THEATER REVIEW; Decades of Songs from William Finn, and Not Just in Falsetto - New York Times 01/09/2008 09:06 AM

THEATER REVIEW; Decades of Songs From William Finn, and Not Just in Falsetto - New York Times 01/09/2008 09:06 AM August 27, 2006 THEATER REVIEW; Decades of Songs From William Finn, and Not Just in Falsetto By ANITA GATES The first time I heard of William Finn was in the spring of 1981, when he had written the book, music and lyrics for a daring musical called ''March of the Falsettos.'' It was playing in a tiny space at Playwrights Horizons in New York, and critics were talking about the discovery of a major talent. I rushed out to see the show, which was about a man who left his wife to make a life with another man. I thought it was quite good, with flashes of brilliance. Last Tuesday night I saw ''Make Me a Song,'' an evening of Mr. Finn's music, at Theaterworks. It was really good, with long stretches of brilliance. Actually, this highly entertaining production, conceived and directed by Rob Ruggiero with musical direction by Michael Morris, is two shows in one. In Act I, the four-person cast -- Sandy Binion, Joe Cassidy, Adam Heller (who did ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland'' at Hartford Stage) and Sally Wilfert -- perform mostly humorous numbers. In Act II, they turn to Mr. Finn's more serious songs. By the time they get to the heartbreaking ''Anytime (I Am There),'' a dead mother's message to the child she has left behind, sung by Ms. Wilfert, virtually anyone who has ever cried in a theater would be at least a little teary. Ms. Wilfert has much lighter moments. The first-act number ''Passover'' is an example of the purity of childhood memories leavened (sorry) with humor. The singer remembers ''the feast of no yeast'' and decides that the holiday should commemorate ''how the Jews traveled over the Hudson River'' to the family Seder. ''Billy's Law of Genetics,'' performed by the whole company, is another standout. ''The bad trait will always predominate,'' they sing. ''That is the law of genetics, according to Billy Finn.'' That is, if one parent is fat and the other is thin, you will be fat. The song also gives the example ''Why is the smart son always the gay son?'' Mr. Finn's identity as a gay man permeates the show, beginning with one of the first act's few serious numbers, ''Hitchhiking Across America.'' In it, Mr. Cassidy sings of traveling across the United States right after college, holding a sign that said, ''I like boys.'' The running musical gag about Republicans, performed by Mr. Heller, employs some blunt sexual imagery, but even homophobes would have to laugh at the ultimate punch line. Mr. Finn's Jewish identity is also a defining element in his work. The nine-song ''Falsettos'' suite, which makes up a good part of the second act, begins with ''Four Jews in a Room Bitching.'' And ''The Baseball Game,'' sung by the whole company, explains itself in its opening line: ''We're watching Jewish boys who can't play baseball play baseball.'' The ''Falsettos'' suite is made up of songs from ''March of the Falsettos''; its sequel, ''Falsettoland''; and ''Falsettos,'' a combination of the two that opened on Broadway in 1992 and won the Tony Award for best book and best score. This section does have its frivolous moments, but ''Trina's Song,'' poignantly performed by Ms. Binion, isn't one of them, even with the lyric, ''I'm tired of all the happy men who rule the world.'' It is followed by the all-male ''March of the Falsettos,'' a funny, sad and meaningful dare to defy traditional definitions of masculinity. Just upstage from their proud parade, Ms. Binion quietly trudges offstage, pushing the previous number's prop, a giant (and obviously heavy) heart. The beauty of ''Make Me a Song'' is that the audience gradually falls into Mr. Finn's mind-set and goes along for the ride with his changing moods. For some numbers, though, a question comes to mind: What on earth did he write this thing for? ''How Marvin Eats His Breakfast,'' one of those numbers, is from ''In Trousers,'' an early, relatively unsuccessful Finn show. There is one number from his current Broadway hit, ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,'' which won Tony Awards last year for best music and lyrics. In ''Why We Like Spelling,'' the children explain musically, ''It's a way to not feel rotten.'' Clearly Mr. Finn still knows how to get inside our heads, at any age. ''Make Me a Song'' is at Theaterworks, 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, through Sept. 24. Information: (860) 527-7838 or www. theaterworkshartford.org. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E2DA133EF934A1575BC0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Page 1 of 2 THEATER REVIEW; Decades of Songs From William Finn, and Not Just in Falsetto - New York Times 01/09/2008 09:06 AM Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Work for Us Back to Top http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E2DA133EF934A1575BC0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Page 2 of 2.

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