Fun Home Contracts — Page 3

I will say that the first thing most non-theatre people told me after seeing Fun Home was how much they loved Sydney Lucas.

"She had plenty of leverage."

Not really. She didn't win the Tony. And when she is out (which is quite often lately), people aren't canceling their tickets. The show is the star. She's not irreplaceable. Her people overestimated her importance.

Updated On: 9/26/15 at 09:02 PM

"Her people overestimated her importance."

You know what? She's a kid. And her parents seem like decent people. And her whole family seems nice. I'm not really sure if there's any reason to discuss her as if she's been around the block a few times like Rachelle Rak or something.

Changes in grosses depend heavily on the popularity of the show. Fun Home has been doing good business right along. As far as how actors/actresses are paid, it has more to do with how much they contribute to the show than how well the show is doing. I'm sure Chita Rivera was paid more in The Visit, which did not do well at the box office, than Sidney Lucas was for Fun Home, which was a hit. Rivera is a big name and Lucas wasn't at the time her salary was originally decided (and certainly not in the same league as Rivera now).

I don't believe for a minute he's right about Cerveris's salary. That is a teeny theater.

I’m a little late to the discussion and spoiler alert to what I’m going to say for those here who haven’t seen the show

I saw the show with both small allisons and preferred Gabrielle. I thought Sydney Lucas's small allison was just too comfortable and confident given how insecure middle Allison is. I thought she played the part too mature (that being said, I realize she’s played the part for 3 years so she’s devoted many, many hours to her performance and has achieved great success and acclaim). Gabrielle (who to me looks like she’s 10 by the way) plays the part more as a kid which I think is more fitting given middle Allison’s security. I would say she plays the part more awkwardly which in general sends a negative impression of a performer but in this show I think the character should be awkward. It didn’t make sense to me that someone who behaved like Sydney Lucas’s Allison would grow up into middle Allison who is so insecure and uncomfortable is discovering who she is. So while I think Lucas has a great voice (better than Gabrielle's who also sings well), I didn’t think she nailed the part the way everyone else thinks she did. Just my opinion.

In reference to young Allison being confident and middle Allison being insecure....

Have your read the source material?

It is very common for children, in particular LGBT children, to become more insecure as they go through adolescence. As a gay man, I was very confident as a 3rd grader, but was very insecure in junior high over my sexuality.

The director and creative team (of which the person whom the story is based was included) undoubtedly know the way that the three Allison's should be portrayed.

My problem lied in the fact that small Allison is supposed to be a third grader but Sydney Lucas not only looked like a junior high school student (understandably because that's what she is) but didn't act like an 8 year old either. The replacement small Allison, who was chosen by the same creative team by the way, plays the part younger and I preferred that even though Lucas is very talented.

Wow! Would've never expected that Gabby is older than Sydney Lucas, very interesting...

Did anyone catch Sydney's last performance tonight? Was the full OBC on?

Update:

Found this picture of today's curtain call, it seems like Roberta was the only OBC missing.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQgfTXNVEAATtPa.jpg

Updated On: 10/4/15 at 09:32 PM

I was at Sydney's last performance, which was a great show. As you can see from the photo of the curtain call, Sam Gold, Jeanine Tesori, and Lisa Kron all came out at the end of the curtain call, and Gold gave a very nice and touching speech.

A couple of questions: I saw the show back in previews, and at the very end, the cartoon frame of Small Alison playing airplane with her father was projected onto the floor. I didn't see that today. Did it not happen because of the curtain call speech, did I just miss it, or did they take it out of the show? Also, I stuck around for a little bit afterwards, but it didn't look like the cast was coming out soon and I had to leave. How quickly did Sydney end up coming out? And did Tesori, Kron, and Gold sign for the fans? The stage door setup is kind of weird there, and I could see them not even realizing that there was a stage door lineup until they were already out of the theater.

Updated On: 10/4/15 at 10:14 PM

I noticed the projection was on the stage before I got out of the theater. It couldn't have been more than a minute after they walked off the stage.

The prominent display of the sketch is the one thing I truly miss from the off-Broadway version - in a Broadway production that surpasses the original in every other way.

FindingNamo said: "She soon to be starring in "Honey, I Shrunk Medium Alison."

"

You really need a like button on your profile! You're too funny!

I was was at Sydney's last show yesterday as well. She received a nice entrance applause, though it was cut short because she kept going with her lines and didn't stop until the applause starting dying down. Beth and Michael also got entrance applause. There was no standing ovation for Ring of Keys, though Lucas was visibly moved and crying at the end of it. Beth was also crying at the end of Flying Away and it was hard for her to get through the final words of the show. At the end Sam Gold gave a nice speech about how Sydney has been with the show for a quarter of her life and how the show would never have been what it was if it wasn't for her special performance. The cast then hugged and cried with each other as the orchestra played. It took a good hour and a half for everyone to start coming out the stage door but everyone was incredibly gracious and friendly, even if some of the people waiting weren't the best.

By the way, the SRO was a total cluster **** :P I got there at 7:45AM and was the second group in line but there had to be 75 people there by the time the box office opened and people were very, very rude. One of the people working for the theater let us wait in the theater near the end because it was cold and she told everyone to stay quiet because the box office guy was doing something and people were not listening and she even had to scream "HEY! DO YOU GUYS WANT TO GO BACK OUTSIDE?!" It was embarrassing. And then I heard they only had 10 SRO tickets to give away (she had no idea how many there were and people were VERY annoyed but she kept telling people she didn't work for the box office, so she had no way of knowing).