Playbills

These are the two images used on the Broadway playbill for Falsettos. The one on the left is from the 1992 production, and the one on the right is from the 2016 revival.

The 1992 image is quite straightforward. Three figures are holding up a heart. They are likely depictions of Marvin, Trina, and Jason. During the musical, Marvin struggles with his need to keep his family intact, and this image represents that. . The 2016 version is quite a bit more complicated. The heart symbol from the original is still there, but it is now drawn with lines that represent the characters’ connections. For example, Whizzer and Marvin are connected by a line that reads “Unlikely Lovers”. This is a term that Marvin coins for them near the end of the play. Marvin and Mendel are tied together by “Nervous Wrecks” emphasizing their shared fears about love and life in general. Every character is connected by at least two lines, and one of those lines is always to Marvin. There are two unique linear patterns that differ from the heart. The first is between Marvin, Trina, and Jason and reads “A Tight-Knit Family” referring to Marvin’s proclaimed wishes from the second song of the show. The second is between Marvin and Whizzer reading “Love Can Tell a Million Stories” referring to the repeated line in “Love is Blind”. What  is curious about this is that this is a line originally song by Mendel originally sung about Marvin and Trina. It’s placement is quite puzzling. Adding in the fact that it is in a bracket, unlike any other connector, and that it is the second connector between Whizzer and Marvin, it could be a sort of counterargument against “Unlikely Lovers”. Perhaps, it shows that love is not unlikely at all, and that it can be found and told in a million different ways.