We’re starting previews for this groundbreaking musical a week from tomorrow, and we figured that you’d like to read some things that maybe you didn’t already know about this amazing musical. Read on, click on the links to find out more, and then get your tickets to the show!
1. The creators set a Broadway record.
Fun Home is the first Broadway musical to have a lesbian as the central character.
2. It’s based on a true story.
The musical is based on a graphic novel with the same name, which is based on the true life experiences of the writer, Alison Bechdel, and her father, Bruce.
3. The co-creators had varying degrees of experience with musicals when they wrote Fun Home.
This was the first musical for book writer, Lisa Kron, who was known previously for her critically acclaimed autobiographical plays. On the other end of the spectrum, composer Jeanine Tesori has had multiple musicals on Broadway, including Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002), Caroline, or Change (2004), Shrek the Musical (2008), Violet (2014), and Soft Power (2018). Click here to watch a video with Lisa and Jeanine talking about the music in Fun Home.
4. The creators set a Tony Award record, too!
Lisa and Jeanine became the first female writing team to win the Tony Award for Best Original Score of a Musical. Click here to watch their acceptance speech (which was not aired during the telecast).
5. Ever hear of the “Bechdel Test”?
In addition to having a Tony Award-winning musical written about her life, Alison Bechdel also drew a comic strip with the criteria for what has come to be known as the “Bechdel Test.” This test is used to measure the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features (1) at least two women (2) who talk to each other (3) about something other than a man. It was determined that about half of all films meet these criteria. Click here to see the comic strip that inspired the test (you’ll be surprised which movie passes the test).
6. The graphic novel stoked controversy on its release.
Although the Fun Home graphic novel was praised by critics and scholars, it was also met with resistance. For example, the Missouri public library removed it from its shelves, freshmen at Duke University refused to read it because of its “pornographic content,” and colleges in Utah and South Carolina challenged its placement on syllabuses.
7. Alison Bechdel missed opening night.
Scheduling conflicts prohibited Alison from seeing the performance when Fun Home opened Off-Broadway in 2013… and she made a comic strip about it. Click here to see the comic strip of Alison and her laptop in Ohio on opening night (the final line is quite poignant).
8. How is the Chance production going to be different?
Fun Home has been playing in the “big houses” around the country for years to meet the high demand. We feel like this is a good time to drive home the intimate nature of Alison’s very personal story about sexual awakening and quest for closure with her overbearing and one-of-a-kind father. Therefore, we are reconfiguring our intimate Cripe Stage into an “alley”, which places the audience on two sides of the stage. This means that you will be no further than three rows away from the stage. Up close and personal.
Is your interest piqued? Well, get your tickets to see the show first-hand!
Buy Tickets | Find out more about FUN HOME
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