Finn & Lapine’s Revolutionary Musical Still Charms by Lynne Stevens The Jewish American tradition is rich with humor, melodrama, and heart. “Falsettos,” the enduring musical by William Finn and James Lapine bursts with energy and tells the truth about a 1980s New York Jewish family at the cusp of changing times. This peppy non-stop…
Finn & Lapine Still Singing High & Proud by Jesse Antin In 42nd Street Moon’s outstanding new production of “Falsettos,” the characters’ futures becomes our past, offering a retrospective that’s both satisfying and heartbreaking. Set in 1979, the sung-through musical braids themes that still simmer: sexual identity, the chosen family, feminism, Judaism, and global…
Julie Taymor’s Playful Parade of Animals, Ancestors Still Thrills by Barry David Horwitz The colors, the lights, the beautiful animals walking with acrobatic grace, the moving grasslands—they are gliding down the aisles. Rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and cheetahs lope along onstage with their distinctive gaits—miracles of puppetry and acrobatics. Still magnificent after 26 years, many…
Frank Loesser’s Music Highlights Gritty N.Y. Riffs by Lynne Stevens Broadway is the embodiment of the melting pot. Damon Runyon’s gritty 30s New York stories reveled in its variety. Broadway welcomed Italian, Irish, and Jewish immigrants—the road to prosperity for many went through Times Square. Director Bill English’s cast for “Guys and Dolls: A…