What is [insert title of show]? Why is it called that?

Some shows, once you've seen it, you understand what the title means, like Fun Home, Dogfight, Fiddler on the Roof, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Then there are shows, I sort of get what it's trying to say, but if you ask me, I can't articulate for the life of me. I know many of these are supposed to be subjective, "no correct answers", but still can anyone share your understanding on some of the these? Also what are some show titles that have been puzzling to you (it doesn't have to be a musical)?

• [ A Little Night Music: why? what does Mozart have anything to do with the story? ] SOLVED
• [ Evening Primrose: why again? ] SOLVED
• [ Merrily We Roll Along: what does it even mean? ] SOLVED
• [ Falsettos: what the heck is that, and why are they marching? ] SOLVED
• The Light in the Piazza: what is the light in the piazza?
• [ Girl from the North Country: who is the girl from the north country? ] SOLVED
• [ Godspell: what is a godspell? it's not a word. ] SOLVED
• In Trousers: I've never seen it. So maybe the explanation is somewhere in the script?
• The Fantasticks: Why coin such a word? What does it mean?
• [ Nine: The original movie 8 1/2 means it was Federico Fellini's 8th and a half work, he made 7 movies and 2 episodes up to this point. How did that become Nine? Does it mean the stage musical count as half a work, and adds up to 9. ] SOLVED

(Edited to add 3 more show titles.)

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 06:29 PM

lachri5 said: "Some shows, once you've seen it, you understand what the title means, like Fun Home, Dogfight, Fiddler on the Roof, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Then there are shows, I sort of get what it's trying to say, but if you ask me, I can't articulate for the life of me. I know many of these are supposed to be subjective, "no correct answers", but still can anyone share your understanding on some of the these? Also what are some show titles that have been puzzling to you (it doesn't have to be a musical)?

• A Little Night Music: why? what does Mozart have anything to do with the story?
• Evening Primrose: why again?
• Merrily We Roll Along: what does it even mean?
• Falsettos: what the heck is that, and why are they marching?
• The Light in the Piazza: what is the light in the piazza?
• Girl from the North Country: who is the girl from the north country?
• Godspell: what is a godspell? it's not a word.

"

The word GODSPELL dated back to the Middle Ages. It morphed into Gospel, or more colloquially, "Good News"

Dollypop said: "lachri5 said: "Some shows, once you've seen it, you understand what the title means, like Fun Home, Dogfight, Fiddler on the Roof, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Then there are shows, I sort of get what it's trying to say, but if you ask me, I can't articulate for the life of me. I know many of these are supposed to be subjective, "no correct answers", but still can anyone share your understanding on some of the these? Also what are some show titles that have been puzzling to you (it doesn't have to be a musical)?

• A Little Night Music: why? what does Mozart have anything to do with the story?
• Evening Primrose: why again?
• Merrily We Roll Along: what does it even mean?
• Falsettos: what the heck is that, and why are they marching?
• The Light in the Piazza: what is the light in the piazza?
• Girl from the North Country: who is the girl from the north country?
• Godspell: what is a godspell? it's not a word."

The word GODSPELL dated back to the Middle Ages. It morphed into Gospel, or more colloquially, "Good News"


That makes sense. Thanks!
I think I also figured out Evening Primrose. Since this flower only blossoms late in the day through the night, it does resemble the main characters who live in a department store and only come out at night.

Updated On: 12/19/21 at 07:04 PM

JasonC3 said: "Isn't he light in the piazza the sunlight streaming into it? If I recall when the lyric is sung in the song the light in the staging is very apparent.

"I know what the sunlight can be

The Light, the Light in the Piazza ""

Sure. I guess I'm trying to understand what the metaphor is? What does the sunlight have anything to do with Clara, Fabrizio, Margaret. Maybe I should read the lyrics again.

A few more puzzling musicals that I'm not as familiar with:

• In Trousers: I've never seen it. So maybe the explanation is somewhere in the script?
• The Fantasticks: Why coin such a word? What does it mean?
• Nine: The original movie 8 1/2 means it was Federico Fellini's 8th and a half work, he made 7 movies and 2 episodes up to this point. How does that became Nine? Does it mean the stage musical count as half a work, and adds up to 9.

