Fun Home Previews- Page 15

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 11:51pm

But at least with Next to Normal, though it's a great show, it lost to a show that got a great deal of critical acclaim. At this point I think Fun Home's biggest competition will be Something Rotten!, and though the reviews haven't come out yet, I can't imagine that show will get raves from critics. I know that critical reviews can't really predict Tony wins, but I'd imagine a lot of Tony voters would have a hard time saying Something Rotten! is a better show than Fun Home. 

[Plum]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 11:59pm

Rosscoe, I have to disagree about that quote - the fact that adult Alison is reaching the age when her dad killed himself is exactly what gives her digging into the past such weight and stakes from the beginning. All adults compare themselves to their parents - for Alison it also means at least momentarily wondering if she has that seed of self-destruction in herself, too.

That succinct statement at the beginning ("and he was gay, and I was gay, and he killed himself, and I...became a lesbian cartoonist") encompasses so much of what the show is about. Anyway, the show isn't about the "what" so much as Alison's process of examining the "why."

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 12:19am

Exactly.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 6:27am

And knowing exactly what is going to happen to Bruce allowed me to really watch for the cues of his conflicted psyche throughout the show, particularly during his final number.

[AngInFL79]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 10:54am

Seating Question for all those who've gone: Section 200 Row A on either side, too close? I was looking at those because they're not listed as Premium. 

Thanks. :)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 11:27am

"Seating Question for all those who've gone: Section 200 Row A on either side, too close? I was looking at those because they're not listed as Premium. 
Thanks. :)"

 You'lll feel like you are sitting in their living room.  Some will love that, others not so much.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 11:53am

Alison Bechdel has drawn a short comic describing her reaction to Fun Home's Broadway engagement. 

Alison Bechdel Draws a Fun Home Coda

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 11:56am

Oh Christ...that last panel.  

[South Florida]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 12:09pm

Thanks Kad

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 1:31pm

Thanks so much for sharing that, Kad! I'm really glad I saw that, especially after reading the book last month. 

[wexy]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 1:45pm

Thanks as well Kad..

[tazber]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 1:57pm

Lovely.

Thanks for sharing.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 2:00pm

 

I hope After Eight responds to let Ms. Bechdel know what her parents’ reactions would be – the same reactions he had or that any reasonable person would have – boredom, revulsion, depression, irritation, and feeling nauseated, appalled, horrified, and insulted.

Those were his feelings, as he expressed them.

And for fun, for those who were asking or are just curious, here’s the very first FUN HOME thread, in which he commented four times. Strangely, these comments, to which he’s recently directed other posters rather than restating his opinions, have all been deleted.  Now how will we ever know what he really thinks?

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1052352&mobile=on

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 4:16pm

Never fear, Monsieur Growlers--A8 has liberally peppered a wide variety of threads on this forum with random comments about that "sickening show with the sexualized toddler singing about her lesbian lust."

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 4:16pm

Never fear, Monsieur Growlers--A8 has liberally peppered a wide variety of threads on this forum with random comments about that "sickening show with the sexualized toddler singing about her lesbian lust."

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 4:39pm

God, Bechdel is just a ****ing master. She gets to the heart of the matter so quickly. So much insight. How can one not shed a tear? 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 4:57pm

Yeah, that "coda" truly is perfection in how she just gets it, so simply.

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 11:16pm

  

"That said, I sadly suspect that this adventurous show, even were it to win the Tony, is not going to find a foothold with the mass tourist market "

A few questions:

If this show is the masterpiece we've been told it is (ad nauseam) why wouldn't "the mass tourist" market embrace it? After all, the theatregoing public was as enthusiastic as the critics about such greats as South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady and Fiddler, to name but a few. Why should they react any differently to a priceless gem like this?

Specifically, would someone please tell me what anyone could possibly not like in this show, masterpiece that is proclaimed to be? And if there IS something, why has that not been mentioned by all those who are swooning, sobbing, publicizing, proselytizing, and propagandizing this putrid opus as if it were their life's mission?

Does anyone else find the term "mass tourist market" as condescendingly offensive as I do?

Is there such a thing as a BAD "adventurous" show? If there is, could someone please cite a title for me?

Thanks in advance for your considered and considerate replies.

 

 

 

 

 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/10/15 at 11:59pm

I don't think anyone here is implying that they connect to Fun Home so emotionally strongly JUST because they find it adventurous.  This seems to be a concept that you can not wrap your mind around A8. 

 

Of course even you would admit some of it is subjective.  And I think you would have to admit that many people ARE more willing to throw down a cool $125 for a show that they have some idea what to expect--or have heard about.  That tends to mean more traditional shows (which does not equal, IMHO anyway, "bad," just as the reverse is true.) 

 

I am sure there are many brave shows that simply don't work.  Again some of that is subjective--what works for one person doesn't work for another.  But a brave idea for a show can be just as ineptly executed as a more traditional idea.  These are not difficult concepts--well for most of us because we don't live in a world of black and white extremes as you seem to do (yes, that's presumptuous of me to say but I am merely going on the basis of your posts--the way you find me pretentious because of how you read my posts.  I happily accept that.)

