Before the show started I really didn’t know what to expect from the musical production of Fun Home. I was really curious to see how the playwrights interpreted the meaning and essence of the graphic novel memoir. As it turns out, the play was more entertaining and enjoyable than the graphic novel. In the production, I felt that the turning points in Alison’s life were more poignant and emphasized through song. That kind of emphasis was not as great in the graphic novel, where these moments passed quickly.

I remember when I was watching the play, there were a discrepancies between the musical and the novel, such as the scene in New York City where Bruce snuck out in the middle of the night while the children were all asleep. In the novel, this moment did not seem to me to be as significant as the play made it out to be. The production added some more elements to that particular scene to make Bruce seem more fatherly and less distant, putting Alison to bed before he left. Another instance was when Alison had sex for the first time with Joan. In the novel, that moment wasn’t as extravagantly highlighted as in the play, where Alison dedicated a whole number to her newfound love and attraction for Joan. It just seemed like some moments were specifically emphasized in the musical for the entertainment value, which made the story lose some of its intensity and drama.

The musical was thoroughly enjoyable, if not a little too upbeat to match the same mood set in the graphic novel. Everything was one step more happy and energetic than what I felt while reading the novel. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing, but I guess the story does need to be adjusted to match the entertainment needs of the audience. I, for one, certainly laughed more during the course of the play than I did the whole time I was reading the graphic novel (I didn’t even laugh once). One thing that bothered me was that there was no mention at all of Alison’s struggles with her developing OCD during her childhood years or her lying in her diary entries. Maybe all of this was excluded from the final cut of the play because it was not essential to the central theme focusing on Bruce and Alison’s relationship? Even so, I thought that it should have at least been mentioned somewhere since it was an important part of the author’s transformative years.

Although a lot of the nuances and allusions to other great literary works were missed in the transformation from graphic novel to musical, the story didn’t lose its most integral theme surrounding the issues of closeted homosexuality and father-daughter relationships. The musical managed to put the “fun” in Fun Home by making every moment marvelous either through the visual settings or the catchy and clever song lyrics.

It really was an emotional and unforgettable play, and I would absolutely recommend everyone to see it!