Welcome back to my 'And the Tony Almost Went to...' series, where I take a deep dive into a show that was the (likely) runner-up in the Best Musical race of any previous Tony Awards year. Today, we'll be taking a look back at 1992.
Falsettos follows Marvin, who struggles to keep his family together after leaving his wife, Trina, for a male lover, Whizzer. The idea for this show began when songwriter William Finn debuted a separate one-act musical in 1978 titled In Trousers, which centered on Marvin questioning his sexuality. After opening to scathing reviews, Finn considered abandoning musical theatre to go to medical school. Yet as he struggled in his science classes, he discarded those plans and decided to go back to writing about Marvin.
In 1981, a follow-up titled March of the Falsettos opened at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons. James Lapine came onboard to not only direct, but to also help shape the material into a more coherent book. Nine years after that show proved to be more successful, Finn and Lapine re-teamed for a sequel set within the context of the AIDS epidemic titled Falsettoland. Shortly thereafter, the two of them decided to combine both into a full-length musical.
Falsettos finally opened on April 29th, 1992 at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway. The original cast included Michael Rupert as Marvin, Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer, Barbara Walsh as Trina, Jonathan Kaplan as Jason, Chip Zien as Mendel, Carolee Carmello as Cordelia, and Heather MacRae as Charlotte.
The production received 7 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Michael Rupert), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Jonathan Kaplan), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Barbara Walsh), Best Direction of a Musical (James Lapine), Best Book of a Musical (William Finn & James Lapine)*, and Best Original Score (William Finn)*.
*denotes an award it won.
Yet the top prize went to the more feel good show of the season that was...
In 1981, a follow-up titled March of the Falsettos opened at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons. James Lapine came onboard to not only direct, but to also help shape the material into a more coherent book. Nine years after that show proved to be more successful, Finn and Lapine re-teamed for a sequel set within the context of the AIDS epidemic titled Falsettoland. Shortly thereafter, the two of them decided to combine both into a full-length musical.
Falsettos finally opened on April 29th, 1992 at the John Golden Theatre on Broadway. The original cast included Michael Rupert as Marvin, Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer, Barbara Walsh as Trina, Jonathan Kaplan as Jason, Chip Zien as Mendel, Carolee Carmello as Cordelia, and Heather MacRae as Charlotte.
The production received 7 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Michael Rupert), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Jonathan Kaplan), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Barbara Walsh), Best Direction of a Musical (James Lapine), Best Book of a Musical (William Finn & James Lapine)*, and Best Original Score (William Finn)*.
*denotes an award it won.
Yet the top prize went to the more feel good show of the season that was...
Why Didn't Falsettos Win?: From research I've done, it was a small musical with a small cast and a big critical reputation, but struggled for attention against rampant Broadway marquee glut. In fact, after the ceremony, William Finn told the New York Times that there was a heady time when he thought "that since we got book and score, we might get the whole thing." It was also reported that the show "may have fallen short because, with a small cast and no star performers, it lacked the glitz that Tony voters have come to expect in a Broadway musical."
This was back during a long era where if a musical wanted to succeed on Broadway, it had to go big or go home. That was certainly the case with Crazy for You, an adaptation of George & Ira Gershwin's 1930 musical, Girl Crazy. It notably incorporated a good deal of the legendary songwriting team's catalogue. Kind of similar to what we saw happen at this year's Tonys with Schmigadoon! taking the top prize, a majority of voters picked Crazy for You because to them, it represented the Broadway's glorious past. It also took home awards for Best Choreography (Susan Stroman) and Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long).
Following the one-two punch of a British mega musical dominating the Tonys with Les Misérables in 1987 and The Phantom of the Opera in 1988, there also might've been an appetite of championing something more traditional. From 1989-92, we got winners like Jerome Robbins' Broadway, City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, and Crazy for You. Although interestingly enough, the next few after this were more challenging such as Kiss of the Spider Woman, Passion, Rent, and Titanic. Weird how the pendulum can swing back and forth like that.
As for how both shows fared in the long run, Falsettos closed on June 27th, 1993 after 486 performances. It went on to spawn two national tours and a Tony nominated revival that was captured and broadcast on PBS. Meanwhile, Crazy for You closed on January 7th, 1996 after 1,622 performances. Since then, it's spawned a two-year national tour, three West End productions, and has been presented at various regional theaters. When Paper Mill Playhouse did it in 1999, it was also captured and broadcast on PBS.
For those wondering, Jelly's Last Jam will be the subject for 'How Close Were They?' when I eventually cover this race for that series.
This was back during a long era where if a musical wanted to succeed on Broadway, it had to go big or go home. That was certainly the case with Crazy for You, an adaptation of George & Ira Gershwin's 1930 musical, Girl Crazy. It notably incorporated a good deal of the legendary songwriting team's catalogue. Kind of similar to what we saw happen at this year's Tonys with Schmigadoon! taking the top prize, a majority of voters picked Crazy for You because to them, it represented the Broadway's glorious past. It also took home awards for Best Choreography (Susan Stroman) and Best Costume Design (William Ivey Long).
Following the one-two punch of a British mega musical dominating the Tonys with Les Misérables in 1987 and The Phantom of the Opera in 1988, there also might've been an appetite of championing something more traditional. From 1989-92, we got winners like Jerome Robbins' Broadway, City of Angels, The Will Rogers Follies, and Crazy for You. Although interestingly enough, the next few after this were more challenging such as Kiss of the Spider Woman, Passion, Rent, and Titanic. Weird how the pendulum can swing back and forth like that.
As for how both shows fared in the long run, Falsettos closed on June 27th, 1993 after 486 performances. It went on to spawn two national tours and a Tony nominated revival that was captured and broadcast on PBS. Meanwhile, Crazy for You closed on January 7th, 1996 after 1,622 performances. Since then, it's spawned a two-year national tour, three West End productions, and has been presented at various regional theaters. When Paper Mill Playhouse did it in 1999, it was also captured and broadcast on PBS.
For those wondering, Jelly's Last Jam will be the subject for 'How Close Were They?' when I eventually cover this race for that series.