Fun Home

I've been curious about Fun Home since it beat out Something Rotten! for the Tony last year, but knowing that it's a musical about "butch lesbians, a funeral home, closeted gay men, and suicide" (as one of the creators put it) didn't make it a priority for me.  Still, the TKTS booth had availability and it's at Circle in the Square, the company behind The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (still one of my favorite musicals); so what the heck?

It's a good show, yes.  It's not one I'll need to see again - angsty family dramas usually aren't.  The direction and design are solid, the singing lovely, and it was fun to see a musical done in the round.  Was it worth best musical that year?  Maybe.  I liked Something Rotten! better, but I get the popularity behind awarding the "edgier" show.  I spent a lot of it wondering if it should even be a musical, though.  The songs didn't add anything to the story or the characters.  I think I would have liked it better as a straight play (unintended pun), actually.

Also, if you're wondering whether it passes the Bechdel test - it does, despite focusing so much conversation on, to, and about a male character; which I found ironic.