Girl From The North Country is a Bob Dylan song, but it is also used to refer to a murdered woman that is a key plot point.

lachri5 said: "Some shows, once you've seen it, you understand what the title means, like Fun Home, Dogfight, Fiddler on the Roof, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Then there are shows, I sort of get what it's trying to say, but if you ask me, I can't articulate for the life of me. I know many of these are supposed to be subjective, "no correct answers", but still can anyone share your understanding on some of the these? Also what are some show titles that have been puzzling to you (it doesn't have to be a musical)?

• A Little Night Music: why? what does Mozart have anything to do with the story?
• [ Evening Primrose: why again? ] SOLVED
• Merrily We Roll Along: what does it even mean?
• Falsettos: what the heck is that, and why are they marching?
• The Light in the Piazza: what is the light in the piazza?
• Girl from the North Country: who is the girl from the north country?
• [ Godspell: what is a godspell? it's not a word. ] SOLVED

"

Not really. The home was not that fun, there was no dogs in dogfight, the fiddler was barely in it and the inch seemed enthusiastic rather than angry. Please explain.

Alex Kulak2 said: "lachri5 said: "A Little Night Music: why? what does Mozart have anything to do with the story?"

As a matter of fact, quite a bit. While the plot is based on an Ingmar Bergman film, the structure and music takes a lot of inspiration from Mozart's opera buffas, likeMarriage of FigaroandCosi fan tutte. The most 1:1 comparison is "A Weekend In The Country", which is a pastiche of Mozart's big polyphonic ensemble numbers that usually appeared at the end of the act."

Thanks. But then why this piece instead of any other Mozart work? There are tons to choose from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart Was Sondheim like, I want to name the show after one Mozart piece, and then went through the whole catalog and see which title he liked the best?

lachri5 said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "lachri5 said: "A Little Night Music: why? what does Mozart have anything to do with the story?"

As a matter of fact, quite a bit. While the plot is based on an Ingmar Bergman film, the structure and music takes a lot of inspiration from Mozart's opera buffas, likeMarriage of FigaroandCosi fan tutte. The most 1:1 comparison is "A Weekend In The Country", which is a pastiche of Mozart's big polyphonic ensemble numbers that usually appeared at the end of the act."

Thanks. But then why this piece instead of any other Mozart work? There are tons to choose from:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Wolfgang_Amadeus_MozartWas Sondheim like, I want to name the show after one Mozart piece, and then went through the whole catalog and see which title he liked the best?"

I was curious, so I decided to consult Book 1 of Sondheim's Hat books (which I'll now be referring to as the Holy Texts). Sondheim says that Ingmar Bergman gave him the rights to adapt Smiles of a Summer Night on the condition that he use a different title. A Little Night Music was the original title he had come up with for Evening Primrose, and he thought it fit this show, probably because A: "Little Night", refers to the midnight sun in Sweden, where the sun is visible pretty much all day in the summer, and B: "Music" clues Joe Theatregoer in that this is a musical and he always has a good time at a musical.

Updated On: 12/19/21 at 09:43 PM

Fun Home stands for FUNERAL Home. The kids explain it early in the show.

My father’s sarcastic review of The Light in the Piazza: “not much lightness and zero pizza.”

darquegk said: "My father’s sarcastic review of The Light in the Piazza: “not much lightness and zero pizza.”"

Lol. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it. Like ColorTheHours048 said, maybe it's just referring to the beautiful view of sun light in a piazza. It doesn't have to mean something very specific.

As I remember the show is based on performers creating a show which then becomes the show. And one of the things being debated is the title of the show.

Updated On: 12/21/21 at 08:12 PM

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "Guittel’s song is trying to expand on his interpretation of it. And give it as a moment to Clara (I’ve always found it too on the nose and I don’t buy Clara being this introspective)”

I think the point of the song is that Margaret sees, for the first time, how very certain and clear Clara is about her feelings. Neither she nor the audience has seen Clara this introspective before.

In terms of the plot of the show, there's a lot riding on this song - it has to convince Margaret to change her mind completely about Clara and the possibilities for her future. (I've always thought it was vaguely comparable to "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love," in that the outcome of the show pivots on the persuasive power of one song.)