#jason's bar mitzvah

[haveyoueverlivedwithspiders]

[jason-falsettos]

Marvin stops Jason from following Whizzer in the revival, yes

But Jason stops Marvin in obc

[youraveragemiscellanyenjoyer]

I think it would be funny if it was called 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴settos and instead of bitching they 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓭

[thegaycousin-upgrade]

Thinking about Falsettos.

⚠️spoilers⚠️

Crying.

Not actually about Whizzers death, obviously that is so tragic but I’m thinking about Jason.

This poor boy, y��all ready?

1st things first, Parents have a messy ass divorce, dad is gay, both parents are having breakdowns.

Dad’s boyfriend and he have a great relationship and stuff right, but since the kid is already going through a lot he is acting strange so Psychiatrist comes to house.

Psychiatrist is unhelpful, psychiatrist proposes to mom. Dad and boyfriend break up. Poor kid.

His dad comes to his mom’s house to yell at her and he witnesses his father hit his mother. His whole life is already messy.

He and his dad have sincere talk right?

So basically we get two years of relative peace.

Then we’ve got parents arguing about his Bar Mitzvah, which sucks, because it’s supposed to be his happy special day, but now people are all arguing about it!

Dad and boyfriend get back together!

Boyfriend gets sick, it’s bad.

This person who Jason considered a friend who cared about him in tough times. Might I remind you this child is like 13?

He visits Boyfriend in Hospital, and everyone is pretending he’s ok, but Jason can’t.

Now it’s all on and about him, does he want the Bar Mitzvah or want to cancel it, this is a lot of pressure for small child, who is already grieving his friend.

Boyfriend’s situation becomes much worse, he is dying, Jason begins to turn to G-d for this, because everything is falling apart.

He learns is dad is also sick and will likely also die, what does he do now?

Boyfriend accepts his death will come.

Than Jason does arguably the most selfless act in the show. He has his Bar Mitzvah at Whizzers hospital room.

The entire “Jason’s Bar Mitzvah” song is actually so tragic and touching, especially all the touches in the show I-

Anyway, Boyfriend dies.

After the show ends so does his dad.

This kid goes through it and he needs more hugs.

[phierecycled]

“tell him things happen for no damn good reason, and his lack of control kills what's best in his soul, and this is the start to his becoming a man”

i’m going to snap my spine in half

[pain-with-jazzhands]

Sometimes I think gay people are cool and they’ll go and make shit like falsettos and make my mental health even worse because I can’t stop thinking about a stupid 12 year old straight boy named fucking Jason and how he looked up to an even stupider man who went and fucking died and the fore shadowing to that death in the costumes of the tennis scenes and then they fo out and bow and its so casual they’re not jumping around or even smiling a whole lot they just bow gesture to the pit and then bow again. I fucking hate gay people.

[autism-disco]

gonna write about falsettos in my re gcse paper 3 i think

[vincentaureliuslin]

WHIZZER HEY suddenly it aaaall came cleeearrr! i said leeeeet's have my bar mitzvah here! SURPRISE :D

[catboymoses]

I know this might hurt to hear for some but the ending of Falsettos is the necessary climax and conclusion to all of the men's character arcs.

Bill Finn didn't write it just to be a downer ending. He wrote it so Marvin would have to overcome his misogyny and take on a caregiving role and so he could learn to rely on his family for support.

He wrote it so Whizzer would have to overcome his pride and allow himself to be cared for and loved. To bring him and his family together.

He wrote it to knock Mendel down from his g-d complex. To show him he doesn't have the answers, that he has to help his family process their feelings instead of just pretending everything is fine.

He wrote it to teach Jason to give up his king, to concede, to learn from his mistakes. To teach him about being a man.

Whizzer's death happens at the end of Jason's bar mitzvah because it symbolizes all four men finally growing up. Becoming men. It is their final step out of falsettoland. Ignoring the ending robs them of their growth.

