'Falsettos' tour brings Broadway vet Eden Espinosa to Chicago

Actress Eden Espinosa has wowed theater audiences for more than 15 years. She has triumphed as Elphaba in “Wicked” in both New York and Los Angeles, and has the distinction of playing Maureen in the final Broadway company of “Rent.”

But Espinosa had never played Chicago - until now. She will change that starting Tuesday, May 28, when the national tour of the Tony Award-winning 1992 musical “Falsettos” plays a 16-performance run at the James M. Nederlander Theatre.

The tour is based on an acclaimed 2016 Lincoln Center Theater revival overseen by the musical's creators: songwriter William Finn (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) and playwright/director James Lapine (“Into the Woods,” “Sunday in the Park With George”).

“Having access to the creators and having them be involved is always such a gift,” said Espinosa about working with Finn and Lapine. The two initially dreamed up the characters of “Falsettos” in three separate one-act off-Broadway musicals: “In Trousers” in 1979, “March of the Falsettos” in 1981 and “Falsettoland” in 1990.

Espinosa plays the Jewish mother Trina, a woman in crisis. Her husband, Marvin, has just left her and their son, Jason, for his gay lover Whizzer.

“I didn't want her to be bitter, although she's hurt,” said Espinosa of her take on Trina. “She's the fixer and she's constantly trying to take care of people, as hard as it is at times to accept what has happened.”

Things take an even odder turn when Marvin's psychiatrist starts to romantically woo Trina. And then there's Marvin's lesbian neighbors, who arrive on the scene in Act II. That's when the musical takes a tragic turn when one character is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

“As a cast we do take the responsibility to remind people and also to educate the younger generations about the AIDS crisis,” said Espinosa, adding that she has lost loved ones to AIDS. “Younger generations don't know that it was almost certainly a death sentence in the early years of the epidemic.”

Not only is “Falsettos” an emotional workout, it's a physical one, too, thanks to set designer David Rockwell's Jenga-like set that gets reconfigured throughout the show.

“These characters are so incredibly human and flawed, which as an actor is a gift,” Espinosa said. “It's so much fun, and difficult, and exhausting.”

“Falsettos”

<b>Location:</b> James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com

<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (also June 2), 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (and June 5); from May 28 through June 9

<b>Tickets:</b> $23.50-$156.50