Fun Home Reviews!!!!- Page 4

[goldenboy]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 3:55pm

Well I am in the minority here. I know. Don't tell me how wrong I am. It's only my opinion.

The critics raved. You and the critics all told me how ground breaking Fun Home was and I went. Think it may have been overly hyped cause I didn't think the music was great, was kind of bored and didn't understand the point of the entire evening.

Yes it was fascinating that the lead girl was a gay woman and so was her father. And then there was no point to it other than the lead girl remembering the past. I didn't get it. I must have missed something, I just didn't care.

I don't think Fun Home is for everyone. It wasn't for me.

[darquegk]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 8:06pm

Part of the appeal or the alienation of Fun Home is that it does not use its characters or themes to be universal- grad school, academia, English lit and lesbianism are the central themes here. They aren't things that the average person picked at random from a crowd can instantly relate to, because Alison and Bruce are not "everyman," or even "every-gay." They are distinctly separate, unique individuals even within the realm of the show. The way they relate to others and the way they are removed from others is part of the plot's subtext.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 8:27pm

I agree, although I will say that in terms of the original graphic novel, it did become a best seller (and not in graphic novel terms, but in book terms.) Which, I think caught a lot of people by surprise (Blechdel's followup, Are you my mother? has not made nearly the same impact. I love it, but I suspect part of the reason is it doesn't really have the narrative hook of the father's double life and probable suicide.) I believe it's up there with other graphic novel (and, perhaps not coincidentally memoirs) like Persepolis and Maus in terms of sales.

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:04pm

"You and the critics all told me how ground breaking Fun Home was and I went."

Not all. There are some who have had the courage to stand up -- and speak up -- to the madding crowd.

You are one of them, and deserve plaudits.

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/1/13 at 11:10pm

I am an individual, with individual likes and dislikes. I don't follow the crowd, madding or otherwise. I think people react differently to works of art. If someone doesn't like Fun Home, I'm more than willing to respect that person's point of view. But sometimes art just moves you, and you may not fully understand why. That's my reaction to Fun Home. I found it breathtakingly beautiful and real. If others don't agree, fine. But it's not a case of someone being right and others being wrong.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 11/2/13 at 9:50am

"Not all. There are some who have had the courage to stand up -- and speak up -- to the madding crowd.

You are one of them, and deserve plaudits. "

Yes, any day now a call will come from the President and medals will soon be proffered in the Rose Garden.

Speaking one's opinion about an off-Broadway musical is hardly an act of courage no matter how many people feel differently about the production than you do.

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/2/13 at 9:56am

^

Indy,

Have you paid much attention to these boards? If you dare speak out against a critics'/elitists' darling du jour......

Duck!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/2/13 at 10:16am

Darque and Eric -- I would actually take a slightly different angle and say that the real power of FUN HOME is in the universality of its depiction of a 20th century family dynamic DESPITE having characters and themes that at first glance seem exclusive. Alison's childhood desire to connect with a parent who she has a seemingly birth born disconnection from transcends any barrier of sexuality or academia.

For me (and yes I think the piece is ground breaking, and no, you don't have to apologize if the show isn't for you) the miracles of the piece are subtle. It's simply the most realistic depiction of a regular modern family dynamic that I've perhaps ever seen in a musical. That the piece could illuminate that personal, identifiable reality for me at that quiet (and perhaps at first glance, seemingly insignificant level) made it an experience that took my breath away.

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 11/2/13 at 10:17am

New Yorker on Sondheim watching FUN HOME


http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/10/watching-sondheim-watch-fun-home.html

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/2/13 at 11:05am

Michael Bennett, very well said! BroadwayBen, thanks for posting that article.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/2/13 at 11:22am

MB, we had similar responses to Fun Home.

[After Eight]

Posted: 11/3/13 at 7:01am

"and no, you don't have to apologize if the show isn't for you)"

And no, one doesn't need- or desire -- either your approval or permission not to like it. Stop condescending, please.


Updated On: 11/3/13 at 07:01 AM

[Wickedmonkey332]

Posted: 11/3/13 at 9:43am

I saw the show yesterday, I was expecting great things, and I got them, but not until about 1/2 hour into the show. It took me a little bit to understand where the show was going emotionally. When I figured it out, I was invested 100% and utterly loved this piece.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 11/3/13 at 10:49pm

At tonight's performance there were four Alisons as Alison Bechdel was in the house.

