William Finn, the two-time Tony-winning writer and composer of the musical Falsettos, as well as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the song cycle Elegies, and the musical A New Brain, has passed away at age 73, according to his literary agent, Ron Gwiazda, who confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.
Falsettos is considered a classic of gay theater, and won the Tonys for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, and was nominated for five others.
Originally written as two different installments, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, the musical follows an extended family consisting of gay man Marvin, his younger lover Whizzer, his ex-wife Trina, their son Jason, their neighbors and their therapist.
The musical shows Marvin and his family as they figure out their dynamics in 1979. Later, in 1981, Whizzer gets sick and dies of AIDS-related illness.
The original Broadway production opened in 1992, was directed by James Lapine, and starred Michael Rupert, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Walsh, and Chip Zien.
In 2016, a Broadway revival of Falsettos starred Christian Borle (as Marvin) and Andrew Rannells (as Whizzer), who were both nominated for Tonys along with their co-stars Brandon Uranowitz and Stephanie J. Block.
Finn collaborated with Lapine several more times in his career, including on the autobiographical musical A New Brain.
Finn and Lapine's other most popular musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, premiered on Broadway in 2005, and was nominated for six Tony awards, winning two. It starred Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Dan Fogler, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, among others.
Finn is survived by his life partner, Arthur Salvadore.
