History Theatre / Falsettos

* AmbiguouslyJewish: In the revival [[note]]Changed back in the tour cast.[[/note]] , Cordelia's title was changed from "kosher caterer" to "{{Shiksa| goddess}} caterer". Although the term Shiksa can simply refer to any non-Jewish woman, in accordance with the above trope, it has generally come to be used to refer to a Gentile woman who marries a Jewish man, with the implication that she is trying to tempt him away from his faith. Her partner, Dr. Charlotte, is never explicitly referred to as Jewish in the text, but this change seems to imply that she is intended to be.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: In the revival, Cordelia's title was changed from "kosher caterer" to "{{Shiksa| goddess}} caterer". Although the term Shiksa can simply refer to any non-Jewish woman, in accordance with the above trope, it has generally come to be used to refer to a Gentile woman who marries a Jewish man, with the implication that she is trying to tempt him away from his faith. Her partner, Dr. Charlotte, is never explicitly referred to as Jewish in the text, but this change seems to imply that she is intended to be.

* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler: Whizzer. By extension, Marvin is implied to have contracted HIV from Whizzer, and likely died not long after the end of the show.]]

''Falsettos'' is a musical with music by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. The show is an amalgamation of the latter two musicals in Finn's "Marvin Trilogy": ''March of the Falsettos'' (which was first performed off-Broadway in 1981) and ''Falsettoland'' (first performed in 1990). The two plays are preceded by ''In Trousers'', which is not included in ''Falsettos''. The show opened on Broadway in 1992, starring Michael Rupert as Marvin, Barbara Walsh as Trina and Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer. It closed in 1993 after 587 performances. In the Fall of 2016, ''Falsettos'' was revived for a limited run through January 2017 starring Christian Borle as Marvin, Stephanie J. Block as Trina and Andrew Rannells as Whizzer.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: ''In Trousers'', the first part of the Marvin Trilogy (the other two parts being ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland'', which were merged into ''Falsettos''), introduced several characters from Marvin's past, as well as alluding to Marvin and Trina's second child and a pet parakeet, none of whom are ever heard from again.

* {{Sung Through Musical}}

* {{All Gays Are Promiscuous}}

* {{All Jews Are Ashkenazi}}

* {{Ambiguous Disorder}}: Most of the main cast, most notably Jason and Marvin.

* {{Ambiguously Jewish}}: In the revival, Cordelia's title was changed from "kosher caterer" to "{{Shiksa| goddess}} caterer". Although the term Shiksa can simply refer to any non-Jewish woman, in accordance with the above trope, it has generally come to be used to refer to a Gentile woman who marries a Jewish man, with the implication that she is trying to tempt him away from his faith. Her partner, Dr. Charlotte, is never explicitly referred to as Jewish in the text, but this change seems to imply that she is intended to be.
* {{Amicably Divorced}}: Marvin and Trina. Sometimes.
* {{Awkward Father Son Bonding Activity}}: Marvin describes a few in his attempts to connect to Jason in the third part of "Marvin at the Psychiatrist (A Three-Part Mini Opera)."
* {{Big Lipped Alligator Moment}}: "March of the Falsettos"
** Also to a lesser extent, "Four Jews In a Room Bitching". While it briefly introduces the main characters of Act 1, it has little to no relevance to the actual plot of the musical, and the retelling of the story of Moses serves no purpose and is never brought up again.

* {{Bury Your Gays}}: [[spoiler: Whizzer. By extension, Marvin is implied to have contracted HIV from Whizzer, and likely died not long after the end of the show.]]
* {{But Not Too Gay}}: Marvin is committed to presenting himself as masculine. In his relationship with Whizzer, he must be the breadwinner while Whizzer and Trina cook for him, he refers to Whizzer's interest in fashion as "dreck," and his competitive streak leads to him dumping Whizzer after the latter wins at chess.

* {{Like Father Unlike Son}}: In "My Father's a Homo," Jason, at age 10, worries that he, like his father, will also turn out to be gay. At age 12, Jason sings "Miracle of Judaism" which proves that in this regard, he is nothing like his father.

* {{Parental Substitute}}: Whizzer to Jason. Initially, Jason purposefully annoys his parents by going to Whizzer for advice rather than listening to his biological parents. By the end, it's clear that both love each other as if they were family.

* {{Theyve Come So Far Song}}: Pretty much any song with Marvin and Whizzer after they get back together, but special mention goes to "What More Can I Say?" and "Raquetball".

* {{Real Men Hate Affection}}: This was mostly played straight with Marvin and Whizzer in the original production, but is averted in the revival.
* {{Sanity Slippage Song}}: "I'm Breaking Down," which also happens to be the {{Show Stopper}}.
* {{Set Switch Song}}: "Holding to the Ground" as the set is changed to [[spoiler: Whizzer's hospital room]]. Also serves as {{The Eleven OClock Number}}.
* {{Sung Through Musical}}
* {{Values Dissonance}}/{{Deliberate Values Dissonance}}: The frequent use of homophobic and ableist language can fall into this, though it isn't always clear which one. The 2016 revival seems to lean towards the latter.

