Falsettos: All in the family

Gloria, Hambalos and Inday might have been furious typhoons, but they did not deter some theater goers from trooping to the Music Museum in Greenhills to laugh, cry and love with New Voice Company’s production of Falsettos, its season opener.

Just like NVC’s record-breaking production of The Vagina Monologues, Falsettos offers a provocative story – a man leaving his wife and son for his male lover and facing the consequences of his action – that is sure to pack theaters. But foul weather intervened. Those who persevered and braved the storms were definitely rewarded with a rare theater experience, one that is full of heart and soul.

Falsettos is based on two one-act plays, namely March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland by James Lapine and William Finn, which were combined and restaged together. The new musical won two Tony Awards for book and musical score.

At the core of Falsettos is the idea of family. Marvin’s (Jake Macapagal) dilemma in Act One is how to have it all – a wife and son and lover all at the same time. The issue drives Trina (Lynn Sherman) nuts, prompting her to question, not just her sexuality, but also if she were a good wife and mother to her family. Their son Jason (Joshua Ramirez) ignores the issue and buries himself in chess, which he considers then to be "the most beautiful thing in the world." With Trina’s marriage to Marvin’s psychiatrist, Mendel (Rito Asilo), issues come to temporary balance as Marvin braves criticism and moves in with his boyfriend Whizzer (Joel Trinidad) and Trina, with son Jason in tow, sets up house with Mendel.

In Act Two, another couple enters the picture, next-door lesbians Charlotte (Lily Chu) and Cordelia (Jenny Jamora), who become part of Jason’s family. Whizzer comes back into Marvin’s life – and into Jason’s, too. In the end, Jason decides to have his bar mitzvah, after much hemming and hawing, at the hospital to enable Whizzer to join the celebration. Whizzer dies shortly of AIDS; Marvin finds strength in his family of sorts.

What is unique about Falsettos is that it portrays gay men and women as ordinary people, no different from straight people we meet on the street. Their problems might seem queer to some, but they are real, valid and are no different from those that plague everybody else. It does not resort to stereotypes, but rather draws them as regular people.

Those who look for good singable tunes in a musical will not be disappointed with Falsettos. Director Andrew Vergara was right in describing the music as easy on the ear but a killer for singers. The opening song "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" is in five-part harmony, moving in a rapacious speed as four Jewish men match wits. The songs come fast and furious – and quite glib. The songs encapsulate in sugar-coated melodies many of the characters’ state of mind.

Jason’s first solo, "My Father’s a Homo," is simple and deadpan in its humor, but its plainness mirrors the nine-year-old boy’s confusion and fear over his father’s homosexuality and how this will have an effect on his life. By the time Jason sings his next solo in the play’s second act, "Miracle of Judaism," where he tries to decide on all the girls he wants to invite to his bar mitzvah, you realize that he happens to be the only normal character in this play. He is unperturbed by the problems of his parents and their friends. Neither is he bothered about what other people might think of the people around him. He also happens to be nonjudgmental, loving unconditionally the people around him. Joshua Ramirez may not be blessed with the perfect voice, but you cannot doubt the sincerity of his singing.

Speaking of set numbers, Trina’s "I’m Breaking Down" is a hilarious solo that manages to be funny and yet harrowing at the same time. Lynn Sherman runs the gamut in this song. That she manages to convince us of Trina’s bewilderment is a testament to her craft as an actress.

Songs come one after another. Whizzer’s "The Games I Play" and "You Gotta Die Sometime," Marvin’s "What More Can I Say" and "What Could I Do" and the quartet "Unlikely Lovers" for Marvin, Whizzer, Charlotte and Cordelia ring in your ears as you leave the theater. To remember the tunes buzzing in your head at the end of the show is a testament to the music’s genius.

Andrew Vergara’s deft direction manages to limn every shred of emotion, making them ring true in this production. He is served by actors and actresses who realize the story with honesty and bravery.

New Voice has chosen a winner in Falsettos. The project might have been shelved for two years due to the success of TVM, but the wait has been well worth it. The rains might have driven the folks away, but those of sterner stuff will surely run to the theater before its run comes to an end.

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"Falsettos" will have performances at the Music Museum until Aug. 3, with Friday and Saturday evening performances.

Call 891-5610 for inquiries and ticket reservations. Tickets are also available at all Ticketworld outlets, National Book Store branches, Robinsons Department Stores in Malate and Galleria, Tower Records in Makati and Alabang, Music Museum and on-line at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Tickets are priced at P1,000, P800 and P500.

For tickets, show buying and sponsorship inquiries, call the New Voice Company Actors Studio at 896-6695 and 896-5497, telefax 899-0630, e-mail nvcpost@hotmail.com and nvc@pacific.net.ph or visit its offices at 8020 Tanguile St., San Antonio Village, Makati City.