Fun Home v Next to Normal

[Gensho]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 1:08am

I know this is serving up some serious Sophie's Choice realness..

When I saw Fun Home on Broadway, I found myself drawing parallels between the show and Next to Normal. Both intimate shows dealing with intense family drama. But Next to Normal left me in a puddle on the floor of the Booth Theater. The power of that show left me speechless. I didn't have that same intense response to Fun Home. I liked it, but didn't love it. I posted something about this on my FB page and the vast response was that they thought Fun Home was a better musical. What are your thoughts? 

Updated On: 9/2/16 at 01:08 AM

[hork]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 1:54am

I love Fun Home. Haven't seen Next to Normal because I hate the cast recording so much that I can never bring myself to go see it. So, yeah, Fun Home is the better musical, I'm guessing. 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 3:56am

I think Next to Normal is the more flawed show but also the one that I love more and it provokes a much bigger emotional reaction from me.

Updated On: 9/2/16 at 03:56 AM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 6:57am

I adore Fun Home but next to normal blew me away every time I saw it. Which was five or six times. One of my most precious memories is taking my mother to the show. We held each other's arm as we wept. That was very special for me. The show has tremendous power.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 7:23am

Fun Home is the far superior show.  Next to Normal is emotional and important and all, but the material isn't that great.

Also, Next to Normal made me feel sad, but didn't necessary "move" me due to the lack of rich material.  Fun Home, on the other hand, left me in a pool of tears at the end and left me pondering the show for weeks.

Updated On: 9/2/16 at 07:23 AM

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 7:36am

^^ I agree! More moving doesn't mean better.

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 8:23am

Not a big fan of ranking art. I'm just glad we have both. Plus, I just saw Fun Home again in late August, so that seems like the richer experience, but that is biased by how long it's been since I saw/listened to N2N, which also guts me.

Updated On: 9/2/16 at 08:23 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 8:28am

^I agree wholeheartedly. About everything Hater wrote.

[steven22]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 9:50am

Personally, I'm a huge fan of both. 

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 10:34am

I think part of it comes to relating to it. Someone who has mental health issues is probably going to like Next to Normal more because it's relatable and hits close to home with them. Same thing if a LGBT+ person saw Fun Home, they'd probably like it more because it's a story that's relevant to them.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 10:51am

icecreambenjamin said: "Fun Home is the far superior show. "

Thank goodness we have you around to make such definitive statements for all of us!  

I think both shows are wonderful in their own right, and I don't particularly see the point in comparing them. One is almost a rock opera, one has long book scenes and a more traditional sounding score. They both moved me greatly when I saw them, for altogether different reasons.  That being said, I do prefer the score of next to normal but I enjoy both shows greatly (and the performances from each have stayed with me). 

Updated On: 9/2/16 at 10:51 AM

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 10:56am

Leaf Coneybear said: "I think part of it comes to relating to it. Someone who has mental health issues is probably going to like Next to Normal more because it's relatable and hits close to home with them. Same thing if a LGBT+ person saw Fun Home, they'd probably like it more because it's a story that's relevant to them."

But so many LGBT people have mental health issues, it's sort of a wash.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 11:05am

Since it's art, there cannot be a "better" show unless you'd like to provide us with some guidelines or parameters (i.e. critically, financially, etc.). They are both artistically worthy shows that tell stories and impact audience members. Art is subjective and there can be no definitive 'choice.'  Move along... 

[Gensho]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 11:42am

I know it's completely unfair to compare the two shows. I just found myself comparing the two after seeing Fun Home. I'm a gay male, I love Alison Bechdel's work and I love Jeanine Tesori, which is why I was surprised that I wasn't as drawn in to the show as I thought I would be. 

N2N had probably the most powerful, emotional impact on me of, perhaps, any musical ever and I've seen a ton of musicals. I found myself weeping several times. As well as laughing hysterically at times. As Ben Brantley said, "A feel everything musical." Despite the fact that they're no gay characters in N2N, it's about a family and we all come from families with usually the other members being straight. 

I live in DC and the Keegan Theater just did a fantastic production of N2N and it brought the whole show roaring back to me. I just think the show is breathtaking. 

With that said, I know I need to see Fun Home again and watch it on its own terms, not comparing it to another show. It's coming to the National Theatre next year. I'm not sure how the show is going to look and feel being on a proscenium stage. I wish it was going to Arena Stage, as they have a great theater in the round set up there. But what can you do? 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 2:37pm

I also love them both. I think it's a great thing that shows like these can be produced and make a tidy profit for investors on Broadway. Recouping doesn't make a show better, of course, or cause me enjoy it more, but it does mean that we may see more shows like this in the future.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 3:30pm

Gensho said: "I'm not sure how the show is going to look and feel being on a proscenium stage. I wish it was going to Arena Stage, as they have a great theater in the round set up there. But what can you do? "

 

Just to point out that it was done on a proscenium stage at the Public before it moved to Broadway, so I would imagine that the creatives will draw a lot from that for the new tour staging.

Posted: 9/2/16 at 4:27pm

I personally think Fun Home is the better musical but it may just be because I dislike the music in Next to Normal. Fun Home affected me greatly and made me cry 3 times. 

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 6:11pm

adamgreer said: "icecreambenjamin said: "Fun Home is the far superior show. "

Thank goodness we have you around to make such definitive statements for all of us!  

You're welcome.

 

[NZBOY2]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 6:14pm

its sad that fun home did not get the pulitzer and n2n did

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 6:18pm

Next to Normal had a bigger impact on me, but I can't say which one is objectively "better" and I don't think it matters. They're both great works of art.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 6:18pm

Next to Normal deserved its Pulitzer. It's not like they were up against each other, competitions are different each year and some years are tougher than others. Plus they usually like to award original work over that with source material.
Updated On: 9/2/16 at 06:18 PM

[HD1313]

Posted: 9/2/16 at 10:47pm

I saw Fun Home back in March, front row, and I've never seen N2N live, but have been an avid fan of the show for several years now, and I have to say, N2N moved me more in particular, because of my struggles with OCD and anxiety and my relationship with my family, and it has nothing to do with Fun Home and wether the material is "better" Fun Home was very moving- hell, did I weep like a baby when Judy Kuhn delivered Days and Days and silence followed because everyone was that stunned? Yes. But I just couldn't relate as much. Which is why I second what somebody above said about there not being a correct answer to this question because every person is going to feel their own way no matter what opinions are thrown their way. That's the beautiful thing about theatre