This was my second time seeing the show and it hit me much more emotionally. Part of this may be the fact that I was in row F compared to the back of the theatre in my first outing. But I felt that everything was just a bit tighter than when I saw it a month ago. I still think some of the book is a bit choppy.

What stood out for me the first time and was reinforced for me tonight is how wonderful Tesori's work is throughout. Just some incredibly gorgeous melodies and motifs. And Judy Kuhn tonight just broke my heart with her solo. I'll hear her "days and days and days" in my mind for some time I think.

Updated On: 11/3/13 at 10:49 PM

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 11/3/13 at 11:11pm

Saw it this afternoon, finally. What a glorious, fun, challenging show. I hope this finds a continued life after it closes next month...

[karloskar2]

Posted: 11/4/13 at 6:56am

the New Yorker article is very interesting but the conclusions drawn about the autobiographical nature of the work are flawed. Fun Home the musical is an adaptation of Alison Bechdel's story, not the story of Tesori and Kron. Sondheim could have easily written a score for this piece if he chose to do so. Most of his shows are based on ideas brought to him by his collaborators, so it's no surprise that his shows are not autobiographical, although he himself has said there are aspects of his own character in all the characters he has helped to create over the years.

[TheaterGoer4]

Posted: 11/26/13 at 11:03am

> From: dreaming
> Fun Home performance canceled
> Posted: 10/28/13 at 12:19pm
>
> Also-if they extend, would they have to hire understudies
> per Equity? I'm wondering why/how they don't have them
> now. Isn't this an Equity production? I thought it was.)

Hi "dreaming" - the Equity Off-Broadway rules
http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/rulebooks/OB_Rulebook_09-12.pdf
seem pretty clear:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
71. UNDERSTUDIES
(A) Except as provided in paragraph (5) below, in an Off-Broadway
production, all parts and/or roles except star roles, "bit"
parts, and one-person shows, shall be covered by an understudy.
(1) Understudies shall be contracted no later than two weeks after
the first public performance ...
...
(5) In announced limited runs, Understudies shall not be required
for the first six weeks of performance.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
So under (5) above, this limited-run production should have had parts understudied by 11/11 (six week from first public performance, around 10/1). If the show still didn't have understudies by now, it would appear to go against the Equity rules, so hopefully that's been addressed. Updated On: 11/26/13 at 11:03 AM

[homeimp]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 1:13am

I agree the Coffin number was tasteless. It was as bad as Grandpa's song in Little Miss Sunshine. Forcing the kids to hide in very realistic coffins and then to pop up to do a cheerful song and dance in order to provide a lighter moment in a very dark show was a bad choice. There are some things that children should not be asked to do onstage, even for money.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 1:36am

I can think of many, many other roles kids have been to ask to play that would be more traumatic. That moment is a highlight in the graphic novel, and it made sense to set it to music. It's not like kids haven't been asked to play vampires popping out f coffins on bad TV sitcom Halloween episodes, etc, for decades.

[Bunes]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 5:15am

Broadway or not a chance

[newintown]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 8:38am

"But sometimes art just moves you, and you may not fully understand why."

I think it's always good to be able to articulate your reactions, feelings, and thoughts. I understand some people feel that thinking sullies the feeling process, but words and ideas really are the best tool we have to share our reactions with others.

As I tell my students, "Delve. It's worth the effort."

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 9:02am

^ This, right here, is why I love you.

Also, this, right here, is my favorite sentence in the thread:

"Yes it was fascinating that the lead girl was a gay woman and so was her father."

That certainly is fascinating.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 9:04am

Honestly. Fretting about the jubilant number in which the kids make a parody commercial for the funeral home because it featured real coffins maybe the lamest "Won't somebody please think of the children?" concern trolling ever on this board. What planet are some of you people, oh, excuse me, from what planet do some of your idiotic ideas come from?

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 10:20am

I thought that post HAD to be a joke. What a strange thing to be upset about.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/27/13 at 10:48am

Playing in empty coffins seems exactly like something kids would do.