Topic > Fun Home: turning a tragic childhood into a hit musical

Combining two genres, comic and memoir, Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home is now screening as a musical at London's Young Vic. This wonderful production is adapted by Lisa Kron, composed by Jeanine Tesori and directed by Sam Gold. With the resonant music and detailed scene, Bechdel's story presents itself brilliantly in the eyes of the audience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Fun Home, Bechdel describes two phases of his life. As a child she lives in a small Pennsylvania town with two younger brothers, her mother Helen, an English teacher, and her father Bruce, a high school English teacher, undertaker, and a crazy craftsman. When he goes to college, he discovers his homosexuality and meets his first girlfriend Joan. After a few months of his revelation and two weeks of his parents' divorce, Bechdel is told that Bruce was hit by a truck and died. The story is organized around the exploration of Bruce's death and his secret homosexuality. There is also a third hidden phase, in which the adult Bechdel begins to memorize her family tragedy and recounts it. The Three Alisons do a great job of presenting the three phases of Alison. This musical takes the form of a short story as the adult Bechdel (Kaisa Hammarlund) always remains on stage telling the memory of her family. The scene of young Bechdel (Brooke Haynes) playing the “plane game” with Bruce (Zubin Varla) and reluctance to wear a dress to the party hint at her tomboyish personality. The process of memorization is quite real as Hammarlund holds a silver teapot in his hand when he remembers the happiness of his craftsman father when he finds this beautiful article. When she goes to college, the medium Bechdel (Eleanor Kane) standing in front of the door of the Gay Union awkwardly shows her hesitation and fear of facing her homosexuality from the beginning of her new self-discovery. After having sex with Joan (Cherrelle Skeete), the surprise and delight on Kane's face suggests that Bechdel fully embraces her lesbian sexuality. Music is an art form that uses sounds to express ideas and emotions to audiences so that people can better understand those feelings. Although Fun Home, billed as Bechdel's family-run funeral business, is about a family tragedy, there are times when Bechdel has fun with her two younger brothers. When the children come out of the coffin and sing the funny song "Welcome to the Fun Home", the audience laughs continuously. It seems their happiness successfully infects the crowd with fun music. When Varla stands in a dark room, emotionally singing the touching song "Edges of the World", he clearly shows the desperation and helplessness of a man, a father and a gay man. His confusion about his complex identity is revealed in the heavy, fast music and the lyrics “Who am I now? Where do I go?" explicitly. Although when he sings "But when the sunlight hits the living room wall," the music softens, making the audience think he might long for family, the final chord symbolizing his investment by a truck is heartbreaking.Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper from our expert writers now.Get a custom essay.This adaptation shows Bechdel's desire to know his father very well as he describes the memory of moments to the audience important of Bruce's secret: his velvet suits, going out to buy the newspaper late at night and the hidden joy after learning that Bechdel is gay At the end of the musical, when three..