Torch Song takes place in the 1970s to early 1980s. The costuming is very of it’s time: t-shirts and jeans are the most common attire. Though it seems simple, these costumes send a message. The main character, Arnold, is an outsider to much of the world. However, he looks and dresses like any other person when he isn’t working. All other characters follow suit and in this way, LGBT+ people, specifically gay men who are often subject to stereotypes regarding the way they look and act, are normalized.
There are other, smaller things that are told through the costuming. Ed is first shown in a very clean cut outfit, with khakis and loafers to contrast Arnold, who was dressed in an over-the-top drag outfit. Ed keeps himself regimented in the way eh acts: despite his relationship with Arnold, he still meets with a girl his parents want him to be with. Despite being unhappy with her, he stays with her. Ed tries to fit himself into the norm of how people “should” be, act, and look like and this is shown in how she presents himself to the world. Similarly, in the third act, after he leaves his marriage and starts integrating his life back into Arnold’s, he dresses much more comfortably. He wears jeans like the other two men. In fact, Arnold, Ed, and David all wear striped shirts, which gives them a sense of unity. The pattern makes it easy to tell that they are a group, even with slight color variations.
