Torch Song

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.

Torch Song, an off- Broadway production,  follows Arnold in three important stages of his life as a gay man living in the the late ‘70s and ‘80s. We follow Arnold as he travels from his time as a drag queen to his quest to settle down, to raising a teenager on his own. Although there was no direct mention of the queer club scene and AIDS crisis, these events are assumed to serve as important backgrounds for the various stages in Arnold’s life.

We were fortunate enough to see the New York revival of “Torch Song” since the original production closed on Broadway in 1985.

Torch Song was shown at the Second Stage Theater on West 43^rd and 8^th Ave. Only a block from the lights and traffic of Times Square, this venue was a perfect location for this production. Being close, yet not on the famous 42^nd St. can be symbolic of the controversiality of not being straight in the 1970s and 1980s, the time period that the play was in. Coming out at that time was judged upon and unusual. Because of this, placing the Second Stage Theater on a side block, away from the crowds of Manhattan was probably unintentional, but quite symbolic.

Torch Song, being an off-Broadway show, was expected by the class to still be in a big theater and seen by a lot of people. However, Second Stage Theater was small and intimate; the perfect size for this play. It allowed us to be up close and clearly hear each actor’s lines, almost making us feel like we were part of the play. The venue was a little old, but had slight modern additions to it, including the café and the big lights that said Torch Song above the stage. Although this theater was unexpected, I thoroughly enjoyed the play in this venue.

There were a few prevalent themes that were portrayed in Torch Song, like unrequited love, yearning for normalcy, and the struggle of identity.

The theme I was able to connect to in the most intimate way was the yearning for normalcy. The play portrayed the idea of “normalcy” through Arnold, Ed, and the mother and therefore gave the audience three different perspectives of what “normal” may mean.

Arnold wanted a husband or a lover that could live up to his potential, the “international stud.” He had created this image of an ideal man after being disappointed by so many men, and for Arnold, being with this man would be perfect. This is what he wanted out of his life.

Ed, on the other hand, wanted the perfect wife. The one he could settle down with and have kids with. Ed, similar to society, found his normal life to be with a wife, kids in upstate New York. Basically, everything he didn’t have with Arnold.

Similarly, the mother wanted Arnold to be “normal.” She wanted him to be like the other men who weren’t gay, had families and were respectable in society. She wished that Arnold could provide her with grandchildren and basically a legacy that she could be proud of.

The ironical thing throughout the play is that the characters get the polar opposite of the “normalcy” they crave and it all works out.

Arnold got Ed, who couldn’t be more in the closet about who he was, and was not proud to be with Arnold. Arnold desired a man who could provide him with emotional and physical support and instead gets a man who abandons him for a woman because he wants to be “normal.” However, through this disaster with Ed, Arnold learns to become independent and he realizes he doesn’t need a man to make his dreams come true. He adopts a son on his own and starts fulfilling his dreams on his own.

Ed gets Laurel, who is everything that Ed supposedly wants but that just proves to him that “normalcy” is not what Ed wants. Through the marriage and subsequent struggles with Laurel, Ed realizes that he is gay, and that is ok. He accepts his sexuality and he accepts that he truly loves Arnold.

The mother has Arnold for a son, who embodies everything she believes to be abnormal. However, this causes her to partially accept Arnold, specifically the idea that he is not going to change because of her. Furthermore, she does receive a grandchild, just not in the traditional way, and she has to learn to accept that.

I connected the most to this theme of desiring normalcy because what I desire is against the normalcy of society for the most part. Therefore, it feels like this constant swim against the current, similar to Ed’s struggle for most of the play. However, this play really shines a light on the concept of things always work out and we get what we deserve. I believe this concept does really play out in life, and never giving up for what we believe in does lead to something good in the end.

One of the first questions that came to mind about this off broadway play was why it’s called “Torch Song.” A torch song is actually a 1920’s term, referring to a sad or sentimental song, typically about unrequited love. Finding out that the entire play itself was named after this term made me think twice about the role of the music played in it. Everything from the kind of music playing to even the absence of music played a vital role in Torch Song. Moments without background music, such as arguments Arnold had with his mother, were accentuated through the lack of music. Without even the most subtle notes of music being played, the tension of the scene was emphasized immensely. The function music played in the play was vital, even through silence.

Although I can’t say I recognized every part of the soundtrack, I knew for sure the music was picked accordingly to the setting. The play started with what seemed like a disco, 80’s type of music, which fitted the timing displayed in neon lights on stage. Additionally, it ended in such a way that the entire scene revolved around a song playing from the radio, which David had dedicated to Arnold. Though there were was no dialogue, the words of the song finished off the play on an extremely heartwarming, touching note. It was a perfect finish to the emotional rollercoaster Torch Song took its viewers through.