Source: amNY.com
Date: November 15, 2007
Byline: Matt Windman

'Make Me' a fine revue

At the start of "Make Me a Song," a recording of the title song, sung by some unknown guy with a deep, flat voice, is blasted through the theater. At the same time, a neon image is lit up of a large, older man's face (i.e. William Finn). Then an actor takes the stage, looks up at the image, and mouths "Who is that?"

The emotional power of a William Finn song is Paralyzing. Shattering. Cathartic. Awesome. It's a shame that his output consists only of the "Falsettos" trilogy, "A New Brain," "Elegies" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." But, just as the title of his new revue suggests, Finn knows how to write an extremely well-crafted musical theater song.

Among the post-Sondheim generation of Broadway songwriters (Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChuisa), William Finn stands out because his songs, whether slow or up-tempo, are vividly detailed character pieces that extend musical theater writing to unseen psychological capacities.

"Make Me a Song," which originally premiered a year ago in Hartford, CT, uses four vocally powerful actors (Sandy Binion, Adam Heller, D.B. Bonds, Sally Wilfert), plus piano, on a mostly bare stage to explore the bulk of Finn's better songs. (Note: nothing from "Spelling Bee" is used.)

"Falsettos" receives its own mini-section, where about fifteen minutes of material are performed, among them "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" and "Unlikely Lovers". But the revue is most effective when exploring either Finn's trunk of songs cut from other musicals ("Republicans," "Hitchhiking Across America") or "Elegies," another revue that consists of tributes to friends and family of Finn that have passed away.

As the revue ended, one thought: Mister Finn, make me more songs!

Related link: Talking to William Finn