On Broadway- Falsettos

The performances in the revival of the Broadway musical Falsettos are fantastic. Christian Borle once again shows why he is the recipient of two recent Tony awards in his role of Marvin, a man who has left his wife and young son for another man.

That man, Whizzer, is beautifully played by Andrew Rannells, who people will know from his role in The Book Of Mormon and on HBO's Girls. Marvin wants to have his family and Whizzer too, something Marvin's wife Trina is struggling with. The luminous and amazingly talented Stephanie J. Block shines as Trina, and in a show that is nearly all music (like Les Miserables), she has the showstopper of a song I'm Breaking Down, which she performs with such a gusto the audience rewards her with sustained applause.

Young Anthony Rosenthal plays tween son Jason in his Broadway debut and he has a huge career ahead of him. He matches the adults with his acting, singing and dancing, and his poise is shocking for someone so young.

I saw Falsettos the day after the election and there is one song, titled Trina's Song, sung by Stephanie J. Block. When she sang the line "I'm tired of all the childish, frightened men who have all the power", the audience began to applaud, which Block clearly did not expect. The applause started slowly and then built until she had to take a moment before continuing. Theater can create empathy and bring people together in a very specific way, and I witnessed it on this day.

I can't say that the show was my favorite, but the performances were spectacular. The harmony of voices blending together was stunning and filled my heart with joy, even in a show that brings the audience to tears.

There are discount tickets available for Falsettos, and I highly recommend it for the performances by some of Broadway's best actors working on the stage today. The website for Falsettos is here.

Broadway's Something Rotten at Barnes & Noble

The cast of the fabulous Broadway show, Something Rotten, made an appearance at Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side in NYC to promote the CD release of the cast recording of the show. They sang three fantastic songs from this amazing show, and then signed CDs.

The cast of Something Rotten

I saw the show last month and it is the one show I would recommend to everyone. The premise is that Nigel (John Cariani) and Nick (Brian d'Arcy James) Bottom are brothers who are playwrights in England at the same time as Shakespeare. Nick doesn't understand why everyone thinks Shakespeare is so great, and Nigel worships the man.

The Bottom brothers need a hit, and Nick goes to visit Nostradamus (the fabulous Tony-nominated Brad Oscar) to see if he can find out what kind of show he needs to write to have a hit show. This results in the show-stopping tune A Musical that contains snippets of songs from some of the most iconic Broadway musicals of all time (Annie, Rent, Sweet Charity, Chicago, Phantom of the Opera-you get the idea). The audience gave this number a middle-of-the-show standing ovation, something I've only seen once, for the Genie in Aladdin, played by Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart.

Shakespeare in the show is portrayed by the brilliant Christian Borle, who won the Tony for his portrayal of Shakespeare as a combination of Prince/James Brown/Mick Jagger. He was born to play this role, similar to his other Tony-winning performance as Black Stache in Peter and the Star Catcher. (He's  a nice guy too. And Brian d'Arcy James has the most beautiful eyes and the kindest smile.)


Other standouts in the cast include Heidi Blickenstaff as Nick's wife Bea, Michael James Scott as Minstrel and Brooks Ashmanskas as Brother Jeremiah.

At Barnes and Noble, they opened with another great number, God, I Hate Shakespeare, which highlights the terrific talents of Brian d'Arcy James (Nick) and John Cariani (Nigel). These guys have a great brotherly chemistry.


Cariani and Kate Reinders sang the next song, the sweetly comedic I Love the Way.


Christian Borle finished the performances with the Queen-sounding Hard to Be the Bard, which is also a favorite from the show.


This is the perfect show- funny, great songs, and a fantastic cast- and it is a must-see even at full price.
The Something Rotten website is here.