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BWW Review: FUN HOME is a Touching Coming of Age Story with Real Heart
(2017)
Abstract
FUN HOME, the Tony Award winning musical based on the graphic novel style memoir by Alison Bechdel initially seems like something that just can't work. The story, framed around her relationship with her father, is about Alison growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, working at the family funeral (fun) home then going off to college, and learning more about her father as she grows up and after he dies rather suddenly. The source material hits every emotion, and the stage production manages to really capture the feel of the book and elevate the emotion in a way that's hard to do just in text. The trouble of adapting a graphic novel too, is that the audience who have read it, already have very specific ideas of how a stage production should look. Great care was evident in the set design and costuming to make sure that the stage show matches the book. Book and lyrics writer Lisa Kron was also very canny to keep the story about the Bechdel family, but hone in on universal themes of growing up, finding independence and starting to see your parents and real people, rather than just as an extension of yourself. This may be the story of one family, but everyone can see a bit of themselves in it too.
Keywords
- Fun Home,
- Providence Performing Arts Center
Disciplines
Publication Date
November 10, 2017
Citation Information
Andria Tieman. "BWW Review: FUN HOME is a Touching Coming of Age Story with Real Heart" (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/andria-tieman/148/