The multi-talented Willy Falk has had a successful career as an actor, singer and concert performer, which also includes quite a few turns on opera stages. When the hit Miss Saigon opened on Broadway on April 11, 1991, critics took notice of Falk; he subsequently earned a Tony Award nomination as leading man “Chris.” Falk went on to perform in seven more Broadway shows and many touring productions across the United States and around the world. He has also performed extensively in Broadway, pop, and classical concerts. In late 2018 he made his solo cabaret debut with Mostly Love, following that in 2019 with the release of his debut CD of the same name.
NiteLife Exhange (NLE) asks Willy Falk (WF) Six Questions:
NLE: You were on a Disney cruise ship as a performer when the world went into the pandemic crisis and lockdown. What was it like to be confronted with that realization? Was the process of leaving the ship to making your way back home worrisome?
WF: The disappointing part was that I only had a few blissful performances in their beautiful 1,500-seat theatre before the decision was made to no longer have guests on board in March. The crew did remain on the ship for several weeks just to be sure nothing developed and we were deemed Covid-free. So, it was safety for us, while we learned on the news of the suffering that so many endured all over the world.
NLE: You’re a graduate of Hawaii’s legendary Punahou school. What is it about this school that creates lasting ties to it among alumni? You also recently participated in an online teaching session with Punahou’s students. How do you feel about that experience?
WF: You’ve been doing some sleuthing about my past, my fault, I fear. As a stage performer, I don’t often talk about my school affiliations because it doesn’t have much relevance for an audience. I mean, if a show is a turkey, it won’t sell more tickets because the leading lady graduated from Princeton, will it? On the other hand, I do believe in a solid liberal arts education. It is valuable to have an overview of how we have arrived at the current point in history.… and it makes watching “Jeopardy” much more fun.
I do have a deep affection for Punahou School, and its alumni have some of the highest participation statistics around. One of its unique qualities is their ethos of achieving harmony through knowledge and understanding. Being a large school on a small island in the most ethnically and culturally diverse state in the US, they instill in their students the concept of the Hawaiian word Ohana (family) and apply that standard to all that they do. Deal with others as if they are part of your extended family with empathy, honesty, and integrity. Students learn about the many cultures of the world, assess the differences and similarities, and through their studies, expand their understanding of the world far beyond their rock in the middle of the ocean. An important part of the spirit of Ohana is giving back. Projects big and small that help others are structured into the school’s yearly schedule and participation is compulsory.
I will note here that there are many more famous Punahou grads than I… President Obama, Steve Case (AOL), Pierre Omidyar (Ebay), Carrie Ann Inaba, Ann Harada, Jason Tam and Buster Crabbe to name a few.
My online teaching was just a chat about a career in music for an elementary choral class. The sound delay with current technology and multiple feeds makes it impossible to rehearse choral singing remotely… so the teacher is filling time until a solution is found.
NLE: In addition to your extraordinary talent and successful career, you also have an impressive educational background. How do you assess the virtual world that’s now opened up to us as a tool for education as well as performance? Is this the future or a band-aid for the current situation?
WF: Your description of me is too generous, but I thank you for it. In my mind, I was just a kid who did his homework carefully and on time, who worked hard at his stagecraft, and got a few lucky breaks in some areas of show business. Recently, one theatre critic commented on the many phases of my career and dubbed me “the little engine that could.†That made me smile!
I would say that the current “virtual” bonanza is a very useful band-aid, but not all people in the US and around the world have the bandwidth or the devices to avail themselves of it. This we often forget. Sadly, it is still out of the reach of many in our country and elsewhere. However, I believe that after Covid, many businesses will think twice before sending their executives flying across the globe to attend a meeting, and good for them. A very important by-product of the proliferation of cell phones and surveillance cameras is the sharing of videos that give shocking testament to injustices and atrocities that would have gone unpunished. And to think of how often similar acts may have occurred and been covered up or ignored in the past is disturbing in the extreme.
As far as theatre goes, there simply is no virtual equivalent. A live performance is a sacred, shared moment in time. We must wait. They said cable TV would kill live theater and it did not. And Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was closed twice for extended periods of time at the turn of the 17th century to stem the spread of plague. There is history.
NLE: What music benefits or helps you most during this time and why? Is there a healing or spiritual or other special component to what you choose to listen to?
WF: When I need a break from my obsession with online international radio news broadcasts (I recommend BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle, and NHK World… all available in English), then I will listen to opera and Chopin. The beautiful sounds that opera singers produce, using the same vocal instrument we use to speak, fills me with wonder and delight. And Chopin’s works are so exquisitely beautiful. They send my imagination soaring, especially as played by Maria João Pires.
NLE: What benefit for the arts, if not humanity, do you think might come from this worldwide crisis when it’s over? Are we headed to a “brave new world,” or do you think there will be an eventual return to business pretty much as usual?
WF: It seems clear that what is needed to re-open safely and quickly is either a reliable treatment, a prophylaxis, or a vaccine. Until then, we need to take collective and individual responsibility to impede the spread of the virus. As far as some possible benefit to humanity, the pandemic has re-confirmed that there is no retreating from globalization. Just as a virus in one country can quickly spread to the rest of the world, pollution and deforestation in one country will hasten destruction of the whole planet. Nuclear proliferation is a worldwide issue that is being hashed out in a patchwork of bi-lateral treaties. Our global alliances are in jeopardy and isolationism is taking root at a critical time. More and more, our problems are global and the solutions must inevitably be global.
NLE: Are you setting goals for yourself now? Looking ahead to projects or working on one? Will there be a follow-up to your wonderful CD, Mostly Love?
WF: My debut CD, Willy Falk: Mostly Love, has now been accepted by all the streaming media outlets: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, IHeart, Tik Tok and tons of others. I would be thrilled to be on someone’s playlist, hint, hint. Funny thing: when I went to set up my artist’s profile on Spotify, I found that my name was already there and my most popular track, with many thousands of listens, is “Bitch, Bitch, Bitch,†a song I recorded years ago on the concept album of Jekyll & Hyde. So, for the foreseeable future, my artist’s page pretty much reads: Willy Falk “Bitch, Bitch, Bitch!â€
While performing at the Blue Note in Hawaii in February, I recorded two Hawaiian songs with an amazing slack-key guitarist. After some finishing touches on the vocals here in New York, those will be released as singles.
And, my new follow-up cabaret show to Mostly Love is Mostly Romance. It is all ready to go and I can’t wait to be able to perform it in NY. The difference between Love and Romance?  Come see the show to find out!
Watch this video to experience his extraordinary talent and to find out why Willy Falk was Tony nominated for Miss Saigon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3XUi6jZhkI
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