Fun Home review

 Fun Home review

Introduction

The play Fun Home is Alison Bechdel’s novel telling the reader of her childhood in Pennsylvania and her closeted gay father. The family-run funeral home. Alison’s father, Bruce, is also a teacher who often gifts his daughter a lot of books. Alison and Bruce seem close, but after his death, that is when Alison discovers that she and her father were too far apart. The play deals with real-life issues such as sexuality, affairs, and secrets in a family. The play brings to life what a contemporary family looks like and what it goes through in tackling their daily life issues.

What did you like? Why?

In the play, I liked the fact that in the musical, the protagonist ends up victorious. In most tragicomic musicals, the protagonist suffers from depression and kills themselves. In this play, Alison survives all through the tragedies of life. She conquers as she sticks to her sexuality despite the earlier interference by her parents to control and curve the norm that is associated with straight ladies. The play also highlights the “small person’s” issue. It does not stick to the old culture. The play also handles the issue way of handling sexuality and how it affects the whole family. The set up of the play is good, for it is directly related to Alison’s life.

What did you hate? Why?

I wouldn’t say I liked the fact that Alison’s father, Bruce, committed suicide. The committing of suicide came before he came out to her daughter and the family at large. The burden of explaining to the children of his sexuality was on his wife’s hands. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked the fact the Bruce introduced Small Alison to a dead body at such a young age. The failure part of the play is that it does not address the consequences of Alison interacting with dead bodies at such a young age.

What do you think the concept of production was?

The concept of the production was in Alison’s memory. The play is all set up in Alison’s mind, where each thought of her life was played out by different characters on stage. The narration was also in line with her line of thinking. Throughout the play, Alison sits on her chair and actors, including the Small Alison and Medium Alison, enact her life.

What style was this production

In the play, the style of production was realism. There was portraying of characters on stage, which resembled those in real life. There was the use of naturalism. This is portrayed when Small Alison plays an airplane game with her father.

Do you think the actors were right for their role? Would you have tried to cast it differently?

I believe the writers were right for their respective roles. The protagonist needed to be a person who was very vocal and had a perfect way of portraying their character. This was achieved by casting Adrianne Hick, Mercy Roberts, and Mollie Posnik. Alison’s mom, characterized by Kristin Carbone, was persuasive for a woman enduring a different situation. Her command of stage and harmonizing in the play was exceptional. I believe I would not have cast differently.

What do you think the main focus of the rehearsals was?

I think the main focus of rehearsals was to get each actor to understand their role fully. The understanding of each actor’s role ensured that their partner had less work to do in terms of delivery. The other area I think was of focus in the rehearsals was the stage set up. In any play, the stage setup dictates the success or failure of the play. I believe the directors in the play, during the rehearsals, experimented on different lighting and positions in the play to achieve the best possible stage setup.

Did the technical elements add or take away from the production?

In the production of Fun Home, there was the utilization of forecasting as a technical element. The use of foreshadowing enhanced production. Foreshadowing created an aura of suspense in the play. The playwright used foreshadowing to illustrate to us what was going to happen in the future. However, this was done sparingly to ensure that the audience was still eager to know how all the events played out. It was a stroke of genius by Alison. Even from the start of the play, we had an idea of what was going to happen, and we were now interested in how it was going to happen.

Did it all come together?

The play, in the end, came together. The author’s use of technical elements and the directing, along with the actors, brought the play out properly. The cautious use of casting created an urge to know what will happen thereafter. The foreshadowing used was not so much into the future that the audience was confused by the time it was happening.

Did it look unified?

The play looked unified. All aspects of the play from the onset were procedural. Different actors in the play complemented each other. This complementation of each other’s role enabled the play to be unified.

Did it make sense?

In the play, there was a chronological flow of though. Although different parts of the play were intertwined, the parts were essential to the success of the other. The flow of events from the beginning to the end followed a similar route. This made the whole play make sense.

How did the music enhance the production? How did it help tell the story?

Songs in Fun Home played a very vital role in the play. Songs acted as extensions to the play. They go beyond retelling the adapted text. Ring of Keys, in particular, demonstrates the ‘additive comprehension’ that the theatrical medium provides in its extension of the 8-panel section in the graphic novel where a very young Alison encounters what she refers to as a ‘truck-driving bulldyke.’

How did the dance enhance production? How did it help tell the story?

In the play, the dance increase the theatrical nature of the play. Had the play been without play, there would little or no sense of excitement. Dance also helped the audience to stay glued to the actors and follow the play.

Conclusion

finally, for the production of the play to be considered successful, all aspects of production must click. The actors must understand the play and fully reenact the play as it should have. In the play Fun Home, it was successful for the casting was right. The casts were able to incorporate music and dance to increase the quality of production. All the technical elements of the play were used appropriately, which helped the audience understand the musical and served as a play guide.