[morphean42]

Rewatching Falsettos I was suddenly struck by an epiphany that I’m sure someone else has had at some point, but I needed to write out. This ending scene from “March of the Falsettos” jumped out at me from the first watching, but even though I recognised the nod to the “See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil (and lesser known do no evil)”, I didn’t know what it meant. Today, I tried to piece it together, and I think I’ve gotten it. These poses represent core attributes of the characters, as well as Trina’s view of them, so click the read more to hear the ravings of a mad man wayyyyyy too obsessed with this show

The idea of ‘evil’ to me is very loose. It can represent a lot of things for these characters; their actions towards each other, their character flaws, etc. But, for this analysis, one can replace ‘evil’ with ‘truth’. Each of the characters refuses to see, speak, hear, or ‘do’ the truth (please excuse the lack of grammar for that last one), and that is where the ‘evil’ stems from. Taking into account this is mostly based on Trina’s view of the men, I think ‘truth’ fits in well.

Let’s start with the one who fits in least— Jason. “March of the Falsettos” is a physical manifestation of how Trina views the men in her life (as childish and immature), but some slack is given to her son. He doesn’t sing his lines in falsetto, because we acknowledge he is in fact a child, and has more of an excuse to act as such. So, take his analysis with a grain of salt. The boy has every right to be a little selfish— he’s 10.

So, Jason has his hands over his eyes, representing ‘See No Evil’. This is a direct nod to his character flaw; his view of the world with him at the center. Although his parents are less than good to him, he still sees them through unfair lenses— ‘My mother’s no wife/My father’s no man’. He sings ‘everybody’s yelling and everybody’s ruining it’ in “Everyone Hates His Parents” because he is unhappy with how his Bar Mitzvah is turning out and wants to simply cancel it. He doesn’t have a concept of doing things for other people (again, he’s a child, I’m not blaming him per se), so he is blind to the will of others and refuses to see their side. In addition to this, even when Mendel tells him Whizzer will most likely die, Jason pleads with G-d to save him. He still views himself as the center of his world, thus Mendel’s line ‘Life’s not all about him’.

In addition to this, his ‘See No Evil’ means something when thought about from Trina’s perspective. She thinks her son is blind to the truth of the world, this son who stays inside playing chess alone, this son who ‘seems like an idiot to [Trina]’. She worries Jason will turn out like these other men in her world, blind to everyone but himself.

Now we come to Mendel, who has his hand over his mouth in ‘Speak No Evil’. Mendel’s flaw throughout the show is his refusal to accept the truth of any situation. He tells Jason to ‘feel alright for the rest of your life’ instead of actually trying to help, he is ‘frightened of questions’, he repeats over and over ‘I’ll make you well’ to Whizzer in the hospital. He will never say anything negative, nor will he allow others to do so. Even in the end of the show, he tells Jason they don’t know ‘when or if’ Whizzer will get better— he is still not accepting that it’s a definite thing. He believes that if he and those around him just don’t speak about the real problems, they’ll go away.

Trina’s view on Mendel is complicated here. In the next song she agrees to marry him, of course, and we know she at least likes him (the most of all three adults she knows). She says that Mendel ‘decides the role to assume’. She looks down on the fact that he can’t speak the truth to her, that he’s expecting this happy wife, this perfect new family. He wants her to play along with him and make their home together, even if she sings ‘liking our lives’ instead of loving. Even if he’s better than Marvin ever was, there’s still an element of control here. Mendel wants this family, and he wants them to all pretend nothing is ever wrong again.

Marvin, our titular character, is in the ‘Hear No Evil’ position. This one is fairly straight forward— he wants control and will never listen to the needs of those around him. He can’t hear what they actually need, he simply does what he wants. He also struggles with his masculinity throughout Act 1, his outward misogyny and need for the nuclear family (his treatment of Trina and Whizzer), so he imagines himself at the top of his family system. He will never take any other opinions, or counsel, in his decisions, seeing that as weakness. He’s similar to Jason in this regard, as he only hears what he wants to (like Jason only sees what he wants). He ignores the pain around him to pursue his own desires, he covers his ears and moves on.

