Falsettos Tickets

By: William Finn and James Lapine
Songs by: William Finn
Director: Tara Overfield-Wilkinson
Producer: Selladoor Worldwide
Cast list: Natasha J Barnes, Daniel Boys, Gemma Knight-Jones, Joel Montague, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Oliver Savile, Albert Atack, George Kennedy, Elliot Morris and James Williams.
Design: PJ McEvoy
Lighting: Nic Farman
Choreography: Tara Overfield-Wilkinson
Sound: Chris Whybrow

Plenty of mainstage shows fail to age well, but “Falsettos” is not among them. Forty years after its off-Broadway origins, this musical remains a controversial and timely display of worlds colliding. On the eve of his son's bar mitzvah, Marvin wrestles with his latent homosexuality, despite his loving wife and the enviable relationship enjoyed by his openly gay neighbors, Cordelia and Dr. Charlotte. When Marvin leaves his wife Trina for a man, Whizzer, who is later diagnosed with AIDS, the entire cast is thrown into the emotional turmoil of deception, death, and the fragility of human nature. Framed against this complex backdrop, “Falsettos” is a heartbreaking and unforgettable tale of survival and love on truly tenuous ground.

Comprised of the final two parts of an off-Broadway trio of shows — “In Trousers,” “March of the Falsettos,” and “Falsettoland,” this show has gone through many iterations. The first installment of this trio debuted in 1979, while the latter two opened in 1981 and 1990, respectively. “Falsettos” in its present form ran for nearly 500 performances on Broadway beginning in 1992, winning two Tony Awards, while the 2016 Broadway revival earned a further five Tony nods. This off-kilter, on-point musical is making its London debut in the Off-West End Other Palace.

What to watch for

You may recognize Oliver Savile, who plays Whizzer Brown in this London production from his from playing Fiyero in Wicked in the West End.

“Falsettos” won Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score at the Tony Awards in 1992.

James Lapine and William Finn wrote the book and score of Falsettos, but that isn't their only collaboration. They also worked on the musical comedy “Little Miss Sunshine,” which was staged at the Arcola Theatre in London earlier in 2019.

James Lapine also wrote the books for the musicals “Sunday in the Park with George” and “Into the Woods.” He won a Pulitzer for the first, and a Tony Award for the second.

Mandy Patinkin, a living legend of the American stage and silver screen, was the replacement for Martin from 1992-1993 when the show ran on Broadway.