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.

9 to 5 cast at Barnes & Noble

I was lucky enough to get to see the cast of the Broadway musical 9 to 5 at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle NYC yesterday for a CD signing and performance. (My blog post on that here: http://bookchickdi.blogspot.com/2009/04/9-to-5-will-make-you-smile-for-two.html)

The events room was packed to capacity as Marc Kudish took to the stage as the MC. This guy is so funny and he relishes the role of Franklin Hart Jr. I don't think I've ever seen anyone who seemed to enjoy playing a role as much as he does! His performance of "Here For You", where he pours out his feelings of lust for Doralee, included his choreography from the show, with a few added touches. A comic masterpiece from a man who can sing.

Megan Hilty (Doralee) sang "Backwoods Barbie" which she explained wasn't supposed to be in the show because it sounded too 'Dolly'. The three ladies, Hilty, Stephanie J. Block (Judy Bernly) and Allison Janney (Violet Newstead) gave me chills as they harmonized on "I Just Might", a song that combined three songs into one to cut time from the show. If you closed your eyes, you would have sworn you were listening to a fully mixed recording.

The cast happily signed copies of the yet-to-be-released CD soundtrack, so everyone there got a special treat. If you haven't seen 9 to 5 The Musical, plan a trip to NYC to do so. I was sorry that composer/lyricist Dolly Parton couldn't be there as well. Her songs are wonderful in this, her first Broadway show.

I'd also like to compliment the staff at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle; they did a fabulous job keeping everything organized and all of the customers informed of what was going on.