Latest news with #WilliamFinn
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
A wonderfully sung musical from a late, great composer
They try all sorts of ways to be happy in the musical 'Falsettos': therapy, religion, fitness, chess, love many times over. At one point they even try willing it: As one repeated lyric advises, 'Why don't you feel all right for the rest of your life?' Can we? Why don't we? Characters flail about, 'itching for answers,' posing half-baked notions, throwing out metaphors, contradicting each other and themselves. They're all just as confused as we are about how to cope with flawed bodies and brains, especially as life becomes absurd, unfair and tragic. A wonderfully sung production at the Keegan Theatre is timed to D.C.'s WorldPride celebration, and comes just a month after songwriter William Finn died at 73. While he was known for the crowd-pleasing 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,' 'Falsettos' is his main legacy, aided by a book co-written with James Lapine (known for 'Into the Woods' and 'Sunday in the Park With George'). The show arrived on Broadway in 1992, just a year ahead of 'Angels in America' — another brilliant, neurotic, messy, two-part show in which characters confront the AIDS crisis while dealing with the complexities of sexual orientation and religious identity. We start in the wake of Marvin (John Loughney) coming out as gay and leaving his wife, Trina (Katie McManus), for his lover, Whizzer (Kaylen Morgan), confusing their 12-year-old son Jason (the understudy Henry Winfield Gill in the performance I saw). Trina becomes the patient — and, eventually, wife — of Marvin's psychiatrist, Mendel (Ryan Burke). Jason is dragging his feet toward a bar mitzvah, leading to an unexpectedly heart-wrenching climax that shows him truly becoming an adult. (The characters are unabashedly Jewish but more culturally so, giving the religious aspect a begrudging nod: 'Days like this, we almost believe in God' they sing wryly at one point.) Joining them all in the second act is a lesbian couple: an eager bar mitzvah caterer (Kylie Clare Truby) and a doctor (Shayla Lowe) recognizing the unfolding AIDS epidemic. Unlike Stephen Sondheim's 'Company,' another New York-set show about romantic ups and downs, 'Falsettos' is more specifically of its time and place, with songs that are more rough around the edges, intentionally imprecise. A number of gems emerge. In the showstopper 'I'm Breaking Down,' Trina grapples with her marriage's sad, strange turn. In 'The Baseball Game,' the ensemble offers an amusing running commentary while 'watching Jewish boys who cannot play baseball play baseball.' The show culminates with the poignant 'What Would I Do?' in which Marvin, after some terrible decisions, finally seems to appreciate what he's had. The Keegan is an especially appropriate venue, given that when it was called the Church Street Theater it hosted an ambitious 1997 production consisting of all three shows in Finn's semiautobiographical Marvin trilogy: the two off-Broadway ones that got mashed together to create 'Falsettos' ('March of the Falsettos' and 'Falsettoland'), along with 'In Trousers,' a prequel about Marvin's upbringing. Kurt Boehm's new staging takes place in a simple, abstract, white cityscape (set by Matthew J. Keenan). At times the movement feels a little clunky, and the shifts in Marvin's feelings toward other characters aren't always clear (perhaps even to him) — especially when he hits Trina, which feels unconvincing no matter how hurt and confused he is. But the harmonies come through loud and clear, in the superb singing of the main foursome of McManus, Morgan, Burke and Loughney. This 'Falsettos' is a rare opportunity to hear the music of a sadly departed master, sung by characters who show us how complicated the search for happiness can be. Falsettos, through June 15 at the Keegan Theatre in Washington. Two hours, thirty minutes, with an intermission.
