Monthly Archives: October 2013

Another Fun Home Review

Hey look at this! Another fun home review. But that’s alright, since there is really so much to say about this play.

The Good

There is really a lot of great things to say about this play. It was punchy, it was peppy, it was all around exciting to watch. Just when you’d least expect it, all the kids in “Fun Home” would break out into a musical note that all left in awe and in tears. It wasn’t just the kids either, but teenage Alison held our attention just as aggressively. With her teenage awkwardness that most of us can relate to, she really gave something that we can all relate to. She wasn’t short in comedy either, especially in her musical bit where she sang about “studying Joan”. Despite all this, she really advances Allison’s character overall. Adult Allison brings a more serious tone overall, something that really makes us stop and think. It really captures the conflict in her life, and especially conflict with her dad. The small group of musicians also did a fine job in producing music so perfect for the setting.

The Not So Good (probably subjective)

While I did enjoy the play, there were aspects of the play I didn’t quite like. In my opinion, the book made Bruce really a strong character who did not falter at all. It made the transition from the righteous and strong Bruce to the Bruce who was charged for “giving a minor a beer”. In the play, it always felt like he was always nervous and never gave off any feel of resolution. It was always almost cringing to see Bruce nervously tell Roy to take off his shirt or for Bruce to nervously sing a song for Alison to sleep. Another aspect of the play I didn’t like was the role of Alison’s mom. She was made into a minor character, when in the book, her actions served as an irony to what the main story was progressing through. I understand the time restraint for the play, but it did pain me to see her mom brushed off to the side, when in the book, she struggled and reached as much as the other characters. Also the play took a really happy tone, something which I felt was a little too upbeat.

Conclusion

It’s definitely a play you should consider worth seeing. There are moments you absolutely won’t forget, and I’d gladly recommend this play to anyone.

Fun Home: The Review

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On October 23, 2013, I saw my first theater performance ever, and it was in Manhattan too, at The Public Theater! Fun Home was just phenomenal, although it was a little bit tweaked from the book. And I felt happy that I had the opportunity to actually read the book before seeing the play, versus the other people in the audience who seem to have been just going along with what they saw. Yeah, of course I felt bad for Alison and her father and just the way her relationship with her parents was when I read the book, but I didn’t feel bad enough to start crying like I did at the play. Its like everything came to life all of a sudden. I got to understand what the fights between her parents looked like, I got see how Alison grew up throughout the stages in her life, and to see the character grow and blossom in action on the stage is way better than trying to imagine the cartoons moving in the book.

Laugh out loud! The actors on stage looked so much like Alison’s drawings, and those kids: they had so much energy! The only character that looked out of place was Joan, because she didn’t look like the Joan I read about in the book. And then Bruce: when does he take Alison for a ride in the car? I felt like he was nicer to Alison and jollier in the play. One aspect of the play that was really good was the music, and it was so powerful to hear the dramatic music mix with the words of the actors, that I just had to drop a tear or two. Towards the end, I had an outburst of tears, because I saw all three versions of Alison, and her stages of growth. I thought it was strange of Alison (41-year-old) at first to be standing around in the background, but then I realized what the purpose was. I mean, I read the book, so I might know what’s going on in the story, but I guess her job was to narrate the story with every scene and “caption.” I pray to God Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home goes to Broadway. The enthusiasm, the words, the music, the feelings fed to the audience, they all come together to make this play something really special. I absolutely loved it from the bottom of my heart, and hope I get to see it again so I can show others the wonderful experience I had.

Fun Home Review

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After reading the novel, I was a bit surprised at the musical… in a good way. Personally, I love musicals so I was very interested to watch it. The atmosphere of the musical was definitely a lot more cheerful than what I expected; the musical aspect of it made the show have a more positive tone in some parts. There was also a lot more humor to it compared to the novel so it was very enjoyable to watch. In the novel, Bruce is portrayed as a father who didn’t care about his children and only seemed to “use” them when he needed help, but on stage, I felt that he was more of an ideal father. He actually smiles and seems to be more present in Alison’s life. For example, in NYC before he sneaks out, I could really see the fatherly aspect of Bruce when he sings Alison to sleep.
I also liked how it was a nonlinear narrative in both the book and the musical. During the show, it was interesting seeing the grown up Alison looking back at the young Alisons in childhood and college. Actually seeing Alison develop throughout the show made it more clear to me as to how Alison was changing. I personally liked the show more because on stage, there can be a lot of things happening at the same time while in the book, the author must draw a new frame in order to portray another scene. In the show, the audience is able to see Alison writing her story and also see the scenes that she is writing about. Also, I liked how they used the stage curtains to show that Alison was drawing while certain scenes were playing. Many times, we see the current Alison looking over the small Alison writing in her diary, which again shows two different things happening; Alison looking back at her childhood and the actual scene of when small Alison was writing.
I was talking to other classmates and we were a bit surprised that the show did not mention about how she used to write, especially in her diaries, with lines and indecipherable writing. I thought it was quite important as she was developing during her childhood, but I guess they thought only the mention of her writing in a diary was important enough.
Lastly, I really liked how they started and ended the show. The show started with Alison and her father playing “Airplane,” and the show ended with the same song, which brings the story back to the beginning, except Bruce wasn’t there anymore. It was also very interesting how the show ended with all three Alisons singing, which I thought was a great way to conclude the show. The show was able to bring out more emotions; when I was reading the book, I didn’t really feel sad that her father had died but at the end of the show, I was quite sad and even sympathetic for Bruce.

