Every now and then I have a magical Broadway experience where a play knocks me out of my zone and brings together music, a social issue, talent and good story-telling. Today was such a day when I saw the play FUN HOME. I don’t think I’ve had this kind of experience since seeing Next to Normal about five years ago. FUN HOME, a play based on a book by Alison Bechdel (yes, also of the famous Bechdel Test), and directed by the wonderful Sam Gold, is a play that left me giving the cast a standing ovation. There are so many things to say about this play, I’m not quite sure where to start.
The musical, which opened at the Circle in the Square Theater on Sunday night, was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for drama and enjoyed a sold-out, extended run Off Broadway.
It is based on the best-selling graphic memoir, “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,” by lesbian writer/cartoonist Alison Bechdel about her dysfunctional family and childhood in rural Pennsylvania .
It’s also about the power of memory and how our childhoods shape our entire lives. Alison’s flashbacks guide us through the story of her own life and they help us understand why she is who she is today. The daughter of a funeral home owner and actress/teacher, she shows us how idyl her life was once upon a time as a child when she was denied the truth about her father. We soon find out that he was gay, in the closet and later chose to kill himself when she herself would finally come out as a lesbian in college. Her realization about her own sexuality came early; he chose to shield his sexuality as much as possible but it was hard to keep a secret forever. She tell us, “I had no idea what was coming.” But the truth came and it hit home hard. As a cartoonist, we see Alison frame her imagery and place captions based on the reality of her past and that is how she came to terms of it.
Lisa Kron adapted Bechdel’s book and provided the lyrics for Jeanine Tesori’s score for the show that is staged in the round by director Gold.
The cast is stupdendous, truly outstanding. Actress Beth Malone is the adult Bechdel, as she reminisces about growing up in the funeral home, which is shortened to ‘fun home’ by the family. Emily Skeggs, as the college student, and Sydney Lucas, as a child, are younger versions of the author.
Michael Cerveris, a Tony winner,” is Bechdel’s domineering father, Bruce, and Judy Kuhn is his long-suffering wife Helen. Together they portray a couple holding it together for their children, during a time (presumably 20 years ago) when it wasn’t easy to be gay.
The fact that we have a major Broadway show portraying homosexuality in a very realistic, honest way is simply fantastic. The fact that the theater was full during the performance I was at is also wonderful. I loved FUN HOME, and if you’re in New York or planning to visit, this is the one play I recommend you see.
Information about the show can be found here.
Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary tickets but all opinions are my own.
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