Los Angeles Times
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Thank you, William Finn, for these ‘Falsettos' lessons: L.A. arts and culture this weekend
Since learning that the great composer-lyricist William Finn — who wrote 'A New Brain' and 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' — died Monday, I've been revisiting a cast recording of 'Falsettos,' his 1992 musical comedy about family and friendship in the early years of the AIDS crisis. The Tony-winning stage show, created with James Lapine, combines two of Finn's earlier one-act musicals about Marvin and his loved ones — a new partner, an ex-wife, a teenage son, a psychiatrist and some neighbors — and follows their individual efforts to feel 'normal' in a time of personal change and societal uncertainty. I recommend a listen to anyone for whom our current state of crisis feels inescapable. With lyrics about lamenting the 'happy, frightened men who rule the world' and how 'I feel more helpless than I have in years,' it's a cathartic score that allows you to rage, cry and laugh about what is no longer, what could have been and what's still ahead. (The iconic 'I'm Breaking Down' — delivered here by Stephanie J. Block while cooking, kitchen knife in hand — is basically all of us.) And yet, the piece is also a reminder that the answer to it all, at least in the immediate and everyday, is to prioritize love. Invest in one another, create your community and embrace even the unlikeliest of bonds, as those relationships are the ones that might end up helping you get through it. As The Times' Barbara Isenberg wrote in 1994, 'Finn has long used his musicals to redefine both what a family is and how it's supposed to act. Family, says Finn, 'is the people who, when you need them, are there.'' I'm Ashley Lee, here with my fellow Times staff writer Jessica Gelt with a fresh Essential Arts newsletter. As the 'family' of 'Falsettos' sings, 'Let's be scared together.' 'Regency Girls'A Jane Austen-style road trip comedy? This new musical centers on a Regency-era woman who, pregnant and unmarried, gathers her best friends and sets off to visit a woman who helps those with 'female troubles' (a character based on a real-life 19th century figure). Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, the world premiere features music by Curtis Moore, lyrics by Amanda Green and a book by Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan. The production, which opened Thursday night, runs through May 11. Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. Sounds of L.A.: Celebrating the Jazz Legacy of AltadenaThis weekend, head to Brentwood to fete the vibrant jazz scene of Altadena, as the Getty Center's Harold M. Williams Auditorium is the site of two complementary and celebratory concerts. The Saturday evening lineup includes Tony Dumas, Quinn Johnson, Joel Taylor and Louis Van Taylor; the Sunday afternoon show is all about the Bennie Maupin Ensemble. Tickets to the performances are free with online RSVP (and make a day of it with The Times' guide to the museum's 22 must-see pieces). Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. Sai Anantam Devotional EnsembleThe year of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda continues with an evening of music, readings and film dedicated to the legacy of the late musician and Hindu spiritual leader. The ensemble includes students of her former ashram, with featured performers Sita Michelle Coltrane, Radha Botofasina, Surya Botofasina and Shyam Reyes. The program is presented in connection with the Hammer Museum's exhibition 'Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal' — a portion of which explores her spiritual transcendence, including televisions playing her famed broadcast 'Eternity's Pillar.' Sunday, 6:30 p.m. The Nimoy, 1262 Westwood Blvd, Westwood. — Ashley Lee FRIDAY After Hours/Desperately Seeking Susan Directed by Martin Scorsese and Susan Siedelman, respectively, this double bill pairs two essential portraits of downtown NYC life, each celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.6 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd. A.I.M by Kyle Abraham The adventurous troupe presents a program that includes 'YEAR' by Andrea Miller and Rena Butler's 'The Shell of a Shell of the Shell.'7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. SATURDAY The Avett Brothers The eclectic folk-rock band is joined by Charles Wesley Godwin.7 p.m. Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave. Indian Classical Music Tanmay Deochake, Soham Gorane and Atharva Kulkarni perform on harmonium, vocals, keyboard and tabla.6 p.m.. Herrick Chapel at Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road. The Library of Maps: An Opera Long Beach Opera premieres a new performance edition of Pauline Oliveros and Moira Roth's innovative 2001 opera aboard the RMS Queen Mary.7:30 p.m. Saturday. 2:30 p.m. April 13. The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach. Dune/The Flintstones Vidiots welcomes Kyle MacLachlan for screenings of the actor's first collaboration with David Lynch, the 1985 adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic (followed by a conversation). MacLachlan will introduce the 1994 modern stone-age comedy.6 p.m. 'Dune'; 9:45 p.m. 'The Flintstones' (separate admissions). The Eagle Theatre, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. St. Matthew Passion Musica Angelica presents two Baroque orchestras and a cast of vocal soloists performing Johann Sebastian Bach's depiction of Christ's Passion story.6 p.m. Saturday. First Congregational Church of Long Beach, 241 Cedar Ave.; 3 p.m. Sunday. First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. SUNDAYCorktown '39 A political thriller written by John Fazakerley and directed by Steven Robman about a Irish Republican Army assassin and a plot to kill the king of May 25. Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. Documentary Now! A 10th-anniversary event celebrating the mockumentary series with Bill Hader and Fred Armisen in person; part of the American Cinematheque's 'This Is Not a Fiction' festival.7:30 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Every Brilliant Thing Amanda Zarr performs writers Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe's story about a little girl growing into a woman as she creates a list of things that make life worth living in an attempt to save her mother from depression.7:30 p.m. Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend Critic, radio host and podcaster Jason Bailey marks the upcoming release of his new biography of the late 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini with book signings and screenings of four of the actor's movies, which the author will introduce.'Not Fade Away' (2012), 1 p.m. Sunday. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 700 W. 7th St., Suite U240, downtown L.A. 'Crimson Tide' (1995), 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Frida Cinema, 305 E. 4th St., Suite 100, Santa Ana. 'The Man Who Wasn't There' (2001), 7 p.m. Saturday. Los Feliz 3, 1822 N. Vermont Ave. 'Killing Them Softly' (2012), 10 p.m. Saturday. Los Feliz 3 Hear Now Music Festival: Voices Raised The second of three shows devoted to new work by contemporary Los Angeles composers features a program of instrumental chamber music with Lyris Quartet and Brightwork Ensemble; the festival concludes with vocal chamber music on May 18.5 p.m. 2220 Arts + Archives, 2200 Beverly Blvd. Lost Cellphone Weekend Film noir-ish musical comedy written and composed by Stephen Gilbane about a man with an intense social media problem.2 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. April 18, 19, 25 and 26; 2 p.m. April 27. Write Act Repertory at the Brickhouse Theatre, 10950 Peach Grove St., Hollywood. The Last Play by Rickérby Hinds In the Afro Latino playwright's meta comedy, characters from his previous works throw his artistic process into chaos as he attempts to write a new play that stays true to the many aspects of May 25. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown L.A. What Is War A collaborative performance created by Eiko Otake and Wen Hui, who share their personal memories related to war, current and historic, through movement and projected video.8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. Ashley Lee recently sat down for a Q&A with Georgia-born, North Hollywood-based playwright Keiko Green to discuss her approach to theater in advance of the world-premiere run of her play 'You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!' at South Coast Repertory. Lee described the play as 'an ambitious exploration of grief, climate change and individual significance, whether one is still on Earth or otherwise.' L.A.-based conceptual artist David Horvitz's latest project, 7th Ave Garden, is on a vacant lot in Arlington Heights, just off Washington Boulevard. There, in the place of a house that burned down, Horvitz has created a landscape that, according to Times contributor Marissa Gluck, serves as a 'living ecological lab and art project.' The spot plays host to exhibitions, poetry readings and performances. But it might not be around for much longer. Read why in this dispatch about the novel art endeavor. When Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency made sweeping cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities, downtown L.A.'s Japanese American National Museum lost a $175,000 grant for the museum's Landmarks of American History and Culture workshops. The museum — along with others across the country — is worried that more cuts are coming. JANM may lose up to $1.5 million in already approved federal funding, and it's looking for ways to fight back. The California Science Center this week unveiled three site-specific murals commissioned for the museum's upcoming immersive exhibition, 'Game On! Science, Sports & Play,' which highlights the dynamism of the body in motion. The free show, which begins May 15, offers 'hands-on activities and virtual guidance from a diverse team of well-loved Los Angeles-based mentor athletes,' according to a news release. Guests are encouraged to participate in activities related to baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, yoga and dance. The large-scale murals, the first commissioned by the Science Center for an exhibition, were created by artists chosen for their connections to L.A.: Moses X. Ball made a piece titled 'Motivation in Motion' that's 23 feet by 18 feet; Laci Jordan's 'For the Love of the Game' is 48 feet by 16 feet; and Gustavo Zermeño Jr.'s 'It's Time for Dodger Baseball' spans 60 feet and is 18 feet tall. The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino is rebranding itself to — quite simply — the Huntington. The move reflects what legions of visitors have long called their favored refuge from L.A.'s urban hustle, although a news release announcing the move calls it 'the first comprehensive branding initiative in the institution's 100-year history.' The change is apparent in updated signs and merchandise, as well as on the website. The Broad officially broke ground this week on its major expansion downtown, set to be completed in 2028. Mayor Karen Bass was on hand for the ceremony, alongside the museum's Founding Director and President Joanne Heyler and co-Founder Edythe L. Broad. The expansion will increase gallery space by 70%. — Jessica Gelt Remember that 1984 episode of 'Press Your Luck' with the guy who won more than $110,000?
