Falling for Make Believe
Productions
Colony Theater, Los Angeles ● Skokie Theater, Chicago
The true story of Lorenz Hart is presented for the first time – his struggle with the closet and the bottle, his tortured relationship with his songwriting partner Richard Rodgers, and most poignantly, his ability to capture love in his lyrics, but not his life.
Playwright: Mark Saltzman
With songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Falling for Make Believe - Video Overview
“It's ultimately the numbers, that drive Saltzman's affecting narrative, sold by the accomplished ensemble...audiences should be bewitched.”
— Los Angeles Times
“..offers tender moments, two dozen of the pair's greatest hits and a sobering glimpse at the backstage paradox of Lorenz Hart.”
— Los Angeles Weekly
“You can't help but be awed and swept away by the music, and mourn the loss of such a tremendous talent...”Falling for Make Believe” is to be commended for telling the story of one of Broadway's most notorious romantics”
— Broadway World
More Reviews
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"Harry Truman once said, ‘The only thing new in this world is the history you don't know.’ ‘Falling for Make Believe’ offers something very new indeed."
— Burbank Leader
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"Dark, gritty and unsettling. But that, in turn, is what makes Mark Saltzman’s book the masterwork it is.”
— North Hollywood Patch
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"Mark Saltzman's new musical at the Colony is much more than a revue, masterfully capturing not only the wit and melancholy of Hart's lyrics but also the angst of his closeted, alcoholic adult years."
— LA Stage Times
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"If you're anywhere near Southern California, by all means go see ‘Falling for Make Believe.’ Here's hoping it will be performed elsewhere soon as well. If you're not familiar with Rodgers and Hart, it's a great introduction; if you are, you'll be, well, beguiled again."
— North Hollywood Patch
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"The brief but artistically blessed life of legendary Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart now serves as the inspiration for ‘Falling for Make Believe’, a Colony Theatre world premiere musical that entertains, elucidates, and ends up this spring's most unexpected treat."
— Stage Scene LA
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This gem of a new musical contains some of the best theater music ever written, showcased by the surprising story of the man who wrote the lyrics. It's a compassionate tale simply wrought that doesn't over- sentimentalize its subject but offers a thoughtful look at the price of genius and one poet of Broadway's gift of words.”
— Musicals In LA
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“The Colony Theatre ends its ‘Season of Premieres’ with a base-clearing home run. ‘Falling For Make Believe’ combines terrific Broadway song-and-dance with a compelling drama of the life of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart."
— MyBurbank.com
Named Best of 2013 LA Theater
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“Mark Saltzman is one smart cookie. He approaches his new bio-musical of the legendary Lorenz Hart with a passionate curiosity about the great man’s life and career: Intellectual curiosity about what was and curiosity for what might have been. And, oh, those Rodgers & Hart songs which are magnificently arranged this Colony Theatre world premiere.”
— Stage and Cinema
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"Musicals that piggyback on existing scores by the greats don't get much better than this glimpse into the closeted life of Lorenz Hart and his very platonic and sometimes stormy relationship with his composing partner Richard Rodgers. Although Mark Saltzman's book has its own "make believe," it hews much closer to the truth than previous fictional depictions of Hart. In its premiere at the Colony, it already had been streamlined to a fast-paced length that many shows reach only in their second or third productions. So where and when is this show's second production? I want to see it again.”
— Don Shirley, LA Stage Times