‘Fun Home’ // PIP Theatre
‘Fun Home’ was reflective.
A completely absorbing and delightfully original musical, ‘Fun Home’ had the PIP Theatre crowd in full body laughter one minute, then tense with the experience of grief the next.
This relatively new, multi-Tony award-winning musical is based on the graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, with powerful music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. (You’d do well to choose your next audition song from this soundtrack).
The show features three versions of Alison at various stages of life, reliving her childhood at her family’s Funeral Home (dubbed the “fun” home by Young Alison and her brothers). The plot is developed through letters and narration by adult Alison as she sketches from her memories, largely featuring exchanges with her complicated father and milestones in her developing sexuality.
The Alison trifecta was superb: Theo Hunt as “Young Alison”, Micheal Enright as “College Alison” and Aurelie Roque as adult Alison showed the passage of time and maturation of the character beautifully.
Hunt’s wide-eyed enthusiasm and adoration of father Bruce Bechdel was complemented by young Jaden Armitage and Fraser Goodreid as brothers Christian and John. Their trio “Come to the Fun Home” was laugh-out-loud funny, with Goodreid’s expressions and dance moves a particular highlight. Choreography by Grace Clarke was great; very 1970 Jackson 5-esque.
Michael Enright gave a stellar performance as bookish, first-time-in-lust “College Alison”, who comes to see her parents through adult eyes. Enright’s solo “Changing My Major” was vocally spot-on and hilariously earnest in praise of Emma Erdis’ character, Joan. The two actors are ones to watch: such natural comedic timing, chemistry, and charisma. It was impossible not to smile during their scenes.
Aurelie Roque as our narrator, adult Alison, embodied the character seemingly effortlessly. Roque’s deadpan delivery and ability to switch between joy and grief was as powerful as her vocals: clear as a bell. Her performance of “Telephone Wire” with Adam Bartlett’s Bruce Bechdel was mesmerising, the song a standout for its imagery and melody. Roque and Bartlett were physically close but metaphorically so far away; it was a wonderful bit of acting, storytelling and staging by director Sherryl-Lee Secomb.
The cast was rounded out by a slowly unravelling Deidre Grace as Alison’s mother Helen Bechdel, and likable Daniel Kirkby as the multiple boys and young men who came into and out of the Bechdel home.
Set, prop and costume design by Breanna Gear worked well to bring us back to the 1970s and up to the 2000s. The thrust stage (with audience on three sides) featured a piano and old-fashioned chesterfields, with the orchestra playing behind a screen.
If there were any points to consider, musical director Benjamin Richards (and the sound design and operation team of Jacob Cash and Madelyne Leite) might check the balance between the orchestra and vocalists’ microphones, as it was occasionally difficult to hear the singers on opening night. The sightlines at the beginning of the show could also be revisited so all sides of the audience can watch Bruce’s face in the opening scene.
‘Fun Home’ is a fantastic family tragicomedy. It demands reflection in the way it “picks apart the past to more fully understand the present,” as Secomb writes in the director’s notes. The humour is natural and relatable, the music memorable. Highly recommend buying tickets and adding the soundtrack to your theatre playlist.
‘Fun Home’ performs until Saturday, 14 September at PIP Theatre in Milton. For more information visit their website.
