ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601210001
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: THEATER REVIEW
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
Here's an advertising copywriter's nightmare: "Falsettos," a terrific musical comedy about divorce, gay relationships and AIDS.
That's the amazing thing about this brave new production at Mill Mountain Theatre's Theatre B. It takes on sensitive subjects, dances a comical tango with them and somehow still preserves their dignity.
Except when the play is completely irreverent.
But I love irreverence. Don't you?
How about this for starters: "Four Jews in a Room Bitching," the opening number. Or "Marvin at the Psychiatrist," an opera in three acts. And then, my personal favorite, "I'm Breaking Down," which lends a certain ominousness to the chopping of carrots and bananas.
If you require a more linear description, then this is a play about a guy named Marvin (Alan Osburn), who leaves his wife and son for a guy named Whizzer (Abe Reybold). Marvin's wife, Trina (Maggie Hollinbeck), falls in love with Marvin's psychiatrist, Mendel (Bobby Smith). Everything seems to be more or less okay - well, not by Moral Majority standards - except that the son is having a little trouble with all of this. Imagine that.
All of this is revealed in 39 perky and poignant musical numbers (these are not, as it turns out, mutually exclusive adjectives). But just when you wonder when this hyperkinetic musical will stop for a breath, it goes one better and actually focuses all that energy into something beautiful. Because with subjects like these, the potential is certainly there.
And with actors like these, it would be hard to miss. Smith, who was very good in "She Loves Me," gets to be a whole lot funnier as the not-too-professional Mendel. And Reybold, also very good in "She Loves Me," gets to reveal a great deal more depth as the Whizzer With a Heart of Gold.
Hollinbeck almost walks off with the show in her carrot-chopping scene. Except to do so, she'd have to pry it out of the small but steady grasp of the young man who plays her son, Jason - Walker Swain McSurely. McSurely, who is 12 years old, has the face and voice of an angel, which makes him perfect for the part of a child whose kooky family has made him saintly and wise.
As his father, the "peeved, self-absorbed, self-deceived" Marvin, Alan Osburn demonstrates how to convey in shorthand a character's growth. This production would not make sense if Marvin didn't make sense.
The cast is delightfully in sync, thanks to direction by Doug Zschiegner. And that is no small feat because this play, written by William Finn and James Lapine, is meant to move fast.
But not so fast that you don't notice the shell game it plays with stereotypes or how it pays homage to the gambles people make to live.
And especially to love.
``Falsettos'': Continues through Jan. 28 at Theatre B of Mill Mountain Theatre. 342-5740.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB