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Symbolism behind Art

     The symbol of the musical is a geometric pentagonal carousel made up of 30 triangles colored by the 7 colors of ROYGBIV. The 7 triangles that make up the top of the carousel represent the 7 roommates and their relationships. Elliot/Red is in the middle as the cornerstone of the musical, with his antithesis on his left (Matt/Green) and his lover at his right (Farid/Blue). On Matt's left is Travis/Indigo, as the pair become friends throughout the show and become inseparable. Dick/Orange is right behind them on the left being their constant source of trouble. On Farid's right is David/Purple. Though David is in love with Matt, I made sure to keep their colored triangles separate since they are afraid to fall in love with each other. Instead David sits between Farid and Ian/Yellow, the two roommates who ends up getting the closest to David, though that is seen more through the script rather than the music.

      Below the 7 main triangles are 23 more haphazardly spaced to finish the pentagonal form. The total 30 triangles represent divinity in two ways. One way is that the number 3 (related to 3 sides or points of a triangle) is often associated with divinity whether it be through reference to the Trinity, or the 3 days before Christ's resurections or such. Another way is in reference to and representation of the 30 birds in Farid un-Din Attar’s “The Conference of Birds” that reach the end of the 7 valleys. In this epic poem the birds learn that divinity was in themselves all along. Travis, Elliot and Farid reference the poem throughout the script, and it is assumed that the Travis comes up with the idea of "Divine" after reading the epic. The 30 triangles represent the 30 birds that discover their own divinity. The pentagonal shape that encompasses the triangles represents humanity and its carnal state. The pentagon is often represented by the human body, with it's five points at extremities (consider the Vitruvian man), showing that humanity and divinity are joined together in one. Pentagons and triangles tell the tale of good and evil coexisting juxtaposed in a colorful and complicated array. One final symbolic use of the number 30 is the number of songs in the musical. There are 27 tracks, and 3 songs cut from the final version, when added together, they make 30. 

      The choice to reference David's carousel as a geometric pattern rather than a literal merry-go-round is in reference to Elliot's love for math. The musical is after all told mostly from Elliot's perspective and he views his world through a lens of logic and math. The geometric pattern also lends itself to appear as stained glass, providing futher symbolism to light beyond just the rainbow. Stained glass is made up of diverse, broken pieces that come together to make something beautiful and whole. Each of the characters is human, complicated and broken, yet they come together to inspire good and support each other, making something colorful and beautiful together. They allow light to shine through to each other by holding one another up. Stained glass also pairs well with the pallet of divinity, referencing religious art through time.