* {{Ambiguously Jewish}}
** In contrast to the other men, Whizzer is only "half Jewish."
** In the revival, Cordelia's title was changed from "kosher caterer" to "{{Shiksa| goddess}} caterer." Dr. Charlotte is the only character whose ethnic identity is not mentioned in the text.

* {{Bury Your Gays}}: [[spoiler: Whizzer]]

* {{Foregone Conclusion}}: The second act does take place in 1981 after all.

* {{Coming Out Story}}: Notably averted - none of the gay characters actually come out.

* {{Jews Love to Argue}}: Most of Marvin's interactions in the first act and the first half of the second act are spent arguing.

** Somewhat averted with Marvin. ''In Trousers'' does inform us that he cheated on Trina with other men while they were married, but once he's with Whizzer, he remains committed to monogamy. It's even implied in Act II that he doesn't sleep with anyone else during the two years they are apart.

* {{Sung Through Musical}}

* {{Informed Judaism}}: All the characters are shown to be secular, despite putting all their energies into planning Jason's bar mitzvah. Mendel jokes that "religion's just a trap" during the planning and later the company sings "it's days like this, we almost believe in God!"

''Falsettos'' is a musical with music by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. The show is an amalgamation of the latter two musicals in Finn's "Marvin Trilogy": ''March of the Falsettos'' (which was first performed off-Broadway in 1981) and ''Falsettoland'' (first performed in 1990). The two plays are preceded by ''In Trousers'', which is not included in ''Falsettos''. The show opened on Broadway in 1992, starring Michael Rupert as Marvin, Barbara Walsh as Trina and Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer. It and closed in 1993 after 587 performances. In the Fall of 2016, ''Falsettos'' was revived for a limited run through January 2017 starring Christian Borle as Marvin, Stephanie J. Block as Trina and Andrew Rannells as Whizzer.

''March of the Falsettos'' centers on Marvin, a neurotic gay Jewish in 1979 New York. He has recently divorced his wife, Trina, and left his child, Jason, to be with his lover, Whizzer, an attractive younger man. Trina starts seeking treatment from Marvin's psychiatrist, Mendel and the two eventually fall for each other. Marvin expects both Trina and Whizzer to serve his needs and be loyal to him, an attitude that leaves him alone, trying to salvage his relationship with his son.

* {{All Musicals Are Adaptations}} - Averted.

* {{Quarreling Song}}: "Year of the Child" and "Round Table, Square Tables" in the off-Broadway ''Falsettoland'' which became "The Fight" in ''Falsettos''.

''Falsettos'' is a musical with music by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. The show is an amalgamation of the latter two musicals in Finn's "Marvin Trilogy": ''March of the Falsettos'' (which was first performed off-Broadway in 1981) and ''Falsettoland'' (first performed in 1990). The two plays are preceded by ''In Trousers'', which is not included in ''Falsettos''. The show opened on Broadway in 1992, starring Michael Rupert as Marvin, Barbara Walsh and Stephen Bogardus as Whizzer. It and closed in 1993 after 587 performances. In the Fall of 2016, ''Falsettos'' was revived for a limited run through January 2017 starring Christian Borle as Marvin, Stephanie J. Block as Trina and Andrew Rannells as Whizzer.

''March of the Falsettos'' centers around Marvin, a neurotic gay Jewish New Yorker in 1979, where he has recently divorced his wife, Trina, and left his child, Jason, to be with his lover, Whizzer, an attractive younger man. Trina starts seeking treatment from Marvin's psychiatrist, Mendel and the two eventually fall for each other. Marvin expects both Trina and Whizzer to serve his needs and be loyal to him, an attitude that leaves him alone, trying to salvage his relationship with his son.

* {{Jewish and Nerdy}}: Jason would rather stay home and play chess than socialize. Later, the company bemoans that his all Jewish baseball team is better at "reading Latin" than actually playing baseball.

* {{Quarreling Song}}: "Year of the Child" and "Round Table, Square Tables" in the off-Broadway ''Falsettoland'' which became ''The Fight'' in ''Falsettos''.

* {{Show Stopper}}: "I'm Breaking Down"

* {{Like Father, Unlike Son}}: In "My Father's a Homo," Jason, at age 10, worries that he, like his father, will also turn out to be gay. At age 12, Jason sings "Miracle of Judaism" which proves that in this regard, he is nothing like his father.

* {{B.S.O.D. Song}}: "Marvin Hits Trina"

* {{I Want Song}}: "A Tight-Knight Family"

* {{"I Want" Song}}: "A Tight-Knight Family"

** Somewhat subverted with Marvin. ''In Trousers'' does inform us that he cheated on Trina with other men while they were married, but once he's with Whizzer, he remains committed to monogamy. It's even implied in Act II that he doesn't sleep with anyone else during the two years they are apart.

* {{Coming Out Story}}: Notably subverted - none of the gay characters actually come out.