America's U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power Leads Diplomatic Mission To FUN HOME

According to the United Nations, there are 75 countries in the world where being gay is illegal.

Reuters reports that United Nations Ambassadors from three countries with laws restricting homosexuality - Russia, Gabon and Namibia - were part of last night's diplomatic mission led by United States U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power to see FUN HOME, the Tony-winning Broadway musical based on Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir about her childhood discovery of her sexual orientation.

Ambassadors from the European Union, Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Uruguay and Vietnam also attended.

FUN HOME "brings home the challenges that LGBTI are facing every day around the world," Power said during a post-performance question-and-answer session.

"Thank you for bringing this all home in a way that resolutions and statements never can," she told the cast.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from South Korea has long advocated for LGBT equality but has faced opposition from African, Arab and Muslim states, as well as from Russia and China.

Since 2014, the United Nations has recognize all same-sex marriages of its staff, allowing them to receive U.N. benefits, a move that Russia tried unsuccessfully to overturn.

Last month, the 54-member African Group, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation and 25-member "Group of Friends of the Family." led by Belarus, Egypt and Qatar, protested against the launch of six U.N. stamps promoting LGBT equality.

The African Group, in a letter to Ban, "strongly rejected any attempt to undermine the international human rights system by seeking to impose concepts or notions pertaining to social matters, including private individual conduct that falls outside the internationally agreed human rights legal framework."

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Fun Home features music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and direction by Sam Gold, whose work on this production earned them Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Book and Best Direction. Fun Home is currently playing to sold-out crowds at the Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street).

The current cast of Fun Home includes two-time Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris, four-time Tony Award nomineeJudy Kuhn, 2015 Tony Award nominee Beth Malone, Lauren Patten, Gabriella Pizzolo, Roberta Colindrez,Zell Steele Morrow, Joel Perez and Oscar Williams, along with Alessandra Baldacchino, Kally Duling, Presley Ryan,Perry Sherman, Jim Stanek, and Nicole Van Giesen.

FUN HOME introduces us to Alison at three different ages, revealing memories of her uniquely dysfunctional family - her mother, brothers and volatile, brilliant, enigmatic father - that connect with her in surprising new ways. This intimate and emotional theatrical experience is performed entirely in the round, bringing audiences closer to Alison's story than ever before. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

FUN HOME was also nominated for 2015 Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of Musical (David Zinn), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Ben Stanton) and Best Orchestrations (John Clancy). The creative team also includes Danny Mefford (Choreography), Kai Harada (Sound Design), and Chris Fenwick (Music Direction).

The coast-to-coast North American Tour of Fun Home will begin in the 2016 - 2017 Season, and the Grammy nominated Original Broadway Cast Recording of Fun Home Original Cast Recording is now available on PS Classics,www.psclassics.com.