Review - Fun Home

I'm still trying to put together my Dublin posts, but I can tell you in advance that I had a GREAT TIME!  I saw some theater, drank some whiskey and did a lot of sightseeing.  Not enough, though.  I feel as if there was so much more to see, so I guess I have to go back.  Time to start compiling more frequent flyer miles...

I'm still pretty jet-lagged (my brain is so foggy; well, more foggy than usual on a Monday), but when a dear old friend e-mailed me last weekend to see if I'd like to join him for dinner and a show Saturday night, I jumped at the chance.  I figured if I strategically planned my naps, I could get through the show without falling asleep.  I did a good job, because I stayed awake for all of Fun Home.

I saw an early preview of the Off-Broadway production at the Public and I've been dying to see the show again ever since.  I listen to the cast album frequently - I believe I've mentioned before that I think Jeanine Tesori is a brilliant composer and I find her music to Fun Home completely transporting.  Lisa Kron's book and lyrics are just as complex and fascinating as the music, and it becomes hard to tell where things begin and where they end, because this show is so seamless in its storytelling.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

Based on a graphic comic/novel, Fun Home is a singular, yet universal, story about trying to understand your parents, how you became who you are, and coming to terms with the knowledge.  That this family story also focuses on the daughter's coming out as a lesbian and the father's life (and ultimate death) as a closeted gay man, just heightens the stakes.  Our lead character, Alison, is played by three actresses of various ages: Small Alison, who is about nine; Middle Alison, who is a freshman in college, and Alison, a 40-something cartoonist trying to make sense of her childhood.  Each Alison is seen searching and wondering, with the oldest version weaving her way in and out of all the remembrances she's put into place.

Like memory, we see things out of order - set pieces pop in and out of view.  The atmosphere, like life, is sometimes sad and sometimes funny.  The songs play up that aspect - a couple of the songs have a bouncy, 70s tv show theme song vibe, for when they want to remember things happily.  But some of the songs are just so haunting and honest and real.  "Ring of Keys," the song of Small Alison's acknowledgement of something different, is just blistering.  Sydney Lucas, as Small Alison, is giving one of those performances that will stand the test of time, I think.  For such a young girl, she finds so much depth in her singing and acting.  And "Changing My Major" is just a joyous acceptance of sexual awakening by Middle Alison, played by Emily Skeggs.  "Days and Days," sung by the long-suffering mother (played by the brilliant Judy Kuhn) is heartbreaking in its simplicity and pain.  I could actually talk about almost every song as a beautiful theatrical moment in itself.

photo credit: Joan Marcus

All of the performers are so magnificent, it's hard to single any one out.  Michael Cerveris is, as always, a fully realized human being, so specific yet so relatable.  You can feel his pain and his struggle; he's so moving.  His performance has truly deepened since I saw the show in 2013.  But everyone's has.  I did feel that Alison (played as a 40-something by Beth Malone) was more present and made more of an impact on me in this incarnation, but mainly the show has just been honed to its essential essence in the transfer.  Seeing the show in the round, and being so close to the action, heightens the very moving qualities.  At least to me.  Though I did get annoyed from time to time at having to watch someone's back when they were facing the other side of the house.  But that's a quibble.

There were moments that took my breath away, and the last fifteen minutes or so of the show are almost unbearably true.  But that's why I go to the theater, to see the truth.  Alison's story is not my story, yet her struggles and her searching are just so understandable, you can put yourself inside her story.  I was happy to see the theater was full, with lots of people standing in the back.  I was the tiniest bit annoyed by how some people in the audience were yukking it up as if they were at a riotous comedy - yes, the show is funny and poignant and real, but it was also quite moving and sad at times.  I guess as long as they were enjoying it, that's a good thing, but sometimes that enjoyment seems false to me.  My friend wasn't bothered by it, so maybe it was just me.  I'm already planning my next visit to Fun Home; I'm so glad there were producers smart and brave enough to move this idiosyncratic piece to Broadway.  I want to make sure I show my appreciation by buying tickets to show them I care...