Book and Lyrics: Lisa Kron; music: Jeanine Tesori. At: Circle in the Square Theatre, 235 W. 50th St., New York City. Tickets: 212-239-6200 or FunHomeBroadway.com; $75-$150. Runs through: Open run
Trying to harness the "fun" in "funeral home" is bound to be misguided. But for the Bechdel family, it's a way of redirecting attention to something, anything, but family secrets. Inside this well-appointed home full of books and antiques, there is a fragile balance of love and honesty, and they don't always mix.
The Fun Home here is that of Alison Bechdel's youth. Her character is portrayed in three eras: pre-teen ( played by Obie winner Sydney Lucas ), college-age ( Emily Skeggs ) and adult ( Beth Malone ), presumably after years of therapy. Staged at Manhattan's Circle on the Square Theatre, the new musical is based on Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, in which she explored the beauty and heartbreak behind her family's closed doors.
Adult Alison dwells on stage throughout as both narrator and observer, taking us in and out of her chilly home. At its center is her father, Bruce ( Tony winner Michael Cerveris ), who's doing the best he can as a funeral director, teacher, restoration expert, and closeted gay man. Tension between her aloof dad and increasingly tortured mother ( three-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn ) rarely interrupts Alison and her two younger brothers' attempts to inject some fun into their otherwise somber household.
While we glimpse some lighter moments during Alison's college and coming-out days, the musical is anchored in the family dynamic. Its tentacles sink deep inside Alison's burgeoning artistic heart, growing more painful as dad Bruce detaches, alternating between devious affairs with young men and self-directed homophobia. His family absorbs his gloom, leading to the sort of heartbreaking rifts only relatives can inflict. As a coming-out story, Fun Home is both tender and self-effacing. As a coming-of-age story, it's laced with the kind of pain only hindsight can render.
With 12 Tony nominations and many more awards already in the bag, this open-ended Broadway production follows a successful run off-Broadway at New York's Public Theater, with much of the original cast reprising their roles.
It also marks the first lesbian character to lead a Broadway musical. A compelling but contemplative lead, Malone restrains her powerful voice, much as her Alison restrains her emotional candor. Her young and college selves, by contrast, are allowed more youthful joybut always streaked with darkness, much like Bruce's tarnished antiques. Cerveris is not totally cut out for the role of this plain Dockers-wearing dad ( not to mention his dreadful wig ), but at least his amazing voice helps elevate his performance.
Fun Home's in-the-round staging invites the audience to join the family, with ingenious set design that seamlessly hops between the 1970s, 1990s and present day. Lisa Kron's book and lyrics, paired with Jeanine Tesori's music, play more like a modern opera than musical, but that's due in part to the subject matter. Stark drama in the Fun Home, it seems, is far easier to find than the fun.