I Love Them

Rest in peace William Finn.

To the man who never knew I existed, thank you. He helped me feel comfortable in my sexuality when I was most vulnerable (in middle school) while making it fun.

His music held my hand through the bullying and torment that comes with being queer. The songs that he wrote shielded me from ever listening to those harsh comments. Falsettos made me the person who I am today and I couldn’t be happier.

He pioneered openly gay media that wasn’t played as a joke. I know Rocky Horror Picture Show came out 3 years before In Trousers did but (as much as I love Rocky horror) the queer themes were played as a joke. William made Marvin a raw and flawed character that felt like a human being. He brought life to characters that resonated with the queer community at the very beginnings of the modern lgbtq movement.

It shatters me that he passed away at 73 while Trump is still alive. I especially feel bad for his husband, Arthur. Bill impacted the lives of millions of people and his music will continue to bring joy and hope to the queer community for years to come. What more can I say?

OH MY GOD ITS ACTUALLY OFFICIAL

SHOUT OUT TO MY AMAZING MOOT @exploderizing FOR ALL THE LIKES

My analysis on whizzers first move in whizzvin chess game

Ok so, Marvin mentions in ‘this had better come to a stop' that he'd rather Whizzer like him for his smarts; and in "Marvin at the psychiatrist" he says one of the things he likes about Whizzer is that Whizzer makes him feel smart. In "the Chess game" Whizzer is acting dumb, like he doesn't even know the pieces or what they do, asking Marvin for help because he's helpless, but he ends up making a very good first move! I think he was just pretending to be dumb so Marvin wouldn't feel emasculated. We also know Whizzer puts on an act to be loved without having to reveal his true self and be hurt when his true self is rejected (though, this usually causes his relationships to be unstable, flings, or casual when he truly wants something meaningful), and I think-if we're using the chess game as a metaphor for their relationship-this may have been Whizzer letting that act go for a second, showing his true self to Marvin, which is why Marvin looks so caught off guard, and also why Whizzer is so horribly upset in "the games I play"; because his worst fear has come true. He showed his true self, and got rejected for it.

hey here are some theories I made (to my knowledge, if you have a similar one feel free to compare :) ), copied from my notes app:

Four Jews and March of the Falsettos are from the perspective of Trina / are inside Trina’s head:

In both songs, the men are being immature, wearing costumes, and have very repetitive lyrics (“Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch // funny, funny, funny, funny” and (“March, march, march of the Falsettos, March of the Falsettos”). Jason is portrayed as helpless/ needing Trina’s help (“In case of smoke please call our mothers on the phone…” and the covering of his eyes in MOTF, showing he is blind (or Trina what perceives him as) to the ‘struggles’/ problems in the family.

Marvin faked the STD’s (Love is Blind)

In In Trousers, Marvin, by Trina (or ‘Marvin’s Wife’, as she is referred to then), says “We lay in bed, he plays dead” so he doesn’t have time to have s3x with/ humour Trina.

In Love is Blind (MOTF), Marvin is said (again, by Trina, but also Marvin this time) to have syphillis and hepatitis, but in a following line she says “Which appears now… [hepatitis and syphillis are] …well forgotten” meaning that Trina herself never had them.

Now, that could be because Marvin used it to not have s3x in the first place, or that they did have s3x, and he used it as an excuse after to not do it again (going off of the line “I am probably diseased”). So, that means 1; that Trina never certainly knew that she had an STD (or two), or 2; she either didn’t go to the doctor, which doesn’t seem like, as they’re all described as neurotic — prone to worrying (especially considering my previous theory; Four Jews went on inside Trina’s head, the men say “we’re neurotic”, showing she also considers herself neurotic too). And so if she did go to the doctor, they didn’t find anything, because she isn’t certain. The doctors probably said to forget about it, or that’s how she interpreted her words, so she still had the inkling, but not the confirmation.

Chess — Whizzer; Queen to King

Whizzer is portrayed to resemble the queen when he and Marvin play chess, saying “I fear I’ve lost my head” used as an execution method for royalty (moreso queens), and picking up the queen instead of a pawn (this is important in my opinion because he could’ve picked up any other piece; a bishop, a rook, a knight, or even the king. I find it interesting that it was the Queen specifically).

Another thing to mention is that Whizzer is shown as the narrator (moreso in MOTF) and less of the family. He moves around the most, narrating in places that he isn’t physically in, instead metaphorically to narrate to the audience. A similarity to the Queen in chess; moving anywhere on the board, in any direction (besides the knight).

However, in act 2, when Whizzer falls ill, he stays on the hospital bed; in the hospital; in one place. In his solo (“You Gotta Die Sometime”), he moves from the bed, yes, into the chair; one square on the board. Like the King.

Cool thing I also found: in “The Chess Game”, Whizzer moves his h2 pawn to h4 and Marvin moves his h7 pawn to h5 :)

I love how the name mendel means ‘little man’

Mini Whizzvin analysis!!

this is so cheeks I'm sorry

Games are a frequent mention throughout falsettos, even more so in act 1, shown in lyrics like "these are the games I play"/"I bet on the horses"/"I think games are, I think chess is the most beautiful thing"/"I intend to upset, this regrettable game" < this one is relevant to this analysis

Of course, act 2 also includes games, more so actual sports such as baseball and racquetball (racquetball is relevant to this one, too)

I think games also center heavily around the development of Whizzer and Marvin's relationship, or at least symbolize it. Games tend to build up Whizzer and Marvin's relationship, while instead of physical board games, it's mind games, coming from both whizzer AND marvin. Lyrics like "he makes me smile a lot, especially at mealtimes, makes me feel I'm kind of smart." Symbolize how they toy with the other to build up their own self esteem. Tying back to the lyric "I intend to upset this regrettable game". Their mind games consist of constant bluffs about leaving, that their relationship is going to end, until the chess game, Marvin teaches whizzer to play, thinking that it'll make him feel smarter, feeling better at something than Whizzer is. When Whizzer ends up distracting Marvin, using it to his advantage and winning, turning it into his own play on Marvin, Marvin's final attempt at making a play on Whizzer is getting a suitcase, thinking Whizzer won't actually leave. When Whizzer does, Marvin's fantasy is shattered when Marvin finds out that he wasn't really as smart as he thought he was.

Then, in act 2, the main game focused in their newfound relationship is racquetball. Marvin is still on a consistent loss streak when they play, but they're harmful losses. This shows how Marvin grows to be content with loss. During the racquetball game, Whizzer and Marvin seem genuinely happy and in love. It's not about building one's esteem, it's about being present with each other.

This is so fucking CHEEEKS LMAOO but yeah! Whizzvin

Oh queer period pieces how I love thee

Ahem.

Fellow Travelers

The Marvin Trilogy

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Perfect Arrangement

Boys in the Band

Brokeback Mountain

probably been said before but what if the reason Marvin’s background is yellow on the falsettos cover (2016) is because of the ‘the room is yellow’ line

Second part of the cube for user wearingpants.

And of course my phone camera went caput. The cylinder is 1 inch diameter by 1 3/4 inch.