(Photo by Indy Ghost Light)

I’ve written about “Fun Home” previously, having seen the Broadway production and the one the Phoenix Theatre staged in 2017. I’ve pillaged some of my previous words and incorporated them into my comments below. 

But before I get to what was onstage this time, I want to talk about what was offstage in the audience – or, rather, what wasn’t.

And that was “much of an audience.”

I caught the Sunday matinee of Southbank Theatre’s production at the Shelton Auditorium on September 20 and was disappointed and saddened to see perhaps 20 other attendees. And this for an outstanding, unique Tony-winning musical staged by a professional company in Indy for the first time in nearly a decade.

Drawing audiences to theater is increasingly difficult, of course, with multiple factors contributing. But folks seem to be still going out to restaurants and comedy events and concerts, so it’s not like they are just staying home in front of the tube – although that’s happening as well.  

This is nothing new. I recall shows being cancelled at the old Phoenix Theatre and Theatre on the Square due to empty houses as well. But it’s coming disturbingly close to small houses being the default setting for theaters that actually pay their talent but don’t have long-established loyalists. 

Which is all to say that I worry when I see such a low turnout for such a worthwhile show.

Thanks for your patience. Now I’ll get to why I think “Fun Home” is very worthwhile. And why I hope you get to it in its final weekend.

Granted, “Fun Home”—which deservedly won a  Best Musical Tony Award—is unconventional for a hit Broadway musical.

For starters, it’s a gutsy move putting “fun’ in the title of a musical about a woman wrestling with the apparent suicide of her closeted gay father. Further, it’s based on a graphic novel. It jumps around in time. There’s little dancing. It’s got three actresses playing the same character. And its lead character is a lesbian cartoonist who spends much of the show sitting at a desk and observing. It’s a show that’s about wrestling with memory and the gaps it inevitably contains.

Breaking ground isn’t the same as breaking hearts, of course. But “Fun Home” doesn’t settle for being unconventional—it’s got a strong, character-driven story to tell, one enhanced by rather than padded with its score. It dodges easy answers as it takes us into the life of Adult Alison, college-age Medium Alison, and pre-teen Small Alison. A three-equals-on trio that Southbank has well cast with Julie Lyn Barber, Emery Haley and Ellie Richart.

Book writer and lyricist Lisa Kron, building from Alison Bechdel’s acclaimed biographical graphic novel, doesn’t seem interested in filling in all the blanks or simplifying a complex life. Instead, she gives breathing room to the actors, playing with memory, embracing awkwardness, and understanding that one of the most difficult realities of the past is that we can’t, in the now, have any impact on it. 

As when I saw the Broadway production, I still am not convinced that some of the lyrics fit comfortably in the mouths of these characters. But there’s wonderful music here, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking. I can’t think of a more perfectly written character song, achingly tender in its spot-on, age-appropriate joy and confusion, as “Ring of Keys.” It’s a lovely tune, yes, but also a rare one. How many other musicals would dare to ask an audience to listen intently to a young woman who, for the first time, sees that “butch” can be handsome? It’s a reminder that one of the greatest special effects of theater is its ability to put us in the heart and head of another human being. 

And, once again, it left me in tears.

As did the final scenes in the piece when Adult Allison has to face what she can’t know – and when all three of her personas blend.

I’d call all three Allisons standouts in the cast but all are savvy enough performers to know that this is an ensemble piece. It’s not about standing out but being part of the whole. Each gives a rich performance whether in the spotlight or observing others.

A few caveats. Allison’s siblings are played by actors a bit long in the tooth for the roles as written – and since a playwrights’ words can’t be altered, the energetic duo don’t quite fit.

Scott Hall’s set design effectively allows the scenes to blend smoothly together – although I don’t think antique snob patriarch Bruce would have gone for the faux bookstack chest. And while I appreciate the idea of using some Bechdel-ish illustrations in lieu of some props, the conceit isn’t followed through strong enough for it to feel like more than an afterthought.

That being said, Southbank under the guidance of producer/director Marcia Eppich-Harris, has delivered a powerful and moving gift to its too-small audience. 

Here’s hoping for fuller houses for this “Fun Home”