FALSETTOLAND
The name “Falsettoland” suggests Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland or James Barrie’s Never-Never-Land; like those fantasy regions it’s a territory in turmoil, exhilarating and upsetting and discombobulating to the people trying to find their way in it. Mendel describes Falsettoland by listing some of its inhabitants: “Homosexuals, women with children,” he sings, referring to his former client Marvin and Marvin’s ex-wife Trina–now married to Mendel. “Short insomniacs,” he continues, meaning himself, “and a teeny-tiny band.”
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The AIDS epidemic is signaled in strange little comments like that, or in ironic moments like the racquetball game between Marvin and Whizzer: the only time Marvin can beat Whizzer, the better athlete, is when Whizzer’s strength begins to fail. AIDS hangs like a cloud over everything in this show; that’s why it was written. But whether it’s the deliberate deadpan quality of Finn’s lyrics or the essential self-absorption of the characters, Falsettoland suffers from a basic problem: if its story didn’t hinge on an issue that’s clearly of personal concern to Finn and a good part of his audience, it would be hard to care much about Marvin and his brood.
