Falsettos

Act One

Our story begins in New York City in 1979. Marvin has just divorced his wife Trina and taken up with his male lover, Whizzer. Marvin, along with his son Jason, Whizzer, and his psychiatrist Mendel, explain the situation to the audience (“Four Jews in a Room Bitching”). Although he has essentially left his wife and child for someone else, Marvin is determined to have “A Tight-Knit Family” and insists on forging ahead with his new family dynamic--a situation no one is happy with.

Trina, despondent over the failure of her marriage, takes a trip to the psychiatrist. Mendel (who is instantly smitten with her) consoles her by insisting that “Love Is Blind.” Meanwhile, Marvin and Whizzer have their own relationship struggles: they have practically nothing in common besides their sex drive and their love of fighting. They wonder if perhaps the “Thrill of First Love” is passing them by.

We then segue into “Marvin at the Psychiatrist (A Three-Part Mini-Opera).” Part one features