Homosexuals. Women with careers. Young insomniacs. A teeny-tiny band.
Welcome to Singland.
This is just an experimental work I've had in mind. It's basically just a small 80s AU, based on the Broadway show Falsettos. This particular story is based off of the song "A Day in Falsettoland," an interlude in which three stories are told based on three different couples. Each character has a different name and is somewhat based on a character from the show:
Johnny - Johnny Williams (Marvin)
Cecilia (OC) - Cecilia Burke (Trina)
Jackson (OC) - Jackson Riley (Whizzer Brown)
Eddie Noodleman - Eddie Jones (Mendel)
Ash - Ash Miller (Dr. Charlotte)
Meena - Meena Miller (Cordelia)
Sophia (OC) - Sophia Burke (Jason)
If this is well-received, I may make a whole series of stories based on the musical numbers in the show. For now, I present "A Day in Singland".
A Day in Singland
It's 1981, just a peak over a new decade. A new president, new fashions, and new rights. Romance fills the air as many go about their day searching for one who will love them back. Everyone has a life, and everyone as a story.
One of our stories begins in a rickety, cheap house. One of the residents is Johnny Williams, a man in his late 30s and has left his wife of ten years and preteen daughter for a male lover. Stubborn, arrogant, bitter are all adjectives connected to him. He wanted to become a pianist, but that dream has come and past. Now, his relationships are shaky. He shares custody of his daughter with his ex-wife and her new husband, and his current boyfriend is arguing with him over a song.
"Somewhere-"
"Wrong!" Jackson Riley, his partner, snaps. Their house creaks after his declaration before settling. Every time Johnny does something wrong, he has to hear that creaking whistle through his ears. Jackson points his finger over the sheet music with an annoyed expression. "Again."
Johnny rolls his eyes. Jackson's been on his case all day. He's a musical fanatic, a lame hobby in Johnny's eyes, and has been wanting him to take part at one point. Johnny would've probably disagreed if he knew how snappy he would've been now.
"I didn't." he huffs. Jackson was about to correct him, when he cuts him off with a wave of his hand. "It's B to A!"
Jackson narrows his eyes before shaking his head. "It's B to G!" He snaps. He claps his hands. "Again."
Johnny sighed. Jackson was a stern man, a perfectionist. Everything has a place, and everything must behave in that place. One mistake would mess everything up. He's annoying, nagging, and cocky.
"What, you think you can do better?" Johnny asks. Probably could, but he didn't care. He loved hearing him sing.
Jackson smirks, taking it as a challenge. "Somewhere, over the rainbow…" he jumps right into the song, placing a hand over his chest delicately. He hit each note exactly as intended, just from memory. "Yes, I think I can do better," he teased.
Johnny smiled. "Yeah. You definitely can," he comments. Clearing his throat, he attempts to show he could do just as good. "Somewhere-"
"Wrong!"
He sighs as he looks at Jackson's vexed expression. He was getting tired of this.
"You know, how did we ever fall in love?" Johnny asks. At this point, he's starting to wonder himself.
Jackson looks at him from his sheet music up to down. His eyes are peered in their usual position as he studies him.
"You're a student, I'm a teacher," he states firmly. He lips curl, almost like a smirk, "You wanted to learn how to sing. So sing. Correctly this time."
Johnny rolls his eyes with a disgruntled groan. He looks at Jackson, focused on the music. This was the guy he left his 'perfect' family for? A nitpicky wannabe actor? He was ready to throw in the towel, give up on him. This was going nowhere.
Suddenly, Jackson sets down his script with a crisp release. He walks over to Johnny and walks his fingers over his chest. Johnny looks down.
"C'mon, sing for me," he teases.
Johnny is quiet for a moment, eyes watching his fingers travel across his chest. He shouldn't, he thinks. He really shouldn't. He's tired of this man.
But still, he can't resist him.
He smiles, placing his hands around Jackson's face and pulling him into a kiss. Jackson lovingly pulls back in. It's soft but firm between them as they give into each other. In-between breaths, Johnny takes a full look into Jackson's eyes.
He's a stubborn, arrogant, and bitter mess who doesn't know what to do with his life. His partner is a stern, annoyingly cocky wannabe-actor who believes everything needs a permanent place in their house. Their relationship is far from amazing. But they wouldn't want it any other way.
From across town, a tired Eddie Jones sits across from a sobbing playwright. He watches the man blubber with his papers in his hands shivering as he struggles to keep calm.
