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William Finn's Falsettos follows the exploits of Marvin,
a neurotic bisexual who decides to leave his wife and son and
begin a new life with his friend Wizzer. Complicating matters
is the fact that Marvin still wants everyone to be one big happy
family. 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).
March of the Falsettos 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 which opened at Playwrights Horizons
on June 28, 1990. In 1991, the Hartford Stage combined March
of the Falsettos and Falsettoland into one production.
The Broadway version of this combined musical opened at the John
Golden Theatre on April 29, 1992, with a cast that featured Michael
Rupert, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Walsh and Jonathan Kaplan.
During the course of the run--which lasted 486 performances--Mandy
Patinkin eventually took over the role of Marvin.
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