NEW VILLAGE ARTS “FUN HOME” HAS A POWERFUL IMPACT AND YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS IT!

                                                          

“Fun Home” with music by Jeannie Testori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, (“2.5 Minute Ride”, “Well”) based on the  ‘graphic’ novel by Alison Bechdel is currently playing at New Village Arts through March 3rd.

It’s a comedy, it’s a drama, it’s a musical it’s a coming of age/coming out party for Alison Bechdel, her two brothers, her father and her mother. 

One might not consider the comings and goings of the five Bechdel’s a party or even funny for that matter unless you were one of the family and you were a cartoonist chronicling your life in a large sketch book while looking in as your life unfolded.

Lena Palke, Pryia Richard, Rae Henderson Gray

No one really knows what goes on ‘behind closed doors’, not even all those living within those doors and especially those outside those doors, not unless you are privileged to walk through those doors.  

Bechdel opened those doors when her memoir  “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” came out onto the public domain in 2006 in book form, while her 1983-2008 comic strip “Dykes To Watch Out For” was syndicated in dozens of newspapers and translated in several languages.  

The book was adapted as a musical by Kron and Tesori after several readings at the Ojai Playwrights Conference, then Sundance it opened on Broadway in 2013, to rave reviews. In 2015 it was nominated for 12 Tony’s including Best Musical. 

Lisette Velandia and Pryia Richard

The “Fun Home” is in fact the local communities funeral home, Bechdel Funeral Home, (“Come To The Fun Home”) run by Alison’s father Bruce (Brent Roberts) part time funeral director, who also taught high school English during the day and who went gallivanting to gay bars at night. 

Yes, he was a closeted gay. The two stories intertwine throughout, circling back and forth revolving around Alison’s coming out during her first year at Oberlin College (“Changing My Major”) and reflecting on her father’s best known secret, whose own sexuality was the bane of her mother, Helen’s (Sarah Alida Lecair  giving a  bravura performance, ) existence (“Days And Days”).  The day he stepped in front of a truck while Alison was still in college, four months after she came out. (“Telephone Wire”: ‘”So how does it feel to know that you and I are both”), was a heartstopper. But let's lay it all out on the table.

Rae Henderson Gray, Brent Roberts and Lena Palke

We meet Alison’s alter ego  (Rae Henderson Gray) as she is sorting through a lone box of ‘things’ salvaged and kept throughout the years as she recalls the past, picturing her Dad going through old artifacts he found in the garage while restoring the old Victorian house on Maple Ave. Looking back she reflects on her younger (“It All Comes Back”) self. 

While Gray is ever present and stately, with a range of expressions and emotions on her sleeve as she looks over her shoulders, reflecting on her growing up years, her father’s mood changes, her mother’s being pushed to the background never seeming happy, the fun, the pain and the angst is always ever present . 

Small (younger) Alison (Lena Pelke) is a star in her own right as she belts out “ Ring of Keys”. Pryia Richard is  a standout as the teenage /medium Alison taking us through this narrow path of her coming out when she meets her college roommate Joan (Lisette Velandia) who encourages her to follow her heart. 

Brent Roberts, Bruce is her happy, sad, demonstrative, demanding and moody father, who at the drop of a hat will be wooing a high school student in his office one minute, playing games with his youngsters another or walking his compulsive obsessive behavior through the house in another. Bottom line though, he’s not very nice to be around and he is perfect at what he does.

Cast

With a strong cast in hand, and spot on direction by Kym Pappas’ sentimental oft time funny and all too tragic family dynamics,  Alison's journey is framed in the outline of their Victorian home (Yi-Chen Lee). Furniture is rolled on and the set depicting places and Curtis Mueller’s pinpoint lighting and projections identify places and locations outside the home as well as sketches of Alison’s drawings. Carmen Amo’s  almost matching striped jerseys for each of the Alison’s are a brilliant take especially in the finale when all three Alison’s (“Flying Away”) come together in unison. 

Rounding out the cast are Zayden McHardy and Leo Jones Alison's younger brothers who bring a bit of playfulness into the picture and Kris Rona who plays a multitude of characters. 

Musical direction is by Korrie Yamaok and choreography by Patrick Mayuyu. Unfortunately, the music is not live and in some instances the sound  (Ethan Eldred) overtook the voices; a flaw that can be remedied over time but do not let that keep you from seeing this wonderful production as well as amazing performances.

This is the second time I  have seen this show and I would see it again in a heartbeat. 

Hats off to Kym and New Village Theatre.

See you at the theatre.  

Enjoy.