My Review on “Fun Home”

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This past Wednesday, we went to see “Fun Home” at the Public Theater. (The first picture above was taken from my phone camera, sorry about the horrible quality!) I absolutely loved how director Sam Gold creatively made Bechdel’s graphic novel come to life, literally! I loved loved loved it! He excellently weaved together a beautiful musical. I admired how adult Alison stood over at the sidelines and gave her comments to the audience. It made it so entertaining to watch.

I also love the tone and overall atmosphere that the actors and stage had. The costumes and settings were exactly as I pictured it in the graphic novel, except better! The stage was very detailed and interesting. I love how the turnstile on the stage added to the effect of different settings weaving together. The musical definitely was a different experience compared to when I read the book. When I was reading the book it was really depressing to read, but when I was in the Public Theater, I felt excited to learn what was next despite the fact I knew what would happen next!

Watching this musical made me feel like a kid again! I wonder what Alison Bechdel would think if she saw this. I wonder if it would be up to her standards. Would she like it or not? Also, I wonder what the older audience members were thinking about when they saw this. Did they see the deep meaning behind this musical compared to us who read the book? I wonder how long it took for the children on set to rehearse, they feel so confident and strong on stage. I’m curious about how the kids on set feel when they hear cursing or see partial nudity when they’re on stage.

I asked a few of you guys what you thought and most of you thought it was amazing compared to the book because the musical bought Bechdel’s autobiography to life. Did you guys find any flaws in this? I thought it was exceptionally perfect! What else do you guys think about this musical?

FUN HOME Review

FUN HOME Play Bill

Sitting at the edge of our seats, FUN HOME brought Alice Bechdel’s novel to life. A major jolt to her gloomy feeling memoir, FUN HOME the musical gave her tale a breath of fresh air. Although the play deviated from the book plot wise in many instances, I felt that the musical was well written and well directed. From songs about becoming a lesbian (Changing my Major to Joan) to their house on Maple Avenue, this musical captured it all while still maintaining the strong coming of age themes and “finding one’s self” that were expressed in the graphic novel. The play focuses in on three points in Alice’s life: her childhood, her college years, and adulthood. I was greatly impressed by the three actors who played Alice. As each of them represented one of the three stages in Alice’s life you can really see Alice’s development throughout those stages. I was also impressed with the actors who played Alice’s parents, Helen and Bruce. As the play progresses, the struggle of Bruce trying to do what’s best for his family while maintaining his secret life and Helen coping with the idea can be clearly seen through the actor’s performance. In my opinion I felt that reading the book beforehand somewhat dulled the experience of watching the play. The reason being was that we already had a general concept of what was going to happen in the play versus going in blind and viewing it for the first time. Nonetheless, the musical gives a fresh twist to the somewhat depressing novel and kept us on our toes the entire time. I can only hope that this musical ends up on Broadway one day so we can all say that we saw it first! Haha

Fun Home: A Musical

Last night, we went to see Fun Home at the Public Theater. I, as well as everyone else, was initially skeptical, given that the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel was turned into a musical. How could Fun Home, a novel with a somber and depressing tone possibly be turned into a jolly, cheerful musical? After watching the play, I realized that not only did the producers of the musical find the perfect balance between the two, but also created a new rendition of the story that touched all of our hearts just like Bechdel’s graphic novel.

The play opened up with a woman in the background standing by a desk, presumably writing or drawing. In the foreground, “Small Alison” starts singing onstage, asking “Daddy” to play airplane. This first scene without a doubt mirrors the first scene in the graphic novel, when Alison and Bruce played airplane. We realize that the woman in the background is Alison when she grew older. She is in the process of writing her graphic novel, the same novel for which this play is based off of. All throughout the play, older Alison remains, observing the scenes and trying to craft her novel every time she said “Caption.” In the play, we are able to see Alison when she was younger, from when she would ask her Daddy to play airplane, to when she would make advertisements for the Bechdel Fun Home with her brothers, to seeing her father sneak out, etc. We see Alison in her college years, where she has this adorable awkwardness about her when she is in the process of finding herself and when she forms a relationship with Joan, who seems absolutely perfect for Alison. We see Alison during childhood and in her adolescent/young adult years. And of course, we see Bruce, who seems to put on a good image that he has the perfect family. However, we see that behind closed doors, Bruce is actually having affairs with other men behind his wife’s back and through older Alison’s reflection. We are able to see all of the hints Bruce dropped that Alison failed to pick up on until her mom broke the news to her when she was away at college. Older Alison is remembering all of this so that she can incorporate it into her autobiography.

However, what I truly liked about the play was that Older Alison did not always play the part of the mundane narrator who did not take part of the action in the play. We see that towards the end, Older Alison is trying to figure out why her father never confessed to her that he was gay. She is still baffled by the fact that he suddenly died, or possibly killed herself. Perhaps the most powerful scene was when Older Alison was in the car with her father and she sings the song about “telephone poles and black wires.” She is waiting for her father to confess about what she already knows. We see that these questions still haunt her to this day, which, personally to me, was not as clear in the novel. The play was able to take the story from Bechdel’s graphic novel and present it in a new light. Personally, it was a different rendition from the novel, a rendition that I completely enjoyed. My only criticism was that I felt that the play was a little too positive, especially given the tone of the graphic novel. But the play, nonetheless, was amazing and could, hopefully, find its way to Broadway.

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