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!

The first thing I have to say is that my favorite line was definitely about the delivery woman’s key ring. I noticed that in the picture in the novel, and I was really excited that they made a point of it.
Having said that I think there were two really interesting things about the production. One was the” author” character watching the events of her life. That included the way that the “author” kept looking over the shoulder of her younger selves and reading what they wrote in her diary. Often she read it with a different tone than it had been intended. This fits well with what we discussed in class about the reliability of a person looking back at their own memories. It also included the way she saw things and then tried to dissect what the people in the scenes, including herself, were thinking. She had the sense of a person trying to put the pieces of her life back together, not sure as to where she was going or she had come from. The novel didn’t have that same tone of self-discovery.
I would say the other thing that struck was the way the one blue door was used to represent choices that Alison had to make, as well as the major events that had a tremendous impact on her. For example, the door to her room were she had all those important conversations with Joan, or the door to the Gay Union room, that represented the choice she had to make about herself. Part of the re-use of the door was probably practically, but I think there was definitely a greater meaning, because I got a similar vibe from the novel.
I also felt the father was much more menacing in the novel.

Hello classmates and professors alike, this is my review of FUN HOME (it’s supposed to be capitalized, right? Everyone’s capitalizing it…)

Everyone seems to have enjoyed the performance as if it were the greatest thing they’d ever come across, but as we know, nothing is perfect, so I’ll be “that guy” who points out the elephant in the room.

1. First of all, the book was much more intense. I understand it’s difficult to make a musical into something that’s intense without adding a bit of humor or amusement, but then what’s the point of making the musical in the first place? Alison Bechdel’s message is not that her life was about breaking into song whenever things got tense; in fact, it’s probably quite the opposite. Perhaps the point of the performance was to emphasize that throughout all the confusion in her life, Bechdel managed to find happiness and beauty in “negative spaces”, but at times there was simply too much “happiness” which seemed a bit unneeded.

2. I was really perplexed as to why the youngest actress who played Alison (the one who sings “I want to play airplane”) seemed like both the childhood version and the preteen version.  Allow me to explain: the youngest version of Alison seems way too childish, even though her persona is a perfect balance between awkwardness and innocence. In the beginning of the performance, it’s obvious that she’s a total kid; however, as the plot develops, she quite clearly molds into a 13 year old who notices the oddities that surround her. I wish they had either included a fourth character or focused less on Alison’s childhood personality.

3. Also, I wish they’d given the college version of Alison more stage time. This is the critical character in the entire performance – while she’s in college, Alison discovers more about herself than ever before, and I felt like they breezed through her lines, ultimately hampering the significance that she is supposed to exemplify.

Don’t get me wrong, overall the musical was very entertaining, especially the trio of kids performing the “Bechdel Funeral Home” song (honestly my favorite part). But I chose to talk about the weaknesses and not go with the class drift. 

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.

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.

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