Thanks to our hard-working friends in the press and the blogs for their serious evaluations of Falsettos, we’re glad our efforts were so well-appreciated.
From Jay Weitz in the Columbus Alive:
“Falsettos” proves that last year’s “Merrily We Roll Along” from Available Light was no fluke. No other Central Ohio theater company takes the chances that Available Light does. And no other company makes chances pay off as spectacularly.
From Dwayne Steward of Queer Corner:
Director John Dranschak, who also helmed AVLT’s first and extremely successful foray into musicals with “Merrily We Roll Along” last year, assembles a stunning cast for “Falsettos.” “Falsettos” is a family tale that will take you on an old-fashioned ride, but in the hands of Available Light, it’s a ride that you’ll not soon want to depart.
From Richard Ades in The Other Paper:
Available Light refuses to play it safe.Even when it stages an established musical, it declines to take the easy route … The real test of a family is how it reacts when trouble strikes. Available Light’s production drives that point home with unerring precision.
From Michael Grossberg in the Columbus Dispatch:
The production opened to laughter, sad sighs and applause last night in the Riffe Center’s Studio One Theatre. Director John Dranschak has staged the ensemble production with tender conviction. The seven-person cast, which seems as resilient as the characters, sings and acts with passion and sensitivity. Music director Pam Welsh-Huggins draws out the wistful harmonies of the score with the help of the small pit band, visible behind a scrim in the well-designed and delightfully intimate production. This is the type of musical that benefits from an intimate staging, and Available Light’s topnotch design and directing team places it to best advantage for maximum humor and heart.
From Richard Sanford of Screen of Distance:
The beautiful part of this is the contrast between the small moments, one voice or two coiling around each other, and those seconds where the whole mosaic reveals itself, the greater patterns that vanish into the ether as soon as they pass. Scott Johnson as Marvin is an absolute wonder. It’s as good a performance as I’ve seen all year and his shrug in the opening of the second act as he sings “It’s time to grow up, don’t you think?” is something that will stick with me for a long, long time. Adam Crawford as Jason, their son, is quite good, nailing his songs, especially on his heart-rending part of “Father and Son”. Nick Lingnofski has the showiest, most broadly comic part in the show and he destroys with it.
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