AIDS is killing off so many. She
shows great compassion her in scenes dealing with these issues.
Trina is now a single mother with an ex-husband
who now has a boyfriend. Trina is played here by Stephanie
Riggs, who shined as the Witch in FMPA's Into The Woods last
season, and here, for the most, gives her finest performance.
Riggs brings the house down in her tour de force anthem, "I'm
Breaking Down." She hits the comedy written into the lyrics
with finesse and terrific timing. The actress also uses her
face to give those biting comic lines hilarious comical subtext.
Riggs could dig deeper into the dramatic aspects of her character;
she needs to peel away those layers of subtext written into
the role. Once she does this, the tears will flow honestly.
Doug Miller (Mendel) and Jay Jackson (Jason)
provide the best work of the evening, although as with Fowler,
Miller physically does not look mature enough for Mendel.
Miller is both touching and delightfully funny. His strong
stage presence greatly achieves success with his character,
and this is aided by his proficient comic timing and pace.
Miller and Jackson have one of the best numbers of the evening
titled "Jason's Therapy". Both actors sell that song like
two vaudeville showmen and the end result is a major crowd
pleaser. Miller's chemistry with Riggs and Jackson is believable
and strong; he is just grand in this production.
Moppet actor Jay Jackson as Jason is the scene
stealer and audience favorite of the evening, and this adolescent
actor deserves it. While Jackson does have some weakness in
his singing and the strength to sustain notes, it can be overlooked
because of the intense maturity in this youngster's acting
and dazzling stage presence. Child actors are often too cutesy
for the stage, coming off like brats. Not Jackson – he
shows honest and painful emotion on what is happening all
around him. His role has a lot of conflict and a hard arc,
so it is just amazing how beautifully and honestly Jackson
handles it all. He applies razor sharp comic timing and hysterical
facial expressions to the comedy that is within his character.
The kid even does one hell of a "Fosse" number to boot –
he is smashing!
I encourage everyone to drive to the Trinity
Arts Center and see this production of Falsettos. We should
all support this brave, new company. |
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