Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Truths about love and relationships unspool so fast in this William Finn masterwork about justifiably neurotic New Yorkers, you don't really get the chance to unpack the concise brilliance of Finn's lyrics. Not in a show composed mostly of characters baring their souls - to themselves, their family, their lover and their audience. But look again at that simple verse. See how well it captures one of the great unsung feelings that comes from any human having someone to love?"
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Neurotic New Yorkers sing about their complicated lives in the trailblazing 1992 Broadway musical "Falsettos." A tour of Lincoln Center Theater's acclaimed 2016 revival is now at Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre for an all-too-brief stay, and it's full of quirky hilarity and gut-punching drama."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Constructed out of two earlier one-acts, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, the show provides a keen (if occasionally self-conscious) portrait of life before and after the onset of the AIDS epidemic, when families of both blood and affinity found themselves forced to mature in a hurry. Finn's gorgeous score sets self-lacerating lyrics against a complex musical landscape that the cast navigates with wit and full-voiced depth. When David Rockwell's fanciful set of gray playing blocks gives way to a realistic hospital room, we know that playtime is over—but love can endure."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Staged on a set that resembles a massive set of children’s blocks, this Falsettos is a wrenching, hilarious and sublime exercise in watching grown people act like children. Its complex understanding of immaturity is one reason why the show has aged so well."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...By the end of Falsettos each of the characters have transformed by simply loving the person they were meant to love. Where society just a few years ago once forced gay men into a traditional marriage and subvert their sexuality, where the notion of women being equal to men was a slogan, and that the notion of a child raised by a same sex couple would be considered abusive shows how far we have come. Falsettos also warns of the fragile nature of life, its purpose and to never take it for granted."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...The show's strength remains its telling domestic details and its stream of character-spinning songs. (The love ballad "What More Can I Say?" is a masterpiece of complex adoration.) We feel these lovers from all sides - their dogged hungers, neuroses, hopes and decency. Indeed, Falsettos is the most wrenching kind of plot, a tale of good intentions at cross purposes."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Somewhat Recommended
"...Many seasoned theater-goers who have seen Falsettos, will enjoy this heartrending play; however, we felt that the mishmash of trying to be humorous and serious didn't work. With us sitting further back where we could see most of the people in the theater, we were able to see many that got up to applaud, not wanting to look out of touch, were actually sleeping in the seats; missing its true meaning. This is definitely a play that will either have the audience elated or exhausted, but many will walk away feeling "Dazed and Confused.""
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...“Falsettos” is an unusual musical in that it defies classification. It’s about the angst-ridden lives of six New Yorkers, but it’s not annoying – at least most of the time. It has funny bits, but it’s not a comedy. It has really sad bits, but it’s not a tragedy. The entire script is sung, but it’s not an opera or even an operetta. It’s actually a musical soap opera about “homosexuals with children”, but it’s also a beautiful musical experience sung by six outstanding voices."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...The cast is handsome and talented, with lots of Broadway credits on their resumes. Max Von Essen strongly leads the cast as Marvin, an ever-dissatisfied Jewish who never appreciates his happy life until it becomes too late. He introduces all the characters with his “A Tight Knit Family;” and later, he bares his soul with his heartfelt, “What More Can I Say?” as well as in duets like “Thrill of First Love,” “Father and Son” and “What Would I Do?” Mr. Von Essen brings his handsome, good looks and beautifully trained vocals to this role, much as he did playing Sonny Malone, in the National Tour of “Xanadu.” The actor also impressed on Broadway in “An American in Paris,” “Evita” and, more recently, “Anastasia.” "
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...The first half of "Falsettos" is mostly at the sitcom level .By the intermission I was pondering whether the show had exceeded its "sell" date as a significant work in modern American theater, in the same conversation as a "Rent." The production at the Nederlander still can be admired for its inventive staging and its Broadway caliber performances. How much the story and characters succeed is up to the viewer's eye and ear. I can't imagine the performances being any better. Unfortunately, what grabbed audiences and reviewers in the 1980's and 1990's may not have the same relevance and dramatic impact today."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Somewhat Recommended
"...In fairness, those familiar with the work might well consider this an exceptionally well-performed slice of nostalgia. But for those who are not, Falsettos is an early-80s period piece that’s comic, tragic and, therefore, lacking true identity, no matter how well performed it is."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...The mile-a-minute lyrics, the ever-changing building-block scenery and the cliché-heavy characters of Falsettos give the impression at first glance that William Finn’s two-act musical is a screwball sex comedy about who we love and who we sleep with, especially when those aren’t always the same person. But the show endures (it debuted in 1992; the 2016 Broadway revival is now on tour) because, thankfully, it is so much more. Set in 1979 and ostensibly built around Marvin—husband to Trina, father to Jason and lover to Whizzer—Falsettos is certainly a comedy, but it’s the way the show navigates life’s curious curveballs that make it worth revisiting."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...In 2017 when “Falsettos” returned to Broadway, it was nominated for five Tony Awards, including the Best Revival of a Musical. Now two years later, this fabulous musical is in Chicago, directed by playwright James Lapine with music and lyrics by William Finn."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Falsettos, at times broadly comical and at other times powerfully dramatic, shows us life as it is lived and underscores the idea that, gay or straight or platonic, love is the "most beautiful thing" in the world. It is certainly a force to be reckoned with that has a life of its own and does not always correspond to expectations. Still, as many twists and turns as it may place in our way, it remains, if I may quote the Beatles, "all you need.""
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