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ben Platt pay tribute to musical composer William Finn
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ben Platt have led tributes to late Broadway composer William Finn. On Tuesday, a representative announced that the Tony Award winner had died at the age of 73 the previous day. Finn's longtime partner, Arthur Salvadore, told The New York Times that the cause of death was pulmonary fibrosis, a type of lung disease. Following the sad news, Ferguson took to Instagram to thank Finn for giving the world "infinite joy" with his productions, especially the 1992 musical Falsettos. The Modern Family actor also worked with the Boston native on his 2005 musical comedy, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. "The first Broadway show I ever saw was William Finn's Falsettos," he wrote alongside a throwback photo. "I left that theater changed forever because of his work. It will always be one of the biggest honors of my career that I got to create with this brilliant artist. There will never ever, ever be another Bill Finn. Rest in peace my friend. I am so happy I knew you." In addition, Platt posted a black-and-white photo of Finn on his Instagram Stories and commented, "Gave us so many beautiful things." Director and playwright James Lapine, who worked with Finn on Falsettos, honoured his frequent collaborator too. "RIP - Bill Finn. Thank you for all you gave me and us. Your work lives on," he declared. Elsewhere, a spokesperson for the Tony Awards posted a clip of Finn receiving the prize for Best Original Score for Falsettos at the 1992 event. He also took home Best Book of a Musical that year. "His music sang of love, loss, and what it means to be fully alive," they added. Back in 1992, Finn suffered an arteriovenous malformation in his brain stem and underwent surgery. The experience inspired his 1998 musical, A New Brain.
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
William Finn, Broadway composer known for Tony Award-winning 'Falsettos,' dies at 73
William Finn, Broadway composer known for Tony Award-winning 'Falsettos,' dies at 73 Theater composer and lyricist William Finn, best known for his work on the Tony Award-winning musical "Falsettos," has died. He was 73. The acclaimed playwright died Monday following a battle with pneumonia, Finn's literary agent, Ron Gwiazda, confirmed to USA TODAY on Tuesday. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1979 with the one-act musical "In Trousers," a loosely autobiographical piece about a man named Marvin who struggles with his queer sexuality. The show spawned two sequels, 1981's "March of the Falsettos" and 1990's "Falsettoland." Finn graduated to Broadway in 1989 with the musical "Dangerous Games," for which he composed the lyrics alongside Argentinian arranger Ástor Piazzolla. His breakthrough came three years later with 1992's "Falsettos," a sung-through musical that combines the stories of "March of the Falsettos" and "Falsettoland." The emotional musical, which takes inspiration from the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, won Finn a pair of Tony Awards for best original score and best book of a musical. "I hope it's a show that will rise above the horribleness of the time," Finn told the Lincoln Center Theater in 2016. "Do you not want to see 'Angels in America' again because it's about a horrible time?" Finn's other works include "The Sisters Rosensweig," "A New Brain," "Love's Fire" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," the latter of which was nominated for best original score at the 2005 Tony Awards. The playwright's final show, "The Royal Family of Broadway," premiered in 2018 at the Barrington Stage Company in Finn's home state of Massachusetts. The musical was an adaptation of the 1927 play "The Royal Family" by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Val Kilmer died of pneumonia: How does the common illness turn deadly? 'I like to write songs that tell you the story of a life in three or four minutes' In February 1952, Finn was born in Boston to Jason and Barbara Finn, and the Jewish couple raised him in the neighboring town of Natick, Massachusetts. Finn developed an early love for the world of musical theater, dancing around his family's living room to the Frank Loesser-penned "Guys and Dolls." "I was always interested in the theater and just gravitated there," Finn previously told The Cultural Critic. "And I was always smart, so my parents figured I wasn't doing anything stupid, and they were supportive. I must have been an obnoxious child, always singing and always — well, dancing is not the word. Moving is more accurate." During his adolescence, Finn took up the guitar after receiving the instrument as a gift for his bar mitzvah, per The Cultural Critic. Inspired by folk singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel, the self-taught musician began writing his own songs and later learned the piano. Michael Hurley dies: Singer known as 'Godfather of freak folk' was 83 Finn honed his craft as a theatrical composer while attending Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he wrote three musicals and studied the work of college alumnus and Broadway icon Stephen Sondheim, according to his interview with the Lincoln Center Theater. "When I began to get personal, my songs got better," Finn told The Cultural Critic. "I like to write songs that tell you the story of a life in three or four minutes, where a panoply of emotions is expressed, and also where real craft is demonstrated."
