FUN HOME on B'wy-You Can Never Go Home But You Can Always Look Back

FUN HOME is on B'wy after an acclaimed run at the Public Theater.  It is based on the memoirs of Alison Bechdel growing up & coming of age in the 60's & 70's in an unconventional household.  Their home served as a mortuary run by their father, Bruce, who also taught English at the local high school.   The musical has 43 yr. old Alison looking back on her unorthodox & confusing childhood.  She also revisits her college years when she fully embraces her lesbian sexuality.  While a co-ed, Alison shares her sexual orientation with her parents (starting with letters.)  Her father's closeted homosexuality is uncovered following her revelations.  Just months after skeletons come out of the closet, her father kills himself.  In the play, Alison focuses on her past writings, drawings & memories to re-examine her life & her father's.  Her search for self-discovery is a fascinating & engaging journey.  The timelines are blurred, past & present are overlayed in intricate stagings.  Some scenes have 43 yr. old Alison on stage  observing herself as a college sophmore & pre-teen, standing alongside her younger personas.  At times she reads aloud from her own diary, letters & drawings.  Bechdel is best known for her long running commic strip "Dykes to Watch Out For." The musical numbers allow levity to offset the gravitas.  The funeral parlor by the young siblings was fun & the joy of "majoring in Joan" was infectious.  The roller-coaster of emotions: happiness, confusion & regret are geniune.  FUN HOME works on many planes, as a paradigm to understand where one fits in with the captions acceptance & tolerance underlined.