WHAT: Fun Home
WHERE: Firehouse Center for the Arts
BLURB: A Deeply Moving Story, "you'll laugh, you'll cry"
HIGH POINT: Every single element.
Time to rev up the car and head south to Newburyport for Fun Home, a deeply moving musical, which features an incredible collection of outstanding performances, and great voices. The standing ovation it received opening weekend was well deserved.
Fun Home is based on Alison Bechdel's Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, a graphic novel memoir. The award-winning musical is a complex piece, packed with conflicting emotions - at times heart-rending, and others hilarious.
The score, music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Iron, is a memorable one. Among the best is the poignant "Ring of Keys," the hilarious "Changing My Major," the heartbreaking "Days and Days," and the wonderful "Come to the Fun Home," an advertisement for dad's mortuary written by the kids.
Taking us through her non-sequential memories, Bechdel (Ari Schmidt) shares the story of her eccentric and troubled family, focusing on her relationship with her dad. Dad, Bruce Bechdel (Kevin Mahaney), is an emotionally unavailable, tumultuous, and controlling closeted homosexual. It's a frank take on a difficult subject.
Bruce is a Renaissance man, an English teacher and funeral director, with a passion for literature, philosophy, history and restoration, the latter the reason the family resides in a Victorian home, not unlike a museum.
He is largely disinterested in his family; young Alison (Rosalie Chase), her two siblings Lucy Davison and Alexander Brown) and their silently suffering mother (Jennifer Stearns), who are all subject to his personal interests and demands.
Adult Alison takes us through her memories, from grammar school through college, as she works to recall moments and incidents from those years.
The critical period comes during college. In a short span of time, Medium Alison (Fin Gagnon) acknowledges she's a lesbian, and informs her parents. This prompts her mother to reveal that her father is gay, and is drawn to teenage boys. Within weeks of these revelations, the family is struck by unthinkable tragedy.
There's just so much right with this production, starting with the smart direction by Maddie Roth, music direction by Justin Knowlton and the work of all the designers.
Then there is the incredibly talented cast that brings the characters to life with incredible honesty.
Fun Home is a difficult production to fully realize. One of the more problematic tasks for any performer is conveying the hidden, emotional undercurrents that demand subtlety. Fun Home is all about undertow, and this cast is all about delivering; to a person the performances deliver authenticity.
The Alisons: Adult is Ari Schmidt, Medium is Fin Gagnon and Small is Rosalie Chase - are incredible, each and every one of them, both their performances and vocals.
Schmidt, the adult cartoonist, plays her character with a thoughtful, and clear approach. The person looking back is moved by the truth of the emotional life she share. You can see it moving through her, yet it's delivered with an even hand. Her warmth, pain, confusion and love color every scene.
Fin, as medium Alison nails the emerging young woman, both her struggle with self-discovery and the confusion of unfolding circumstances. Her delivery of "Changing My Major" is a show highlight.
It's hard to believe Chase (Small Alison) is a third grader. This actress has some serious skill and delivers a genuine performance. She also doesn't disappoint when she takes on "Ring of Keys," one of the musical's most endearing tunes.
Kevin Mahaney is the dad. He's perfect. Perfect in every way. Mahaney brings the father's complex personality authentically to life - all This quixotic characters faces. In addition he nails every song with a beautiful, rich sound.
Sterns gives a moving performance as Helen, Alison's mother, a woman who has endured years of pain. It's all there in the stares, the set of her shoulder, and the turn of her body.
There's nary a dry eye in the house when Sterns' clear, strong voice delivers Days and Days, a heartbreaking tune about the truth of her life.
Brown as sibling Christian, and Davison as John are terrific, both delivering credible performances. The pair, along with Chase, bring the house down with their hilarious (and vocally wonderful) take on Come to the Fun House, a musical advertisement they write about dad's funeral parlor.
This fine cast is rounded out by Lilly Pudlo as Joan, Alison's college love interest, and David Livingston who handles four of Bruce's attractions. Both nail their parts, making for a stellar cast across the board.
Director Maddie Roth does a lot right. Most importantly she facilitates believable, rich characters.
She also meets the challenge of multiple locations and scene changes on a stage somewhat smaller than ideal for this particular piece. She nails it; keeping things moving and interesting.
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