Theatre Reviews & Features
Fun Home opened to rave reviews at The Public Theater in October 2013, and was quickly extended four times due to popular demand. It was named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, and received the OBIE, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle and Off Broadway Alliance Awards in the 2013-2014 season; the musical was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Pronounced “a beautiful, heartbreaker of a musical” by the New York Times, Fun Home is a fresh, bold and original musical based on Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical, best-selling graphic novel. After her father dies unexpectedly, Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires. Named “Best Musical of the Year” by the New York Times, New York Magazine, Daily News and more, Fun Home is a daring and innovative work about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
The creative team also includes Danny Mefford (Choreography), David Zinn (Set and Costume Design), Ben Stanton (Lighting Design), Kai Harada (Sound Design) and Chris Fenwick (Music Direction).
Fun Home will be produced on Broadway by Fox Theatricals and Barbara Whitman, along with Carole Shorenstein Hays, Tom Casserly, Paula Marie Black, Latitude Link, Terry Schnuck/Jack Lane, Nathan Vernon, Elizabeth Armstrong, JAM Theatricals and Scott M. Delman.
The Original Cast Recording of Fun Home is available on PS Classics.
THE CRITICS PRAISE “FUN HOME”
Critics’ Pick!
“A beautiful heartbreaker of a musical. Fun Home finds a shining clarity that lights up the night!
-- The New York Times
“A miracle! Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about growing up gay with a closeted dad underwent the most unlikely genre translation imaginable to become the year’s best new musical, both hilarious and crushing.”
-- New York Magazine
“5 Stars! “Achingly beautiful! Uncompromising in its intelligence and emotionality, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron have made something special.”
-- New York Daily News
“Warm, Funny, Heartbreaking!”
-- Variety
“Four Stars! Lisa Kron’s poignant libretto and Jeanine Tesori’s expressive, multifarious music make lesbian identity legible onstage.”
-- Time Out New York
“Deeply affecting, even heartbreaking. Fun Home is a triumph!”
-- New York Observer
“A collaboration to cherish! Lisa Kron knows precisely how to mix the demands of a musical and the brilliance of Bechdel’s memoir. Jeanine Tesori finds just the right voices.”
-- Newsday
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