Trina, of course, despises Marvin at this point in the show. Her subconscious showing Marvin in ‘Hear No Evil’ can tell us a lot about their relationship, how she was never seen as equal in decisions. Marvin always put her to the side, not listening to her needs, acting without thinking of her.

Whizzer is complicated. I’ve seen people laugh at his pose before, saying we’ve got ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, and Gay’, but I think he represents the ‘Do No Evil’. This final character is not often seen with the other three, and can be depicted with arms over the chest or covering the genitals. It wouldn’t make sense to have Whizzer be the outlier (especially because the fourth depiction of evil does exist), so I’m assuming he is supposed to be ‘Do No Evil’.

This fits in well with Whizzer’s flaws throughout the show. He doesn’t accept responsibility for his relationship with Marvin; seen in the lines ‘I’m not responsible’ during “Late For Dinner” or ‘I will not accept blame’ in “Games I Play”. He sleeps around, despite Marvin wanting monogamy, and clearly did not have an issue hooking up with a married man. Whizzer fundamentally doesn’t think his actions have consequences, he believes he has done nothing wrong (he has done no evil). Whizzer also has a hard time admitting to his love for Marvin. He says it ‘depends on the day’, he flat out says ‘no’ when asked if he loves him. He doesn’t want to show his love for fear of being too vulnerable, so he hides and doesn’t do anything about it.

To take this even further, him being ‘Do No Evil’ can represent his later question of ‘why me of all men’ when he is dying. He hasn’t done anything to deserve his death, and ‘all men get what they deserve’, right?

Moving on to how Trina sees Whizzer. He’s come into her life and ruined her marriage, though she ‘wants to hate him’ she can’t. She views him as the cause of her recent hardships, his actions being to blame. He is ‘Do No Evil’ to her because he has done evil in taking Marvin away (though it is obvious Trina is better off because of it). He has upset the careful balance of her world by breaking down the lies of her marriage and exposing the truth— Marvin never loved her, could never love her. She puts him in ‘Do No Evil’ because what he has done is what the rest of the men won’t— see, hear, speak the truth even at the detriment of her family.

Another way to view this is, of course, the fact that ‘Do No Evil’ is rarely seen with the others. Trina is separating Whizzer from the other men, not putting him in the same category as the rest of the ‘family’. He views himself as an outsider as well, yes he’s part of the group, but only as a technicality. Only as Marvin’s lover. Once he leaves Marvin, he is easily taken out of the equation and the remaining three do not feel the loss.

My conclusion is such: Each of the poses our men do represents the character flaw they must overcome throughout the show, as well as how Trina views them in her mind. I really hope this made any sort of sense, and if someone has already said all of this well… I guess it can’t hurt to be thorough.

I’m way too tired to read through this again so if there are spelling mistakes please print out this post, correct it in red pen, and send it to me by carrier pigeon.

[cloudykinzz]

"it's not a funeral, what's so upsetting?" Jason says in reference to his bar mitzvah, which ends up actually being a funeral, Whizzer's.

[azaablue]

i think that jason vehemently insisted on having a bar mitzvah because he just assumed that dick had one and wanted to prove himself as a part of the family and bruce didn't think much of it so he was like 'sure' and it wasn't until a decade later that jason learns that dick never had one on the principle of wanting to be ungovernable and he never actually asked and bruce thought he knew

[jason-falsettos]

GUYS GUYS GUYS

I CANNOT KEEP DOING THIS

ITS A *BAR* MITZVAH, WHEN YOU SPELL/SAY IT BAT MITZVAH, YOU ARE MAKING JASON A GIRL

PLEASE GUYS I CANT KEEP DOING THIS

[chipadequeso]

