Fun Home The Musical earned most of the nominations for the 2015 Tony Awards. This may have been one of the first instances of a graphic novel reinterpreted as a musical. Critics have also referred to it as the first musical focusing on what it is like to be a butch lesbian.
Cast of Fun Home The Musical:
Michael Cerveris (Bruce)
Judy Kuhn (Helen)
Beth Malone (Alison)
Sydney Lucas (Small Alison)
Emily Skeggs (Middle Alison)
Roberta Colindrez (Joan)
Zell Steele Morrow (John)
Joel Perez (Bobby Jeremy/Pete/Mark/Roy)
Oscar Williams (Christian)
Based on the memoir-slash-graphic novel by artist Alison Bechdel, Fun Home The Musical presents the protagonist in 3 stages of her life. First as a kid, then as a college student and then as herself. Her adult self serves as the default narrator. Here, she looks back to the life that she lived. If you end up turning your life story first as a graphic novel and later as a musical, how do you scrutinize your own family?
The musical is honest about the unreliability of your own memory. It can betray you. There are times where events that occurred in real life are the ones stuck in your head. It shaped Alison as an artist that she is now. That pain was presented in Fun Home The Musical. In a way, conflicted individuals can relate. These events come back to her. And she gets conflicted at how she would caption each image the moment. It happened whenever she attempted to sketch them in her studio. The confusion and distrust with your own memory served as the fulcrum. That fulcrum kept the balance going here at Fun Home The Musical.
It must have been hard for Alison to get these childhood images sketched on paper. It is not only about the artistry involved. The obvious concern here is scrutinizing the kind of parenthood you experienced. She can’t be too hard on her subjects, especially her Dad. In Fun Home The Musical, it even presented the confusion midway into a scene on whether she is so much like her father, Bruce, or not.
In the heart of all issues circling her head and the family she called “a sham” is a person coming to terms with her past. It is an analysis to discovering new things about her father. They may have contributed to her confused sexuality early in her life. Fun Home The Musical presented this in the relationship that Alison had with Joan way back in college. Every person scrutinizing their own sexuality reaches fever pitch the moment attraction comes into play. The sexual awakening illustrated in the graphic novel was also presented at Fun Home The Musical.
Bechdel shared in her interview with Stuck in Vermont how her artistic input is limited to the graphic novel. She gave full credit for coming up with Fun Home The Musical to Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori. (The theatrical run of Fun Home The Musical was directed by Sam Gold) So she appreciated having her name placed on the promotional materials as the artist behind the graphic novel.
Fun Home The Musical is still going strong at the Circle in the Square Theater. There are 3 ways where you can buy a ticket. First is by clicking here. Second is by calling them at 212-239-6200. Third is by dropping by the theater itself. Circle in the Square Theater is located at 235 West 50th Street, New York, NY.
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