When Falsettos opened on Broadway in 1992, it was immediately described as the first musical that dealt with AIDS and complex gay relationships. Though there are other gay themed musicals, La Cage Aux Follies comes to mind, it was Falsettos that dealt with the disease that was not only wiping out hundreds of people across the country, but it also attacked the theater world like an evil force. While Falsettos does explore gay life, it really does not force or push the issue of homosexuality, but instead it tries to explore and define love and family as universal.

The story presented to us is that of Marvin, a neurotic bisexual who decides to leave his wife and son to begin a new life with his boyfriend, Whizzer. Marvin also has a strong desire for family stability and an overwhelming need to be loved by everyone around him. Marvin & Whizzer live upstairs while Marvin's ex-wife Trina and their son Jason live downstairs. Every night all four eat dinner together because, after all, Marvin wants to hold onto his tight-knit family. Marvin wants it all.

When Trina runs off with the family shrink, hyper-intelligent Jason goes a little crazy and Whizzer walks out, leaving Marvin's self-created delusion of homelife is destroyed. As in any relationship, there are love lost and brutal fights, and then a more serious tragedy unfolds in act two that changes the lives of all the couples on stage.

The musical itself had a very unique journey: originally, Finn divided the story into three separate one act musicals, each of which dealt with a separate period in Marvin's life: In Trousers (1987), The March of the Falsettos (1981), and Falsettoland (1990).The first piece opened at Playwrights Horizons in 1981. It was subsequently produced in New York under the direction of James Lapine who would later help Finn write the libretto for Falsettoland and later have it open again at Playwrights Horizons on June 28, 1990. In 1991, the Hartford Stage combined March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland into one production, then in 1992, with a few revisions and several added pieces of music, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland were combined to create acts one and two, respectively, of Falsettos.

After 23 previews, Falsettos opened at the John Golden Theater on April 29, 1992. The musical went on to win two Tony Awards for its composer William Finn (one for the book with James Lapine, and another for Finn's lyrics and music). Although the show had been nominated for Best Musical, it lost it to the Gershwin tap-fest, Crazy For You. Falsettos closed on June 27, 1993 after 486 performances.

The national tour was hosted in Dallas at the Majestic Theater. No other metroplex theater company has produced a production of it - until now. A huge round of applause must go to Uptown Players, a new theater company, for mounting Falsettos. It's amazing that no one has even attempted to bring this musical to life here before.

Uptown Players bravely did not start out with a worn out and overly produced musical, but instead jumped head first into the theater community and immediately tests its artistic wings with this tough and emotional musical. They have taken a major artistic risk as well, as a financially one, with Falsettos. Let's face it, a musical that has gay and lesbian couples, a man leaving his wife for another man, and AIDS does not exactly ring Rogers & Hammerstein profits! Future Uptown Players projects include The Last Session (another regional premiere) .

The design elements for Falsettos are all top notch. Andy and Amy Redmon's scenic design, while sparse, attains what it is sets out to do. The red tile floor and coal black set pieces are very effectively stylized and chic. Julie Simmons' gorgeous lighting design has the set bathed in reds, providing strong symbolism. All this red conjures subconscious images of the red ribbons or blood, which we all know is a major factor in how AIDS is transmitted. With no major set pieces or even backdrops, it is up to Simmons to provide pools of light to signify everything from an apartment to a racquetball court, to a hospital - and each time she succeeds. With a theme of black and red is Regan Adair's period costuming of the cast, which fits the piece quite nicely as well.

Director James Paul Lemons has an incisive eye for providing stimulating visual sequences with both his blocking and staging. Lemons faces the major directing challenge of having a minimalist set to work on. He has only a couple of chairs and a therapist's couch at his disposal. Here is where Lemons totally earns praise. He keeps the company blocked in an array of patterns that work like clockwork with the score. He knows where the focus should be and it shows in abundance with his direction and blocking. Also marvelous are some of the new choices he has made. For instance, he uses a haunting image of a funeral to bookend the beginning and the end of the musical, which gives the piece dramatic flare and stark truth to life itself.

Mark Mullino once again proves why he is one of the most respected and admired musical directors within our artistic community. Since there is no dialogue in the musical, it really is up to Mullino and his three piece band to set pace and tempo. This is where Mullino shines like a star, as when he created magic in Lyric's As Long As I Can Sing with just a piano. Here he creates emotion with his piano playing as well as with his conducting of the duet of band members. This follows the mood and emotion that is being explored on stage, presenting musical theatre beauty in its purest form.

The first problem that arises from Falsettos is the musical itself. Act one has twenty two songs, while act two has twenty. The score begs to have numbers in both acts cut. Some of the songs dwell on a certain theme over and over again, or they stop the momentum of the piece dead in its tracks. There is just too much filler and not enough substance within the score. After a while the numbers begin to run together and sound similar. The lyrics, though, are spotless. They give the right emotional impact and subtext that is woven into the piece.

The company members, for the most part, sing beautifully. Finn puts his characters through two and a half hours of almost nonstop fast-paced patter interspersed with intricate four-, five-, and even seven-part harmonies. The majority of the cast handles this difficult score with outstanding vocals that sound lush, strong, and full of vitality and power. But a couple of times diction problems arise that make some of the lyrics hard to decipher. Throughout the evening there are major hits within all those solos and ensemble pieces, but there are also numbers that simply do not achieve the emotional impact they were intended to give out to the audience.

