Falsettos

by William Finn, James Lapine

A seamless pairing of March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, acclaimed Of--Broadway musiccals written nearly a decade apart, Falsettos is the tale of Marvin, who leaves his wife and young son to live with another man. HIs ex-wife marries his psychiatrist, and Marvin ends up alone. Two years later, Marvin is reunited with his lover on the eve of his son's bar-mitzvah, just as AIDS is beggining its insidious spread.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Musicals, LGBT, Queer, Drama, Gay

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

William Alan Finn was an American composer and lyricist. He was best known for his musicals, which include Falsettos, for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, A New Brain (1998), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005).

Reviews

[Sari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit, the main reason why I first started reading the play of Falsettos because of Christian Borle, who I love as an actor (Smash, Something Rotten, etc.). Then, when I saw the 2016 Broadway cast perform at the Tonys, I was intrigued. The whole play is songs, so when I started it I found it to be very abstract. Then, I started listening to the soundtrack after reading chunks, and it was incredible. The music really was unexpected and unique. It's about Marvin, a man who left his wife and son, running off with his lover, Whizzer. Then, Marvin's ex-wife marries Marvin's psychologist, just in time to plan their son's bar mitzvah. Then, in the second act, their lesbian neighbors are introduced to the scheme of things. The play deals with love, relationships, family issues, and an unknown (at the time) sickness spreading. It's a very small cast, so it lets you get to know each individual character. It's was also just a great experience getting to read AND listen to a book. Beyond that, I adore musical theater, so this was a great fit for me.

[Wherearetheavicados · Rating 5 out of 5]

bruh

[Michael McClain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been introduced to the musical FALSETTOS through the 2016 Broadway revival and followed along with the new cast album for that revival as I read this libretto. Some changes have been made for the new production that differ from what the published libretto offers, but all are changes for the better! It's interesting to imagine what the staging and performances were like in 1992 compared to what's onstage right now at the Walter Kerr Theatre, which feels so definitive.
How Bill Finn was able to create a score that is a product of its time, in terms of its subject matter, but also makes the piece feel timeless is amazing. Although Marvin's dilemma is a unique one, the audience can easily connect with its themes. We can all connect with building a tight-knight family, the passion of a new relationship, losing a loved one or even suffering through a bar mitzvah. FALSETTOS is honest, funny, raw, emotional and an important entry in the musical theatre canon.

[leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does a script count as a book? I don't care, I want to write about it!
I've had the Falsettos script for a few years and at this point it's barley readable because of how many times I've gone back to annotate and speculate and just gush.
Almost every line is written in a way that you can analyze endlessly, and it can easily mean a different thing to everyone who reads it. For example, theorising on what a single word symbolises can change the interpretation of an entire song, which in turn leads you to speculate about how that relates to the story as a whole. I just can't get enough of Falsettos.
At it's most bare, taking in the story as its laid out and not reading into it, its a beautiful, heartbreaking and weird story that would still deserve a high rating from me.The fact that it's it's easy to break apart and put together and make even more beautiful and personal makes it even better.
I feel confident saying that Falsettos is one of my favorite stories of all time- both the story as a whole and individual lines.

[Fernanda Merlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one always gets me.

[Madeline Malfoy]

Passion may die, but my love for Falsettos doesn’t

. . .


All time favorites:
- Four Jews in a Room Bitching
- The Thrill of First Love
- The Game I Play
- I Never Wanted to Love You
- Days Like This
- Unlikely Lovers
- What Would I Do?
- Falsettoland Reprise

Honorable mentions:
- Marvin at the Psychiatric - A Three-Part-Mini-Opera
- This Had Better Come to a Stop
- I’m Breaking Down
- Trina’s Song
- Falsettoland
- The Baseball Game
- A Day in Falsettoland
- Everyone Hates His Parents
- What More Can I Say?
- Something Bad is Happening (+Reprise)
- You Gotta Die Sometime

[Julene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this is not the same as seeing the Broadway play that won a Tony in 1992 & 2016 for best musical. Check it out on You Tube. Excellent modern play about relationships, love, and HIV/AIDS published and set in 1981 when people were still dying from this disease. My understanding is that it was originally written as three separate plays that got produced as one play incorporating the first two: March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. I only read the first two.

[jojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

a musical not friendly for:
guys, pieces of paper, men in pants, horses OR zebras and i cannot stress this enough. IF YOU ARE A GIANT MAN THIS IS NOT FOR YOU

[marit · Rating 5 out of 5]

falsettos is the only thing keeping me from going insane tbh its so good

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

This is my favourite musical of all time so of course I had to get this! It's a musical that revolves around a jewish family during the AIDS-crisis in America. It's absolutely heart-wrenching and I will always, without fail, recommend this musical. Man, I'm so sad now.

[Daniel Amorim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This my show and I love it dearly

[misery.™ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ronald reagan is going to have to catch these hands the moment my body descends to hell

[Simon Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falsettos is a tear-jerking piece that presents a wave of emotion and passion similar to A Little Life, one of my favorite books.

This is my favorite musical play of all time. The amount of heart the writing of this piece carries is enough to make anyone cry. The elegance of the words, the genius rhythmic elements, the deep-rooted decisions that bring these characters to life- it is all there.

Falsettos follows Marvin, a middle-aged man living in 1978 New York City with his wife Trina and son Jason. When Marvin decides to divorce Trina to be with Whizzer, his nonchalant lover, everyone’s lives are shaken— including that of the family’s too-eager therapist, Mendel.

I just love this so much. There’s something so rich and pristine about the quality of this musical play. It’s niche, it’s sung-through, it ultimately carries the heft of dramatic narrative that assimilates — so brilliantly — reality.

The characters within the story are just wonderful, becoming three-dimensional and self-defined in a matter of seconds. The story lends itself to be explored with a magnifying glass, which is one of the many reasons why it seems to vibrate the same energy as literary narratives.

There’s a certain sadness associated with Falsettos due to the tragic events that occur near the end. (The story takes place in between the years 1978-1980 during the AIDS epidemic.) Nevertheless, the visceral love and care the mere words bleed are enough for a well-rounded experience of art and writing.

The musical play is rather lesser-known than many others, and I find that to be interesting because of how phenomenal it is. Every detail is purposeful and every word is powerful, making Falsettos not only good, not only wild and fun, not only moving and great, but also astonishing.

[day Song · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be the best thing I have ever seen. I can not get through it without crying. I both hate and love it at the same time.

[mangosprite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toxic gay men in the 70s-80s who get off on fighting each other and there’s also lesbians next door

[Javier Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love is powerful stuff and so is this musical. Even knowing that their future is a death sentence served up by the AIDS virus, our I'll fated lovers, Marvin and Whizzer would do it all again. Sadly for them, Cupid's arrow brought a love that was short-lived since it also brought them death. True love leaves no regrets though.

[jojo ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love falsettos, and its probably definitely one of my favorite musicals of all time

(spoilers for the ENTIRE plot of the musical start here!):

the fully sung through coming-of-age musical follows marvin with his family and his dilemmas in life and with the people in his life, including of his ex-wife trina, soon-to-be-teenager 12 y/o son jason, new "friend" (boyfriend) whizzer, and his psychiatrist mendel. taking place in the early 1980s new york city, each have their own problems to deal with. during the rise of the AIDS epidemic and tension relating to homophobia in the US, he has to learn to figure out his identity being jewish, queer, and living through the 1970s-80s, and what it truly means to be a man.

the first act deals with the messy aftermath of him divorcing trina, and starting a blatantly toxic "relationship" with whizzer (a tight knit family / love is blind). trina vents to their shared psychiatrist mendel about her various encounters and debatable befitting anger to marvin's newfound relationship and to how horrible he to her was in general, as well as her son jason's annoyance directed at his father. marvin notes here saying how love is crazy and boring, showing his shortsightedness of what his real definition of love is.

