Falsettos

longer review of the set and also just my other thoughts and things i’ve noticed. making a home is where the use of just blocks changes into more realistic furniture, however, not quite like act 2 just yet. having items that are realistic but keeping the blocks as the main furniture. in marvin hits trina marvin punches the doorframe which is made of blocks and him punching it down could symbolise (so close to act two) the shift to realistic furniture, by the destruction of the block furniture. this can also be said for about time where marvin knocks over the house, and everyone else lightly shakes it, they are kinda pulling away from the fantasy but he is completely. this is where they also attempt to move and re build slightly where as he just sits. in what more can i say, the bed is made of blocks again, using a blanket, continuing the pivot from fantasy to reality. assuming this could be around the time where aids/gay adverts were in newspapers, spreading misinformation and fear mongering. marvin could be on the optimistic side, thinking people become infected and sick quickly and that hasn’t happened to either of them so it never will. in holding to the ground trina walks from a chair to a block, while singing about real situations and while real furniture is being brought in, she sits on the block in that fantasy despite still singing about a real situation that doesn’t have a name yet. after jason’s bar mitzvah they take away all the furniture from marvin, only real furniture but they move it all away for the scene but also as a full hit of reality. the way the characters interact with the furniture (mainly the blocks, as another means of fantasy) is also very indicative of their character, marvin is often seen pushing the blocks very firmly and aggressively, such as in marvin hits trina and even when he pushes it over in falsettoland/about time. (when he does do this they all slightly re-arrange the blocks and sit on them- making the best of a bad situation???) during tight knit family reprise he pushes one which mendel grabs onto and they grapple with it between themselves, furthering their tension filled relationship by using the set design. the last scene, before falsettoland reprise, during what would i do, every set piece is removed, both blocks and actual furniture. marvin is struggling with pretending that everything is okay when it isn’t. then in falsettoland reprise the large block is reconstructed and brought back in, with mendel and jason removing a piece in the centre for whizzers grave, showing the hole his absence/death left in all their life. it leaves a big unignored symbol in the middle of every characters life. david rockwell you are a genius. (casting) due to the characters often staying on stage during other characters songs instead of going offstage it’s so crucial that they stay in character which they do PERFECTLY. genuinely as much of a christian borle glazer as i am he is, along with the rest of the cast, cast perfectly. of course i imagine the characters looking like this due to the fact that i watched this version of the show first of course i would think the casting is good but it is genuinely on point and all of their on stage and off stage chemistry is so clear and elevates the acting and the whole show so much. they were all ROBBED at the 2017 tony’s wdym they lost to dear evan hansen freak off bro. (themes/relevance) this show is still so relevant now, especially trina’s character. there is one clip of her singing “trina’s song” the night that trump first got elected in 2016, which, since he is elected again remains relevant. the emotion in her voice genuinely shows how much of an impact these lyrics written years before were relevant then and, with the way i always react to that song it is still needed now. the lyrics of that song along with it being interrupted in the middle is perfect and brings the point across so clearly. trina you are so real i love you. this, along with the uncertainty of unlikely lovers and how charlotte talks about how lgbtq+ issues, especially AIDs is pushed down in the media, then. but also now but obviously because of social media and online spaces people are able to bring these issues to light easily and people can access more information. honestly the whole story of a queer and non-traditional family is handled with so much care and is so relatable to many people. (other thoughts) very important that trina lays down the chessboard which eventually ends the relationship between marvin and whizzer in act one, and then uses the same blocks from the chess game to form the central part of their home in ‘making a home’ whizzer singing in making a home means the world to me omg…. the chessboard (up to making a home) is kind of the only actual prop object. marvin knocks over the set to whizzer at the opposite bend to him, pans to whizzer, trina and jason- marvin’s “perfect” family. marvin also interrupts the rest of them singing falsettoland to sing about time about himself even in act 2. he only really gets better when whizzer gets worse, or just when he gets whizzer back. the first thing whizzer says to marvin when he gets visibly sick is sorry and the last thing whizzer says to jason is thank you bruh. by having mendel be an actual psychiatrist and not a doctor in the scene in “days like this” when him and trina are saying “he’ll make you well” and “i’ll make you well” it’s showing obvious he can’t do that because he’s not a doctor and even doctors can’t fix this but also the lack of understanding from straight people around the AIDS epidemic. they are trying to understand and help but especially in the early stages of the 80s it was difficult. cordelia and charlotte’s names are never mentioned in the show, showing how lesbians are forgotten as parts of the AIDs epidemic but campaigned and advocated at the time and helped comfort and care for those affected. also it’s never mentioned what illness whizzer has, due to it being 1981 and the name for it did not exist due to the little information known along with the fear and confusion. thank you william finn and james lapine. this show is a work of genius and i love it so much.