Broadway Originals

When Scott Siegel announced that the 5th annual edition of "Broadway Originals," where original cast members return to perform their signature songs, would feature a tribute to "Falsettos" with its original cast, I assumed this meant that a quick medley of songs would be performed at the top of the show. Oh boy, was I wrong. And happily so. Siegel turned Act Two into a mini "Falsettos" reunion concert, featuring a total of 10 songs from "March of the Falsettos" (Act One of "Falsettos" on Broadway) and "Falsettoland" (Act Two).

The entire original Broadway cast was assembled including Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus, Chip Zien, Jonathan Kaplan, Barbara Walsh, Heather MacRae, and Janet Metz. Actually, that's not entirely true. Metz was not in the Broadway cast (she was already under contract to do a different show when it transferred to Broadway, and got replaced by Carolee Carmello), but she was in the Off-Broadway cast of "Falsettoland" and can be heard on its original cast album. Jonathan Kaplan, who received a Tony nomination for his performance as the Bar Mitzvah-bound young boy Jason, is now 29-years-old, very tall and handsome, and sports a robust voice. It was noted that he was set to get married the day following the concert.

To say that the reunion concert was emotional would be an understatement. William Finn's score has lost none of its intensity, and the assortment of ballads and group numbers performed sounded absolutely gorgeous. Barbara Walsh, performing "Breaking Down" (written for "In Trousers" and later interpolated into Act One of "Falsettos"), was a riot, falling off a piano bench and then onto the floor. Stephen Bogardus rocked the house with "The Games I Play," as did Michael Rupert in "What More Can I Say." Chip Zien, who has lost none of his comic flavor, was wonderful in "Everyone Hates His Parents." Congrats also to Scott Coulter, director of "Broadway Originals," for the classy and powerful manner in which "Falsettos" was packaged.

Act One was far less powerful emotionally, but still provided some entertainment. Sharon McNight reprised "Hard to Be Diva" from "Starmites" with sass and egotism. Marc Kudisch, the resident clown of the "Broadway By the Year" series, had a ball reprising "Breezing Through the Day" from "The Wild Party" and "Forbidden Fruit" from "Apple Tree," during which he even did a moonwalk in his glittery jacket. Daisy Egan was flown out from Los Angeles to reprise "The Girl I Mean to Be," which she sang in "The Secret Garden" at age 11. Celia Keenan-Bolger received hearty applause for "On My Own" from "Les Miz," but managed to bring tears to my eyes with "My Friend the Dictionary" from "Spelling Bee." (I found it extremely fitting that composer Bill Finn happened to be sitting fourth row on the aisle, where Keenan-Bolger's character has saved a chair for her dad.)

And to close Act One, Stephen J. Block gave a high-powered reprise of "Get Out and Stay Out," her upbeat 11-o-clock song from "9 to 5." Siegel noted that although "9 to 5" had just closed, Block is sure to be singing "Get Out and Stay Out" for the rest of her career. Ugh, was that a threat? "Get Out and Stay Out" is a pretty awful song that sounds as if it was written for an aerobics class. Here's hoping that Block gets to perform better songs in the future.