FUN HOME Comes to Ground Floor Theatre

Ground Floor Theatre has announced the cast for Fun Home running December 6-22, 2018. One of the most groundbreaking productions ever to hit Broadway, Fun Home is the winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir, Fun Home features music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. As the first theatre in Austin to produce the Tony Award winning musical, Ground Floor Theatre has cast Sandra Mae Frank as Joan, Broadway veteran (Spring Awakening) and a deaf actress, integrating American Sign Language into this musical.

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 in three quarter round, bringing audiences closer to Alison's story than ever before. A refreshingly honest musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

In addition to Sandra Mae Frank as Joan, the cast includes: Sarah Marie Curry as Alison, Taylor Flanagan as Medium Alison, Mariela Denson as Small Alison, James Lindsay as Bruce, Alejandra Murga as Helen, Dave Hawk as Roy/Mark, etc., Devin Gramling as Christian and Eric Judge as John.

Ground Floor Theatre Founder and Co-Director Lisa Scheps directs with musical direction by Adam Roberts, choreography by Kelsey Oliver, scenic design by Ia Ensterä, lighting design by Natalie George, sound design by Jeff Miller, costume design by Pamela Fletcher-Friday and prop design by Patti Neff-Tiven.

"I am elated to be producing and directing this amazing musical. It is a funny and impactful story that touches me on so many levels...as a daughter, sister and member of the LGBTQ community," Scheps says. "Alison Bechdel, Lisa Kron, and Jeannine Tesori have created a masterpiece and Ground Floor Theatre is thrilled to be producing it for Austin audiences."

Performances run December 6 - 22, 2018 at Ground Floor Theatre, 979 Springdale Road, Austin, TX at the corner of Springdale and Airport. Performances are Thursday through Saturday nights at 8:00PM and Sundays at 5:00PM. The "First Friday" performance on December 7 includes a champagne reception. Ground Floor Theatre believes in "theatre for everyone" regardless of ability to pay, so tickets are always "Pay What You Can". Tickets can be purchased at groundfloortheatre.org

All dialog for "Joan" will be presented in American Sign Language with English super titles. One fully ASL interpreted performance will be performed during the run. Performance details to be announced at a later date.

Ground Floor Theatre concentrates on works by and for underrepresented communities. It serves as an incubator to foster and grow new and groundbreaking works that shine a light on groups that are often overlooked. It is also a home for the Austin theatre community to come together and learn from one another in order to help Austin continue to excel as a leader in the National Theatre community. For more information visit www.groundfloortheatre.org.