March of the Falsettos

March of the Falsettos
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Music	William Finn
Lyrics	William Finn
Book	William Finn
Productions	1981 Off-Broadway

March of the Falsettos is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by William Finn.

A sequel to In Trousers, the one-acter continues the story of Marvin and his journey in search of self-understanding, inner peace, and a life with a "happily ever after" ending. His extended family consists of ex-wife Trina, son Jason, gay lover Whizzer Brown, and psychiatrist Mendel, who complicates matters by becoming involved with Trina. By the end of the piece, Marvin is still unsettled, but he at least knows he has salvaged his relationship with his son.

The musical premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on May 20, 1981 and closed on September 26, 1981. It transferred to the Westside Theatre on October 13, 1981 and closed on January 31, 1982 after 268 performances. Directed by James Lapine, the cast included Michael Rupert (Marvin), Alison Fraser (Trina), James Kushner (Jason), Stephen Bogardus (Whizzer), and Chip Zien (Mendel). An original cast recording was released by DRG Records.

The UK premiere of the show was at the intimate Library Theatre in Manchester, UK in 1987, directed by Roger Haines and Paul Kerryson. This production, featuring Barry James, Martin Smith, Paddy Navin, Simon Green and Damien Walker, transferred to London later in that year for a short run.

Finn completed his Marvin trilogy with Falsettoland, which eventually became, with March of the Falsettos, the two-act Broadway musical Falsettos.

It's 1979 in New York City, Marvin, his son Jason, his psychiatrist Mendel, and his male lover Whizzer are Four Jews In A Room Bitching (well, technically, Whizzer's only "half Jewish"). Marvin steps forward to explain his situation: He has left his wife, Trina, for Whizzer, but Marvin wants A Tight-Knit Family and is attempting to forge a new family situation with the addition of Whizzer, a situation no one is that happy with.

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