Fun Home |
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Review by Willard Manus FUN HOME,
the Tony Award-winning musical, sheds light on the sad/funny history of
yet another dysfunctional American family. In this one, the father, Bruce
(Robert Petkoff), is a closeted homosexual, the mother, Helen (Susan Moniz),
is a silent, sad witness, and the eldest daughter, Alison (Kate Shindle),
is a mixed-up, teenaged lesbian.Thats only one aspect of the multi-leveled
story, which is based on the confessional graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.
As adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, FUN HOME zigzags between past
and present, with two other young actresses (Alessandro Baldacchino and
Abby Corrigan) portraying Alison at different times in her life. Mostly,
though, the musical centers on the adult Alison, now a cartoonist, as
she tries to write about, and make sense of, her bizarre history, one
in which her father committed suicide and her mother was overwhelmed by
guilt. |