"So," he begins with a sigh. He kneads his hands together, looking at the man from across his desk. "What did he say about your script?"
The man struggles to string together a coherent sentence before breaking down into tears again. His hands dig into his papers, tearing into the crisp tear-stained pages. Eddie looks at him, a bit staggered, bUt tries to calm him down.
"And...how did that make you feel?"
The man looks at Eddie, as if mortified, before getting up and leaving his office in another fit of sobs. Eddie tries to reach out to him as the door slams, shaking the room for a few seconds. Eddie slouches in his chair with a jaded sigh. He brushes his hands into his hair as he stares at the ceiling.
Only five more of these to go.
He's getting sick of this job. He isn't being paid enough to be a manager (slash) therapist to a bunch of people who can't take criticism. He could've been one of these people going up to someone for his own work, but he had to be forced into this hassle. He tries to imagine something good in his life, a reason to continue this job.
He thinks about Cecelia. He thinks about his loving wife, awaiting him at home with their daughter, Sophia. A family, a wonderful loving family who needs the money. A woman with a blooming child whose husband left her, and is now willing to give her all for him.
He smiles, sitting up. Looking at the clock, he awaits the next client.
Three.
Two.
One.
Another man bursts through the door, crying. Eddie sighs softly and motions towards the the chair in front of his desk. At least she'll be there when he gets home.
/
At the home through the city, Cecilia Burks prepares for a workout. She's in a tracksuit, hair tied back in a tight ponytail, awaiting her husband to return. As she stretches, she mumbles to herself.
"I can't believe Johnny's back with Jackson…" she whispers to herself fiercely. She knew she shouldn't care at this point. It's been two years since they divorced, and she finally has her family together. She shouldn't care about Johnny at all. So why do she still care?
"Hello, honey," Eddie opens the door in his own tracksuit. He walks over to his wife, kissing her on the cheek and begins stretching with her.
"Hi, Eddie," Cecilia smiles. "How was work today?"
Eddie grunts. "Same old, same old. How was your day today?"
Cecilia rolls her eyes. "Johnny's back with Jackson."
He raises an eyebrow. "Johnny's back with Jackson?"
Cecilia nods, running in place. "Johnny's back with Jackson!" she huffs.
Eddie stops in his place, placing a hand on Cecilia's shoulder. She stops running, calms down, and looks at him. "You shouldn't be thinking about him too much," he states.
"I know, I know," Cecilia sighs, swatting back at him. Eddie laughs a bit, and Cecilia smirks. Honestly, she really shouldn't care about Johnny right now. Cause she has someone who actually loves her. She continues to stretch. "Sophia's with her teacher right now."
Eddie nods. "Nice."
Meanwhile, Meena Miller brings out a cake into the living room. She sets it down on the coffee table in front of the couch, proud of how it looks. She takes off her oven mitts, throwing them on the table.
"Hi, darling!"
Her wife, Ash Miller, enters the house with a loud greeting. Meena looks over at her with a smile as Ash sets down her guitar case.
"Hi honey. You're just in time, the cake's out of the oven!" She greets.
Ash sits down into the couch, looking at the cake. "Aw, this looks amazing!" she says. Meena walks behind the couch, giving her a kiss.
"How was your day?" Meena asks.
Ash cuts a slice out of the cake, taking a nice bit out of it. "Oh, well no one turned deaf, so that's good," she smiles as she eats into the slice. "Just another day of making music."
Meena begins to massage her back. "That's good, that's good. I just tried a few more recipes today," she hums. "I'm thinking of baking something for Sophia's birthday," she goes over to sit next to Ash.
"Gosh, you should!" Ash is loving the cake. She turns and kisses Meena on the cheek. "This is amazing, just like you!"
"Aw, come on.." Meena blushes, touching her cheek. She stands up, going back to the kitchen.
"You're my wife, and I love you," Ash flirts, grabbing the back of Meena's apron.
Meena feels the slight tug and turns, smiling as Ash begins untying the knot. She uses the string to pull her closer to her, giving her a nice kiss.
Meena uses her hands to balance Ash's head and pulls into the kiss.
Homosexuals. Women with careers. Young insomniacs.
They're all a teeny-tiny band.
A man who left his family for another man. The wife of the family trying to keep their lives together, as well as her new husband struggling with his job. Two lesbians living together in their neighborhood trying to get by.
Welcome to Singland.