Judaism in Falsettoland
Minsung Kim
4/4/13
Paper#3
Judaism in William Finn 's Falsettoland
Judaism and Jewish culture have always been central to William Finn, writer of a trilogy of short works following Marvin, a homosexual character living in the Jewish community. Falsettoland itself forms the final part of the trilogy while In Trousers and March of the Falsettos are the first two installments respectively. Over the course of the musical, Finn hints at the audience the contrasting notion of Orthodox and Reform Judaism through the music and lyrics. Furthermore, Finn not only portrays the standing of Reform Judaism on homosexuality, but also nuances the social expectations of women under Jewish faith.
Jewish life in America changed dramatically throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The majority of Jews were those with a Reform standing. This meant that, as a faith, they rejected the traditional rules, which governed dress code, diet, and purity. There was a sense of community rather than a religious longing and yearning to return to Palestine. Some even saw the Reform movement as bringing Judaism “up to date.” It is difficult to determine the type of Judaism represented in Falsettoland as no clear references are made. However, the use of features of both traditional Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism suggests that Falsettoland depicts a hybrid of the two.
Religion and music have been related on numerous occasions – both are universal attributes to the international society and are used by means of communication and are considered when deciding on our individual social circles. Anthony Storr discusses such ideas by saying, “Some people find that one or other of the great religions provides them with a belief system which makes sense out of the world… although music is not a belief system, I think that its importance and its appeal also depend upon its being a way of ordering human experience” (Storr 187). In Falsettoland, Finn uses both music and religion to argue
4/4/13
Paper#3
Judaism in William Finn 's Falsettoland
Judaism and Jewish culture have always been central to William Finn, writer of a trilogy of short works following Marvin, a homosexual character living in the Jewish community. Falsettoland itself forms the final part of the trilogy while In Trousers and March of the Falsettos are the first two installments respectively. Over the course of the musical, Finn hints at the audience the contrasting notion of Orthodox and Reform Judaism through the music and lyrics. Furthermore, Finn not only portrays the standing of Reform Judaism on homosexuality, but also nuances the social expectations of women under Jewish faith.
Jewish life in America changed dramatically throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The majority of Jews were those with a Reform standing. This meant that, as a faith, they rejected the traditional rules, which governed dress code, diet, and purity. There was a sense of community rather than a religious longing and yearning to return to Palestine. Some even saw the Reform movement as bringing Judaism “up to date.” It is difficult to determine the type of Judaism represented in Falsettoland as no clear references are made. However, the use of features of both traditional Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism suggests that Falsettoland depicts a hybrid of the two.
Religion and music have been related on numerous occasions – both are universal attributes to the international society and are used by means of communication and are considered when deciding on our individual social circles. Anthony Storr discusses such ideas by saying, “Some people find that one or other of the great religions provides them with a belief system which makes sense out of the world… although music is not a belief system, I think that its importance and its appeal also depend upon its being a way of ordering human experience” (Storr 187). In Falsettoland, Finn uses both music and religion to argue
Cited: Finn, William. Vocal selections from Falsettos. Warner Bros Publications Inc., 1992. Katz, Leon. ‘What is a Bar Mitzvah?’ In Your Guide to Judaism. Franklin Watts, 1982. Rossoff, Rabbi Don. What is Judaism’s view on Homosexuality? The 107th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, March. 1996. <http://urj.org/ask/homosexuality/> Storr, Anthony. Music and the Mind. HarperCollins, 1997.