Fun Home

Playwright: Lisa Kron
Composer: Jeanine Tesori
Director: Mathew Reeder

The Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home traces the coming-of-age of lesbian author Alison Bechdel, from her youth, to her years at Oberlin College, and finally to the present, where Alison, now grown, is struggling to write her own graphic autobiography. As Alison reflects on her past, she struggles to make sense of it, particularly her relationship with her father, Bruce, a closeted gay man and the owner of the family business -- the Bechdel Funeral Home (“fun” home, as it’s known to young Alison and her brothers, John and Christian). As she watches her father’s self-loathing consume him, Alison recognizes her own experience of discovering, and ultimately embracing, her identity. As Fun Home progresses, Alison is drawn deeper and deeper into her memories, finally entering into them, desperate (but unable) to reverse her father’s self-destruction. An unforgettable and groundbreaking musical, Fun Home explores the haunting pull of memory and the power it has to alternately destroy or shape, our identity.

Our production of Fun Home focused on Alison’s journey; separating the past from nostalgia to find the truth. She must do this to understand her life, her father’s suicide and ultimately herself. From the sounds of her childhood, to the TV shows she used to escape trauma, and the death of her father, Alison's emotional journey forms the core of my sound design. The audience entered to the sounds of Alison's memories orbiting the space, setting up the background of her life. From a musical standpoint, we wanted to make sure to be acoustically transparent and realistic. It was very important that everything was intelligible and well balanced without sounding reinforced or overpowering; a very intimate and enjoyable production of Fun Home.