[MARVIN]
Love is crazy
Love is often boring
Love stinks
Love is pretty often debris
When you find
What you find. Then
Never never never never never
Do it over again

Love reads like a bad biography
All the names are changed to protect the innocent

a deeper dive into the way marvin and whizzer's relationship follows this (the thrill of first love). it goes more in depth of their toxic way of life and their constant push-and-pull dynamic, seeing love as a game. they live purely off of riling each other up and for a lack of better words, living life on the edge in a literal (take it as you will), metaphorical, and social sense. whizzer here is shown as childish and cruel, his biting responses also riling marvin up. marvin's greedy and self-centered ego shows off some more, thinking he's entitled to whizzer alone (with the irony of how he literally cheated on his wife) marvin's confusion of what love really is shows up here again, falling into his skewed perspective of it.

[MARVIN]
What you love you devour
What I covet, I keep

Isn't that right, Whizzer?
Let's both fight, Whizzer!

[WHIZZER]
I was trained in karate

[MARVIN]
I'm best when I cheat
So I'll cheat, Whizzer, and I'll shove
And I'll kill for that thrill of first
Love

then marvin goes to visit mendel for a few visits (marvin at the psychiatrist). it starts with jason opening the song, saying how he much rather prefers chess over love, alluding to the horrible examples of love he has in his life.

[Mitchell Clifford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I contemplated giving it one star but honestly I think I’m just missing the dramaturgical perspective that would have brought the work to life or give me more perspective on it.

This work felt very Bretchian or purposely bizarre. I could theorize reasons why this is the case, but this musical did not leave me with a driving why or curiosity to further unpack this.

Overall, the music and writing was not what I was hoping for.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilled to direct this in a couple months. A beautiful musical unmasking the kids inside every adult, the confusion and joy in building a family, beautifully complex queer characters, and, ultimately, an affirming picture of what family truly means.

[elliot the cool person · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually cried

[kaya :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

god

[RonnieRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say
This musical had me violently sobbing 5 of 6 days I watched it. In my University Library AND at home in front of my parents.
That is a feat.
In all seriousness, this musical accomplishes something that (in my opinion) Rent failed to do. It highlights the many obstacles queer people had to face in the 80's, whether that be in their marriages that no longer fit them (and maybe never did), the loss of lovers and friends to the AIDS crisis, or the actual having the illness itself.
Using the entire first act (and actually technically the first book as Act one and Two were released separately) to highlight the dynamics between all of the characters, whether they be good or bad, we actually get to know them all. We care, we see their struggles, their pains, their relationships, what it's like to be a father in a marriage that no longer holds- what it's like to be a queer man navigating the many dynamics in one's life. We spend the entire first act getting inside their head and CARING, way more than I most characters.
The second act takes a shift, focusing on the positives in their lives for the first half. We see that things have finally worked out (or are beginning to), and that, despite the contention between some of them, they're working through it and finding ways to still be one big family.
This shifts perhaps 30 minutes from the end when, being a queer man in the 80's no longer is just about being queer but now about navigating a whole new world formed by the AIDS crisis. What makes this so beautiful is how human it all is. There's no preaching, no big overview, just a single relationship and the family surrounding them.
Trina, Marvin's ex wife, perhaps shows the beauty of this show most. Instead of the contention continuing throughout the whole crisis the family has to deal with, she becomes one of the most supportive of the group. She puts aside her own goals and ego in order to take care of this family of her's.
Another thing this musical achieves is actually giving a voice to the sapphic people in the show (yes I'm looking at you Rent). We see another side of the AIDS crisis that often isn't talked about, the many queer women who had to watch their good friends and family be lost to such an awful thing. They're beautifully involved, are their own characters rather than just mere accessories to the main couple of the show, and their support and existence provides a whole new perspective often lost to history.
Basically, this show is perfect. it's personal, it's angering, it's heartbreaking, it's inspiring. It revives the lost history of the queer 80's and gives voices to the many lost at that time.
As Mendel said.
"This is where we take a stand. Welcome to Falsettoland."

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sięgając po Falsettos, zrobiłam to z bardzo konkretnego powodu: Christian Borle. Jego interpretacja Marvina w spektaklu była dla mnie punktem zapalnym — głosem, nerwem, emocją, która nie chce wyjść z głowy. Przyszłam więc z miłością do aktora. Zostałam z miłością do tekstu.

