Fun Home Transfer?

[gstrus2]

Posted: 11/8/13 at 8:58am

Does anyone know if this is definately happening? Might miss the off-broadway run, so I dont know whether to see Fun Home or The Last 2 People on Earth (with Mandy P.). If it is transfering, I will see Last 2 People, but if not, I do not know which one. Is it transfering? When would it start?

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 11/8/13 at 2:57pm

There is no official word or timeline that I'm aware of for the Fun Home transfer, only speculation.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/8/13 at 3:26pm

Considering FUN HOME closes 12/1 and LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH doesn't begin performances until 12/14, I don't see how a potential FUN HOME transfer has bearing over which one you would choose to see.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 11/8/13 at 4:28pm

ACT- Oh! Thanks! for some reason I thought Fun Home was ending December 16. Dont know how that got in my head. Thanks!

[bonda harrison]

Posted: 11/8/13 at 5:10pm

Won't it have the same problem that BBAJ had

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 12:16am

I think BBAJ appealed to a much younger crowd that weren't in the business of buying full-price Broadway tickets.

Fun Home appeals to a much broader audience. I think it will still be an uphill battle, and will probably share the same fate as Caroline, or Change, but I think it's worth trying. It could be the little show that could. But if it does transfer, I'd wait until April so it gets all the Tony buzz.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 1:04am

I agree, Ripped Man. But think the show is even more commercial than Caroline, or Change. She was a difficult to warm up to and the first act was off-putting to many in the audience. Fun Home is filled with warmth, humor, and yearning. I agree it's an uphill climb, but think it has a chance for a Next to Normal kind of reception and run. My problem with a transfer is the staging would probably feel completely different. I love the airiness of Gold's direction. The space feels so wide; the entrances and exits so informal. The formality of the old houses and the height of the stage will require a rethink.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 1:07am

Why can't this just stay off broadway, Our Town was a major hit and didn't need to transfer to become one.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 1:23am

Anyone who thinks Fun Home is at all commercial, much less MORE commercial than BBAJ or Caroline or Change, or Scottsboro boys, or lysistrata jones, is severely naive.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 1:45am

I could not agree more. There is nothing commercial about Fun Home.

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 2:42am

So, I haven't seen Fun Home, so I really can't speak about if the show is commercial or not, but remember that Allison Bechdel definitely has an established (and to my knowledge, somewhat large) fan base. I'm honestly not entirely sure if this would really have any effect, but I felt it was worth bringing up.

[chrisampm2]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 3:12am

Our Town wasn't a major hit. It ran a while, but recouped just before closing. So a hit, but just barely.
And mybigsplash, I don't think I'm severely naive. I don't think Fun Home is a good prospect for Bwy, but I do think its emotionality makes it more like Next to Normal than the other shows you compare it to. I agree with Ripped Man that if you opened it before the Tony moms, you'd probably get a longer run out of it than the shows on your list. I think if Scottsboro Boys had moved right away and competed against Memphis, it's Bwy prospects would have changed. The show had pretty successful runs in SF, LA, and SD.

[Up In One]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 6:29pm

Fun Home is commercial as a much hearaled piece of art. No show has gotten those types of reviews in years. It's probably a contender for the Pulitzer. One set, small cast and orchestra and every award known to man will make it very commercial. I would hate to think the subject matter is what is making people think its not commercial. I also hope that commercial is not being equated to jazz hands. A show at The Newman can transfer anywhere just like a show at The Vineyard can and has. Fun Home is not only good, it's important and should be seen. Next to Normal didn't make much money on Broadway but it did recoup and sometimes for a producer and investors that's enough. I think they should grab a small theatre, open right before awards season take home the gold and enjoy a prestigious if short run ala NTN - just with better reviews.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 7:11pm

As Mecca for commercial theatre, Broadway is all about the numbers. Fun Home is showing in a small theatre at a non for profit organization, far off the Times Square tourist trail. Ask anyone outside of New York City what Fun Home is, and the majority of people will not know what you are talking about. It's a brilliant, small, beautiful production. I'm so glad it's not competing with some horrible commercial Disney show going on right now. Not commercial in the least.

[Up In One]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:17pm

"Ask anyone outside of New York City what Fun Home is, and the majority of people will not know what you are talking about." If that were the measuring stick for what should be produced on Broadway we would not have seen hundreds of successful musicals. Of course it's a numbers game and a show like fun home can be produced under a very reasonable budget. As far as marketing is concerned getting the best reviews of the last ten years is more than enough to grab audiences, winning every award in town will assure it a nice run.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:34pm

But, it's not nominated for any awards and there is no concrete plans for Broadway. You are just assuming it will happen.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/9/13 at 11:36pm

It's honestly hard to compare or even debate. I mean, Legally Blonde is crazy commercial and was backed by a major movie studio. It flopped. Then you have a musical about a spelling bee, and it was a massive hit. You really never know how things are going to play out. It depends on a lot of things. I think in a season full of big musicals, Fun Home might serve as a nice counterpoint. But that's just me.

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 12:34am

Tickets are now available up to and including Dec. 15!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 12:50pm

Another extension!!! SQUEEEE! I hope they do a cast recording, I just can't stop thinking about the score.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 6:54pm

No tourist will buy a ticket to Fun Home. It will not sell tickets. Bottom line, awards does not equate commercial success. Ruined was wise to stay off Broadway.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 7:56pm

Uh, I'm a tourist and have seen it twice, so you may want to cast a tad smaller net with sweeping generalizations. Some tourists are theatre fans and come to NYC to see shows they might not otherwise experience

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 8:13pm

Some tourists are theatre fans and come to NYC to see shows they might not otherwise experience

Some, but not anywhere near most.

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 8:30pm

Fun Home won't be the next Mamma Mia, that's for sure. And of course that's what I love about Fun Home.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 9:20pm

"Some, but not anywhere near most."

Well of course not. But for the other poster to suggest "no tourist" would see Fun Home is an absurd suggestion unless in that case tourist is being used exclusively to mean people who only are looking for proven mainstream popular shows.

Many shows through the years have had decent limited Broadway runs (I'm talking attendance not asserting they recouped). Appropriately marketing and in the right size house, Fun Home might possible end up being another one to do so.

Updated On: 11/10/13 at 09:20 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 9:36pm

I wonder If it might not be wise for FUN HOME to open on Broadway as a limited 16 week run in the late spring (just before the Tony deadline). It is a Formula that is currently working well for dramatic plays, so why not a musical? It could of course, always extend, should it catch on or win awards.