I do question a slap and the odd use of some props that do not make sense. In the "song scene" called "Marvin Hits Trina", there is a huge heated argument that results in Marvin slapping Trina. But there is no actual slap; instead it is a stage fake slap. This simply kills the emotion that the scene setup which results in the scene coming off false and stagy. In the production number called "March of the Falsettos" in act one, the four men in the cast have Day-Glo Styrofoam rods configured around their bodies. I had no earthly idea what they were supposed to represent. Another problem of this production deals with chemistry not being there for some of the relationships on stage and the lack of connection of character to actor.

Donald Fowler is Marvin, the central role around which all the characters revolve. Fowler brings his elegant tenor vocals to the stage with a successful result. His tenor is backed by a pure and clean vibrato that achieves musical beauty within the score, although it is easy to lose what he is singing when he hits the lower notes in his register. Alas, Fowler simply looks too young to be the father of a ten year old son. But the chemistry between Fowler and Jason (Jay Jackson) is tight and extremely believable. Their best song that shows this powerful chemistry is in the ballad "Father & Son". Fowler shows touching affection and care for his son; as his eyes fill with tears, you can hear his voice break with emotion. But Fowler has a harder time connecting with some of the other characters, especially with Whizzer (Chris Laymance). You just don't feel the passion, heat, and love between both characters; instead the relationships come off lukewarm and rigid. This clearly shows during the final number "What do I Do?" Fowler creates heartbreaking emotion on his side, with tears forming in his eyes, his voice breaking from choking back the tears. He is totally "in the moment" during this duet, but Laymance seems not in sync with Fowler on the emotion or heartache, thus this emotional duet becomes one sided. While Fowler does succeed in some moments and aspects of Marvin, you wish that connection was there for the entire evening.

Chris Laymance's bio states that this is his first full length production, and his limitations are evident in his portrayal of Whizzer. This is an extremely difficult role, having to deal with breaking up and worse. Laymance simply does not possess the acting tools needed to bring the character to life. His face and emotion seem to stay on one level, that of anger. He provides no subtext, and just cannot reach the proper emotions required for his character's arc. There is barely a blip within Laymance's acting that shows the decaying of his body from this horrific disease. There are singing problems as well. Laymance cracks or pops on practically every belting note written in his music. He simply runs out of breath or pushes too hard for volume, thus causing him to crack vocally. On the lower notes, however, and the times he sings softly, he sounds soothing and wonderful. It's when he goes for the belt or crescendo that his vocal limitations are exposed. As stated above, there is just too little chemistry between Laymance and Fowler. I could not believe that these two men truly love each other.

Stacey Oristano (as Cordelia) and Julie Stirman (As Charlotte) are the lesbian couple who are friends of Marvin and Whizzer. Both actresses sing with charm and strength. But once again the chemistry here is not as strong as it should be. By looking at their body language and character connection, you just don't see a loving couple, but instead they are more like friends. There is no fire or passion between the actresses. Stirman, though, is very moving and touching as a doctor who is seeing first hand how AIDS is killing off so many. She shows great compassion her in scenes dealing with these issues.

Trina is now a single mother with an ex-husband who now has a boyfriend. Trina is played here by Stephanie Riggs, who shined as the Witch in FMPA's Into The Woods last season, and here, for the most, gives her finest performance. Riggs brings the house down in her tour de force anthem, "I'm Breaking Down." She hits the comedy written into the lyrics with finesse and terrific timing. The actress also uses her face to give those biting comic lines hilarious comical subtext. Riggs could dig deeper into the dramatic aspects of her character; she needs to peel away those layers of subtext written into the role. Once she does this, the tears will flow honestly.

Doug Miller (Mendel) and Jay Jackson (Jason) provide the best work of the evening, although as with Fowler, Miller physically does not look mature enough for Mendel. Miller is both touching and delightfully funny. His strong stage presence greatly achieves success with his character, and this is aided by his proficient comic timing and pace. Miller and Jackson have one of the best numbers of the evening titled "Jason's Therapy". Both actors sell that song like two vaudeville showmen and the end result is a major crowd pleaser. Miller's chemistry with Riggs and Jackson is believable and strong; he is just grand in this production.

Moppet actor Jay Jackson as Jason is the scene stealer and audience favorite of the evening, and this adolescent actor deserves it. While Jackson does have some weakness in his singing and the strength to sustain notes, it can be overlooked because of the intense maturity in this youngster's acting and dazzling stage presence. Child actors are often too cutesy for the stage, coming off like brats. Not Jackson - he shows honest and painful emotion on what is happening all around him. His role has a lot of conflict and a hard arc, so it is just amazing how beautifully and honestly Jackson handles it all. He applies razor sharp comic timing and hysterical facial expressions to the comedy that is within his character. The kid even does one hell of a "Fosse" number to boot - he is smashing!

I encourage everyone to drive to the Trinity Arts Center and see this production of Falsettos. We should all support this brave, new company.

Falsettos (Regional Premiere) continues through March 24 (Thu-Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 2pm, additional show Mar 17 @ 7pm) Uptown Players, Dallas, Texas.

Falsettos
Music & Lyrics by William Finn
Book by William Finn and James Lapine Director.........................James Paul Lemons
Musical Director.................Mark Mullino
Choreographer....................Stacey Oristano
Stage Management.................Craig Lynch
Scenic Design....................Andy & Amy Redmon
Costume Design...................Regan Adair
Lighting/Sound Design............Julie Simmons

CAST

Marvin...........................Donald Fowler
Jason............................Jay Jackson
Whizzer..........................Chris Laymance
Mendel...........................Doug Miller
Cordelia.........................Stacey Oristano
Trina............................Stephanie Riggs
Charlotte........................Julie Stirman

--John Garcia