55% heathers over 45% falsettos as i reblog this???

guys ive always loved heathers but you cant look me in the eye and tell me it is in any aspect better than falsettos. tell me you dare say heathers' songs, no matter how catchy or fun or good, can top what falsettos has to offer!! dont get me wrong heathers is a great great musical but falsettos is leagues better! the plot, the parallels, the fully thought-out characters, the impact, the songwriting, the realness of it all is just... better. not trying to shit on heathers but you can't tell me the story of a girl in high school facing the debate between being popular and sticking to her beliefs all while her crazy boyfriend and her are committing murders that get worse and worse is better than the story of a gay man with a need for love that keeps hurting his family his broken ex-wife the son that hates him the psychiatrist that sucks but serves as a parallel for how marvin treats women and the boyfriend with whom he has a toxic and amazingly developed relationship right until the heartbreaking but sadly true end

i respect peoples opinions....! anyways im kinda angry so cancelling the bar mitzvah solos seventeen, falsettoland (reprise) solos seventeen (reprise), you gotta die sometime solos kindergarten boyfriend, what would i do? solos practically every song in heathers

[thegaycousin-upgrade]

Falsettos 2016 Spoilers:

Ik this isn’t some big revelation but it’s pride month and I want to point this out, parallels between Act 1 and Act 2:

Act 1: The chess game represents the end of Marvin and Whizzers relationship, Whizzer winning at Marvin’s game.

Act 2. The second racket ball game represents the end of Marvin and Whizzers relationship (for other reasons), Marvin winning at Whizzers game (Ik this one is obvious)

Act 1: Marvin regrets loving both Trina and Whizzer, longing for the life he could have had if he didn’t. (I never wanted to love you)

Act 2: Marvin is extremely thankful he ever got the opportunity to love Whizzer, and thinks of how horrible his life would be if he didn’t get to love him. (What would I do)

Act 1: Whizzer sings of the ending of Marvin and his relationship, blaming himself (the games I play)

Act 2: Whizzer sings of the ending of his life, exploring the unfairness of not deserving this, but accepting it nonetheless the less (You gotta die sometime)

Act 1: Mendel has no real interest in helping Marvin (or any of his patients for that matter), just really simping over Trina ( Marvin at the Psychiatrist)

Act 2: Mendel puts it best: ‘How can I help’ asks the wirey psychiatrist (Days like this)

Act 1: Trina feels helpless and angry at Marvin and Whizzer, like everything around her is breaking down (Breaking Down)

Act 2: Trina feels helpless, because she can’t help Whizzer (holding to the ground)

Act 1: Trina says her family is breaking up, They all say their a mess (Breaking down & Everyone tells Jason to see a psychiatrist)

Act 2: the family all comes together to celebrate Jason’s Bar Mitzvah in Whizzer’s hospital room (Jason’s Bar Mitzvah)

Act 1: Marvin says that [he] want[s] it all. ( Tight knit family & reprise)

Act 2: Marvin says to Whizzer that all [he] want[s] is you. (A day in falsettoland)

Act 1: Jason thinks he resembles his father to closely (Hason at the Psychiatrist)

Act 2: Don’t know why but he looks like Marvin (Jason’s Bar Mitzvah)

[yuespropagandablog]

Hello esteemed mutual. If you are reading this, then that means my propaganda is working. But you might still have questions, so I am here to answer them.

What is Falsettos?

A damn good musical.

But time to get serious. It's a sung-through musical written by William Finn and James Lapine, with Lapine also writing the music and lyrics. Falsettos is a two-act musical, like many, but it's important here because Falsettos is actually two musicals in one. The first act is March of the Falsettos, and the second act is Falsettoland. These are the last two installments of the Marvin Trilogy. The first part, In Trousers, flopped on off-Broadway and is also not part of Falsettos. Are you following?