 

That said, I suppose there is a natural (for most theatre lovers) tendency to be more forgiving of most "adventurous" shows when they fail than an incompetent show with no aspriations to try anything new.  *shrug*  Weird, isn't it?  Thank God, as you repeatedly claim, that this forum is the only place where the majority of posters feel this way.  Thank God we have you hear reprimanding people's opinions like a cronichita old school marm who takes away her students books and forces into their hands the books she thinks are the only ones to be considered.

As for adventurous shows that don't work for me and I have no intention of playing again?  Meh, I thought The Adding Machine was a valiant attempt but it does nothing for me.  Neither does RIcky Ian Gordon's My Life with Albertine (too bad because I love the three sections I've read of À la recherche du temps perdu and the section chosen for was perfect for the stage I felt.)  I wanted so much to love the score for Far From Heaven--I love the film.  But it feels shockingly wrong headed to me.  Those are off my head--your mileage on how adventurous they are or not may vary.

Updated On: 4/11/15 at 11:59 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 5:57am

"And I think you would have to admit that many people ARE more willing to throw down a cool $125 for a show that they have some idea what to expect--or have heard about."

By the time this wretched thing opens (yet AGAIN) and wins a slew of Tony Awards, it will have received a mountain of rave reviews, awards, and a barrage of media hype. Everyone on the planet will know what to expect --- or more precisely, what they want us to expect.

So again, I ask, if this show is so glorious, wonderful, and brilliant, what, specifically, is there about it that might a) make people resist seeing it, and b) not like it once they do?

"IMHO"

Please eschew using that phrase. There is nothing --- and I mean NOTHING --- "humble" about your opinions.

"(yes, that's presumptuous of me to say"

Yes, indeed, but hey, that's second nature to you. Or more accurately, first nature. Frankly, I'm surprised you even have the self-awareness to recognize it. Most egomaniacs don't. Congratulations on that.

"the way you find me pretentious because of how you read my posts."

The way I find you pretentious because that's what you are. I guess egomaniacs like yourself don't have the self-awareness to recognize it. Work on that.

"I happily accept that"

Glad to hear it.

"That said, I suppose there is a natural (for most theatre lovers) tendency to be more forgiving of most "adventurous" shows"

Oh, let's stop the sham already, shall we? "Brave," "adventurous" --- my eye. Our eye. Euphemisms proffered by pompous elitists to make something awful sound admirable. Something awful that they know people will hate --- and justifiably, eg. Sunday in the Park, Passion, Marie Christine, .... we all know the list, and the deal. We can now add this rotten little opus to the miserable list. 

"Thank God, as you repeatedly claim, that this forum is the only place where the majority of posters feel this way."

Thank God, indeed. Let's just pray the vast theatregoing public isn't lured (once again) by the hype to see this little stinker. Because are they going to be in for it! But in the end, these are the people who always end up paying. Just as the elitists want it.

Updated On: 4/11/15 at 05:57 AM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 7:24am

Why might this show struggle with a mass tourist audience? Oh, I don't know. Maybe because of this thing called homophobia that infects so much of this country. Look at Indiana and Arkansas. As wonderful as some of the support was (e.g. Audra, Zac Braff) the pizza place raising a million dollars was truly heartbreaking. 

There have definitely been hit shows about gays before, but none that have looked at them through such a human lens. These aren't the ministrel gays of La Cage. Alison feels like a real person, and not just because the creators used an autobiographical text as their source material. It is because of Alison's authenticity that so many of us (I assume) have become so emotional watching Fun Home. The creators have captured a universality of the modern gay experience and these things are no doubt very scary for those closed minds not ready to deal with it. 

 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 7:27am

IMHO=In My Honest Opinion.

 

"

So again, I ask, if this show is so glorious, wonderful, and brilliant, what, specifically, is there about it that might a) make people resist seeing it, and b) not like it once they do?

"

Nobody said it would appeal to everyone by any means.  Do you not understand that?  Some people understand that everything of value doesn't have to appeal to everyone--it doesn't necessarily mean someone's right and someone's wrong.  Surely you can think of a book, movie, play, or something that you think is great and yet it hasn't had huge mainstream appeal?  Why is this such a hard concept for you?

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 7:32am

^

Again, I ask you for specifics in this show.

Why is that such a hard concept for you?

Incidentally, have you seen it?

 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 7:37am

Another thing, After Eight.

Your personal attacks and the apparent vendetta you have against Eric are ridiculous and uncalled. Eric is never unkind to anyone on these boards, and although you've often deserved far less, he's always treated you with respect and understanding. 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/11/15 at 7:51am

^ Concur wholeheartedly, Whizzer.

"And knowing exactly what is going to happen to Bruce allowed me to really watch for the cues of his conflicted psyche throughout the show, particularly during his final number."

Knowing the arc of the entire show in the first minute was actually a weakness of FUN HOME for me. Once Allison says that line, the whole evening is a countdown to the fatal event itself. I absolutely wished I HADN'T known what Bruce's fate would be. Each time he put himself in a dangerous path I was taken out of the show, thinking THIS is the moment he's gonna die. No, wait, NOW is the moment. 

Just because adult Allison knows the end of the story at the top of the evening doesn't mean we the audience should. I'd have much preferred to be in the dark.