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Loose Screws, Hot Flames and Infinite Joy of William Finn
When I met William Finn in 2005, at work on 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,' he was seated in his office in front of what looked like a trash heap but might have been a desk. On a couch nearby, one of his collaborators sank slowly beneath a rising tide of detritus; when she spoke, Finn kept overwhelming her too. Bearlike and blustery, garrulous and appetitive, he grabbed at every idea floating around the room, just as he grabbed at insane rhymes and jangly melodies in writing his sometimes hilarious, sometimes haunting (sometimes both) songs. The opportunistic lyrics were what first attracted me. By the time of 'Spelling Bee,' Finn, who died Monday at the age of 73, had already made a name for himself with the 'Falsettos' trilogy, his take on a family (and thus a society) shattered by disease and disaffection in the early years of AIDS. Yet despite the sadness of that story (the book is by Finn and James Lapine), the melodies are mostly jaunty and the words outrageously playful. In the show's opening number he rhymes 'four Jews' with 'loose screws.' As his later work kept digging deeper into dark themes, the rhymes got wilder, as if he were very hungry, and there was just one shrimp puff left on a plate at the other side of a party. In 'A New Brain,' a show about his own near-death experience from a stroke in 1992, it was not unusual for him to match chewy words like 'Thackeray' and 'whackery,' even though they made little sense together. What they made instead was a tickling kind of Gertrude Stein spark, followed by an existential whack. Your ear was delighted while your brain was befuddled, which was perhaps the point because, he seemed to ask, does anything in the world make sense? Listen to a selection of Finn's songs on Spotify: Forcing apparently incompatible things into messy proximity, if not alignment, was a Finn hallmark, and, I eventually came to think, his signal virtue. Almost all the liaisons in 'Falsettos' — a nebbish and an Adonis, an angry wife and her shrink — are misalliances, and yet through suffering and, yes, bitching, they form a kind of family in defiance of fate. Fate interested Finn deeply; he loved the way the teenage competitors in 'Spelling Bee' keep drawing words that showcase their weaknesses, like 'lugubrious' for the boy with 'a rare mucus disorder' and 'cystitis' for the lisper. 'It's like 'Survivor' for nerds,' he told me. He would know. Even his non-narrative revues and song cycles — especially the exquisite 'Elegies' — are about outcasts and sufferers who prevail while they can. They don't mope, they flame. At a baseball game, Marvin, the 'Falsettos' nebbish, tells Whizzer, his unfaithful lover, to 'sit in front of me / I wanna see the bald spot!' because 'it's the only physical imperfection that you've got.' In 'A New Brain,' the mother, angry at her son for being sick and gay, cleans his apartment by throwing away all his books. (Hence: Thackeray / whackery.) It is only after acknowledging and withstanding awfulness — shame, grief, mortality — that Finn permits a glimpse of happiness. In the title song of the revue 'Infinite Joy' he describes that emotion with the words 'Goodness is rewarded / Hope is guaranteed / Laughter builds strong bones.' Near the end of 'A New Brain,' he summarizes what we've just seen as 'Stories of coping / Of hope against hoping,' before having his stand-in, a composer who has been through the wringer, sing, 'I have so much spring within me.' It's a pun — the character originally wrote that song for a frog on a kiddie show. That's William Finn all over: turning a joke, like the one played on all of us, into joy. I'm not sure the phrase makes sense, but it's perfect anyway: He was hope against hoping.
