The Road to Broadway: Fun Home [Theater History]

Fun Home is a beautifully intimate story about self-discovery and family bonds. Learn the Broadway musical’s complete history.

I loved Fun Home. It spoke to me. Maybe it’s because I related to how her father died, maybe because of the music, or maybe because the whole production and story were simple yet powerful. The musical moved me, and I was emotionally invested from the jump. Yet, despite my love of the unexpected Broadway smash, I never looked into its history until now.

The start:

Fun Home started as a graphic novel. Created by Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic illustrated her life growing up. As Bechdel came to terms with her own sexual identity, she realized her father was also gay, and not long after, he died. Part of the story questions whether her father’s death was an accident or an act of suicide.

When Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori started working together on the idea of bringing Fun Home to the stage, especially as a musical, the task seemed daunting. It took a while to get the structure and sound right, but once they settled on a Joni Mitchell feel and churned out the song “Ring of Keys,” everything began to fall into place.

Actress Beth Malone was hired to play the older version of Bechdel, and stage veterans like Raul Esparza and Judy Kuhn filled in the supporting cast. As the musical bounced around between the Sundance Institute and New York’s Public Theater, Fun Home changed in story and structure time and time again. What emerged from the process was a thoughtful coming-of-age tale that illustrated the main character’s journey of self-discovery.

On Broadway:

The creators of Fun Home were quite happy just becoming an off-Broadway darling. The Public Theater is one of the most notable off-Broadway venues, and they repeatedly extended the musical’s run. The only reason it had to vacate the venue was to make room for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. So, they moved their small production to Broadway.

Fun Home took over The Circle in the Square Theater in 2015, a small, intimate theater-in-the-round space. The staging had to be reworked to fit this setup, but it was the perfect space for their little musical. The show closed in under a year, but its short run was considered a huge success, especially since no one expected it to go to Broadway in the first place.

Fun Home is a story of discovery and what representation can mean. It’s a beautiful musical, and if you have the chance, do yourself a favor and go.

Watch the complete history of Fun Home from Wait in the Wings:

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