Falsettos#2:Something rotten

 There’s a lot to unpack in “A tight-knit family/love is blind”. I’ll talk about both songs because “A tight-knit family” is only 1 minute and 28 seconds (Yes, I took the time to see when it ends. You’re welcome=)) and they also go hand in hand... so... Enjoy. 

 In the first few seconds, Marvin clearly states that he has divorced his wife and left his child for his “friend”. First, we can sense the difference between “left” and “divorced”. “Divorced” means something permanent and cold while “left” seems more intimate and gives away a sentiment of guilt. At the same time, even though both of the verbs initially seem to represent how he let them go, we quickly understand this is the exact opposite case. Marvin relies on other’s ability to adapt to this situation. As always, things will be fixed with time:” Time will mend our pain”. (I also have a theory about how the name Mendel is somehow related to this verb, because he’s the one who “mends” this family and also because in Hebrew “el” can be translated as “god”. At least that’s what Wikipedia says. But that’s a whole ’nother story.) When he approaches Jason and says “I love the way they cook linguine.” we can clearly see the boy rolling his eyes in annoyance. He is sick of this charade and his father’s way of pressuring them is making him more and more uncomfortable. Throughout the song, Marvin constantly refers to Trina as his “wife”, Jason as his “kid” and Whizzer his “friend”. They are just characters in his story. Even though he cares about them deeply, he doesn’t show it directly. He enjoys this... fantasy about the perfect family too much to let them go. He forces everyone to act like nothing is different. He is sure they can still be the perfect family and he is ready to do anything he can to keep it this way. In the end, he’s the one who “cushioned the fall”. (And technically this is not actually part of the essay, but I HAVE to include something about that high-pitched “I want it all” at the end. It’s just perfect.) 

 Anyhoo... We finally find out what actually happened through Trina’s therapy session. Mendel initiates the discussion with the question “Happy or sad?”. Trina tries to answer it but is quickly interrupted by him saying “Eh, Eh, Eh. That’s a question with no answer.”. As I said in my first essay, he’s the one who establishes the feeling of “nothing is black or white”. You can’t be happy or sad. Good or bad. Right or wrong. There is always another point of view and depending on who is telling the story, it changes completely. So, Trina tells her side of her story. At first, she refers to Marvin as her husband but then quickly rectifies. ” That's a thing my husband once told me Marvin, my ex...”. She still struggles with the fact that is no longer a wife. She transitioned really fast from daughter to wife. Her life has always been dictated by a man. She was raised to become a wife and mother (basic thinking in the ’60s and ’70s) and now, she doesn’t know how to escape this stereotype. When Marvin tells her that he may have contracted syphilis, she is looking seriously concerned (with good reason). But then we see Whizzer smile and makes me think... “Was Marvin actually lying?”. (And again, this has no connection what so ever, but I chuckle every time Trina says “I have Something rotten”. I just do. I’m a massive nerd and I’m proud of it.) We can see that Trina speaks more and more rapidly as the story reveals itself, finally, saying how she truly feels. The music rhythm increases as the story gets more and more complicating. While she tells her story, Mendel acts like he’s taking notes for himself. We can see how inattentive he is based on his reaction. I mean... Your patient tells you she may have a disease and all you say is “Good”? Then, telling her “You're a lovely girl” and right after murmuring “What a lovely girl, though she's possibly diseased” feels kind of shady. I won’t get in the whole explanation on “Why Mendel is shady” now, but you get my point. After she finds out about all of this, she again feels responsible to take care of Marvin and Jason. The phrase “Dady is a prick” is what wakes Mendel up. He most certainly has lost track of the events and now his brain is in the “Wait.... What?” stage. Jason clearly states that “Dady isn’t mine” and he already knows his father is much more fond of Whizzer than his own son. This again can be seen when Marvin faces Whizzer while asking “Will you be my valentine?” and Jason feels forgotten and replaced. Mendel is finally focused and changes his line from “You’re a lovely girl” to “You’re a damaged girl” and he (of course) doesn’t hesitate to tell her to “not ever slit your wrists” and he actually seems concerned (He has the ‘please don’t’ expression). When we see Whizzer and Marvin revealing their relationship, they break the kiss just to tell her, accompanied by Jason, that her remark is insignificant. And ladies and gentlemen, that’s how you create an iconic moment like “Petty, Petty, Petty”, that will forever live in my mind rent-free. I can watch a gif of the scene and I genuinely hear it.=)) 

 As you can tell, “Love is blind, Love can tell a million stories” is the central theme of the number. This phrase quickly becomes their anthem. Everything around them is purely chaotic and this seems like the only explanation for what’s happening. We can see how it means something slightly different for every character. While they’re singing, Trina is facing the audience, aspiring for a new love story and trying to accept her ex-husband's. Mendel is looking at her, this way, defending his actions and sentiments towards her. Marvin and Whizzer are looking in each other's eyes only when the line “Spiteful in a million ways” comes up, giving away their feisty relationship. And then we hear Jason singing “Love’s unkind”, staring at the chessboard, trapped in his cube, misunderstood and alone. Marvin is the one who speaks the truth about love. Love is much more than a fun, warming story where ”All the names are changed to protect the innocent” something we see constantly when Marvin says “son”,” wife”,” friend" instead of their actual names. Love involves disappointment, hate and it can feel like a waste. He says that “When you find what you find. Then never, never, never, never, never do it over again”. Love can seem useless, harmful, and even boring. Love is a tedious task. But even though now he swears to never do it again, in the end, he is willing to do anything just to do it even one more time. (Alright alright... I don’t want to make you cry.) 

 At the very end of the number, Mendel introduces himself as the awkward, insecure guy who is currently married to his job but wouldn’t quite mind having a real relationship. For the first time, we see Jason looking away from the chessboard. His expression gives away two questions: “Who are you?” and “I’m sorry, but what are you doing here?”. He’s an intruder. A man who studently appears in his life and he knows nothing about him. Marvin comes to confront Mendel, and this is the first exchange of lines between the two opponents. The dynamic is established fairly easily. Marvin doesn’t know how to let go. Mendel doesn’t know how not to care. Their childish fight to demonstrate who is better goes on throughout the whole act one. The psychiatrist is sure he can ‘fix’ Trina. He wants to help her but is obliviate by the fact that he can’t heal all those wounds. He wants to be a hero and win the lady at the same time, as we’ll also see in the following numbers. 

And that’s the end of the second number. Again, I’m sorry, but I can’t miss the opportunity to say how amazing Andrew Rannels is and that’s why I tell you to check out the minute 5:47 and listen to the perfect Aaaaaaaaaaaah you’ll ever hear. You’re welcome.=)) 

As always, take care of yourselves, comment, follow my blog, share it, watch Falsettos, and if you want to work with me on these essays don’t hesitate to email me at lavieboheme126@gmail.com 

Byeeee.