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Falsettos

Final College Branding Project

In 2021, after the Covid-19 lockdowns, I decided to rebrand the 2016-2017 revival of the musical Falsettos. A queer musical centring around the themes of LGBTQ+, gender roles, religion, family and HIV/AIDS crisis, the posters in my opinion did not portray the depth this musical holds.

The final print ended up being screen printed, along with merchandise and tickets. In the final exhibition, whilst most people presented a space that way a white wall with one artwork on, I presented an entire store. There was a series of misprints (due to the theatre name and also the theatre is in America so it needed to be TheatER not TheatRE), but instead of throwing these prints in the bin, I decided to use them as a backdrop for the final framed print (similar to a rise and repeat).

This design keeps key elements from the original design, but utilises them in a more select and stylised form. Each of the four main adult characters is referenced with a ring relating to their storyline and a quote taken from the original poster, for example Marvin who is often portrayed (especially in Act One) as the antagonist is referenced with the third broken ring and the “tight-knit family” as Marvin breaks up his family for his lover Whizzer but still wishes for the close familial relationships and routine.

The 90s original featured Keith Haring work with simple line forms, and does a much better job and relaying the story without relying on too much additional information. I carried through the staggered type seen in both posters and designed the rings inspired by both Keith Haring’s iconic illustrations and the depiction of relationships from the revival poster.

The original 90s poster courtesy of Playbill. Copyright remains with them.