Post-Show Discussion Activity

Use these questions to reflect, discuss, or journal about your experience and reactions to Falsettos! Explore any of the questions that interest you.

If engaging in this activity independently, consider taking notes or writing your reflections down. If engaging in this activity with a class or group, decide if you would like to answer every question in order, skip around, or select certain questions to spend time on. 

Discussion Questions

1. Falsettos depicts family in a way that defies “traditional” family values that are derived from white, heterosexual, Christian values. Jason asks, “What is normal?” Trina responds, “I wouldn’t know.” What is family? How do we find it? What is unique about the make up of your family? 
2. The AIDS crisis fundamentally altered the world and, most acutely, the queer community. How is collective recovery achieved in the face of a devastating public health crisis and violent governmental neglect? How can and should we remember our loss? 
3. Why do games take such a central role in this show? How do they serve as a mechanism and a metaphor for the characters’ lives and relationships? 
4. In what ways are ‘love’ and ‘family’ verbs in your life? In what ways are they verbs in Falsettos? 
5. Gay and Jewish identities are central to the story. How do these identities cause internal or external conflict for the characters? How and when do identities create and dismantle connection? 
6. How do the characters navigate the messy, tender, and painful experience of love? 
7. Jason experiences a major rite of passage in his Jewish identity: a bar mitzvah. What role do rites of passage play in this play, in cultural groups, and in your own life? Why do they endure over centuries and millennia? 

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• This activity aligns with the following standards:
  • Illinois Arts Learning Standards 
    • Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
    • Anchor Standard 8: Construct meaningful interpretations of artistic work.
    • Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
  • Common Core State Standards 
    • CCSS.ELA.SL.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
    • CCSS.ELA.RL.3  Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

Posted on November 6, 2024 in Learning Guides