Libretto Falsettos zaskakuje swoją intymnością. Na papierze nie traci nic z emocjonalnej siły sceny — wręcz przeciwnie. Dialogi są oszczędne, momentami niemal surowe, ale to właśnie ta prostota sprawia, że każda kwestia waży więcej, niż się spodziewamy. Finn i Lapine nie moralizują. Oni obserwują. Pozwalają bohaterom być trudnymi, nieidealnymi, czasem wręcz irytującymi — a przez to boleśnie prawdziwymi.

Postać Marvina, znana mi już z interpretacji Borle’a, na nowo wybrzmiewa w tekście. Jego egoizm, potrzeba kontroli i jednoczesna desperacka potrzeba miłości są w libretcie zapisane z chirurgiczną precyzją. Czytając, miałam wrażenie, że każda kwestia jest zaproszeniem dla aktora do rozdarcia się na scenie — emocjonalnie, nie dosłownie. To rola, która wymaga odwagi. I tekst doskonale to rozumie.

Ogromną siłą Falsettos jest sposób, w jaki mówi o rodzinie i tożsamości — bez patosu, bez uproszczeń. Rodzina tutaj nie jest bezpiecznym miejscem z definicji. Jest konstrukcją kruchą, negocjowaną na bieżąco, często bolesną. W drugiej części libretta, gdy w tle pojawia się temat AIDS, ton tekstu naturalnie dojrzewa. Humor nie znika, ale cichnie. Zostaje miejsce na strach, stratę i bezradność — przedstawione bez taniego dramatyzmu.

To, co szczególnie mnie urzekło, to fakt, że libretto czyta się jak zapis emocji, nie tylko scen. Nawet bez muzyki słychać jej rytm. Nawet bez aktorów widać napięcia między postaciami. A jednocześnie tekst aż prosi się o głos — i tu trudno nie wracać myślami do Borle’a, który potrafił nadać Marvinowi brutalną szczerość i nieoczywistą czułość.

Zaczęłam tę lekturę jako fanka aktora. Kończę ją jako fanka Falsettos. To libretto, które nie próbuje się podobać — ono po prostu jest prawdziwe. I właśnie dlatego zostaje z czytelnikiem na długo po ostatniej stronie.

[Ray Quirolgico · Rating 5 out of 5]

The emotional depth of this musical becomes more apparent when you read the text and stage directions, especially where the spoken lines work in counterpoint with each other. Especially endearing and heartfelt if you can keep pace with an audio recording of a cast performing this work. And the climax of the final scene reads even more powerfully than seeing it performed.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the script/libretto for this inventive musical highlights Finn's poetry and his brilliance in character development. The inclusion of In Trousers is a special treat-to see where it all began! I do recommend reading this edition because Frank Rich's afterward is insightful, heartfelt and is a treat for fans of this show!

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is likely a case where the play is better when produced, musicals I think can be hard to read. Of the 3 one acts I liked Falsettoland the best. In In Trousers Marvin was a very difficult character to like. The afterward by Frank Rich was remarkable for how much things have changed.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is genuinely one of the most profound and moving pieces of art i have ever come across. everyone do themselves a favor and watch the play and then read this if you, like me, want a closer look at the text and stage directions!

[annasfdjkl · Rating 5 out of 5]

after watching the 2016 revival performance (during which i cried through the entire second act) i looked all over for the book and read it in pretty much one sitting once i found it.
this show really has such a range of emotions and so so so much depth to it. will def be rereading.

[Ava Lazzarotto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falsettos is genuinely one of my favourite things in the entire world. The story is so profound and it is so important to me. The characters are so flawed and so incredibly written and every single time I watch the Pro-shot on youtube or read it, I discover something new. It's incredible.

[Juno Briar · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay so this is a bit overdue but likeeee i really don’t care. this show completely changed my life from the way i perceive musicals, the lessons i care from it and the friends ive made bc of it.


whizzers death ruined me.