Fun Home is a musical written by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir by the same name. The book and musical tell the story of her life and delves deep into the complicated and controversial topic of how she discovered her own sexuality. It also examines her relationship with her gay father and attempts to untangle the mystery that life holds for her.
While working on her memoir, Bechdel thinks her way through her past trying to figure out how things fell into place. As a currently successful middle-aged cartoonist, Bechdel best remembers two periods of her life: her younger years living at home with her parents, coping with her strict father and her college years when she realizes her own sexuality and has her first girlfriend.
Bechdel tries to navigate the world around her while still trying to keep her parents proud and set a good example for her siblings. Working through her sexuality makes everything much harder. Bechdel comforts herself through her drawing, saying over and over again “it is just a memory I am thinking of. It is not really here in front of me.”
Finally, it all comes together when she works through to the point where she finds out her father is gay, connecting all the open pieces of her childhood. When she finally gets to talk to him about it things take a turn for the worst.
Bechdel writes until the point where she can not remember anything else, finding a point in her memory that she seems to have erased. She reaches further and further until things finally click.
The final two performances for the SUU production of Fun Home will run on Nov. 9 starting at 7:30 pm and Nov. 10 starting at 2 pm.
The play does include mature content, strong language, and intense adult themes.
Story by: Cairo Cook
cairo.cook@suusuccess.org
Photo by: Tony Clements