The first acts centers on a Jewish man named Marvin (the main character of the Marvin Trilogy, who would've thought) and his homosexual relation with Whizzer, and how that impacts the family. He's left his wife Trina and son Jason to be with Whizzer, but Marvin is also Marvin, and loves to have a tight-knit family that includes all of them, but fails to see how his wish impacts the others. The second act takes place two years after the first and it's all about Jason's bar mitzvah, but oh, oh no, it's a homosexual story set in the 80s. Yeah folks, I am going to be upfront: this musical does not have a happy ending. Spoiler. I know. But I just want people to know what they're getting themselves into.

The show has a lot to say about gay life in the 70s and 80s, gender roles and masculinity, traditional family, illness, and Judaism. Yes, you cannot separate the Judaism from this show, no matter how hard a Spanish production tries.

Where can I watch it?

The original Falsettos debuted in 1992 on Broadway. I know it from its 2016 Broadway revival. There are, uh, slime tutorials for both (and also for In Trousers if you're interested), and the 2016 version also got a proshot that was aired on PBS, so they did have to censor some language. RIP "You save lives and I save chicken fat, I can't fucking deal with that", you will forever be missed. This link totally definitely does not lead to a YouTube upload of that proshot, what do you mean?

There are also a bunch of other productions, sometimes with footage, sometimes not. I actually saw the Dutch version in 2021 in Amsterdam (probably while I had COVID, but in my defense, I tested negative before I boarded my train!)

Is there a trailer or something?

Yes, here's a trailer for the proshot.

Here is their Tony performance, which is also my favourite song of the show:

(They did take out the "Lighbulb up the ass" and "I can't fucking deal with that", because America is America. But at least we got Andrew Rannell's boner in return?)

And for funsies, here's the Tony Awards performance of the OBC:

(They did censor the words "homosexuals" and "lesbians", unless that was the original lyrics. I dunno. I am not very familiar with the original one.)

You implied AIDS. Are there other content warnings?

Yes. AIDS will be the main theme of the second act. You can ignore it by just turning off the show after the song What More Can I Say, but that is obviously not the full show. There's also some period-typical homophobia, as in in act one, Jason is afraid that his father's homosexuality is a fatal hereditary disease. There are also a lot of dysfunctional relationship dynamics in act one, including one instance of physical abuse. Act two has the AIDS of it all and because of that, the major character death warning.

But is there also fun to be had?

Yes, definitely! One thing that makes Falsettos a good show is the tonal whipslash. Both act one and act two start out as the funniest shit you've ever seen and then BAM, drama. It is kind of impressive how the show does that. It has stellar comedic songs like Four Jews in a Room Bitching, My Father's A Homo/Everyone Tells Jason to See a Psychiatrist, I'm Breaking Down, Jason's Therapy, Year of the Child, Miracle of Judaism, The Baseball Game, A Day in Falsettoland, Everybody Hates His Parents and whatever the fuck March of the Falsettos (the song) is.

The first half of both acts you can't stop laughing and the second half of both acts you can't stop crying. That's Falsettos, baby!

Does the music slap?

Oh yeah. It is a fully sung-through musical. If that's not your jam, then you're better off skipping it. It also has a more "traditional" musical theatre sound, whatever that might mean. As you saw in the previous section, it has a lot of great comedic songs, with stellar lyrics like "Look, look, look, look, look, it's a lesbian from next door!/Followed by her lover who's a lesbian from next door too!", "Hepa-hepa-hepatitis-hepatitis?", "We're watching Jewish boys who cannot play baseball play baseball", "You have paintings of dicks!/Don't talk to me about taste!", "Lightbulbs in the ass!", the entire "You are going to kill your mother" section, "Homosexuals!!!!!" and of course the opening line of the entire show "Four Jews in a room bitching". And many more. But don't be fooled, because this song also has some emotional bangers (mostly in the second part of the acts due to the aforementioned tonal shift).

Are there German characters in this musical?

Mendel's last name Weisenbachfeld sounds German. Is that close enough?