Fun Home at Center Stage Theater
Theater is the art of bringing a story to life, and the students experienced this first-hand today as they attended the first show of the year for Center Stage today, the musical Fun Home. The students were able to see a little of the behind-the-scenes of Center Stage as well.
The musical was adapted from a graphic novel of the same name by Alison Bechdel. A coming-of age story about a young lesbian in a dysfunctional family, Fun Home does not shy away from heavier themes like coming-out and suicide. Fun Home’s stage version tells the story through vignettes of Bechdel’s memories, with a separate actress for young Alison, medium Alison and adult Alison, who watches the memories unfold as she works on writing her novel. The musical’s unique storytelling method was captivating and emotionally moving.
“I really enjoyed the play. It was very inspiring and I was so happy that I was given this opportunity. The play’s theme was having courage I think because the play pretty much revolved around having courage and caring about each other. I liked how the play showed the hardship while also showing how a family is meant to work together. I loved the play and it was an amazing play to see for my first time seeing a major production. I feel like all the characters were accurately displayed and displayed in ways that really contributed to the storyline. I think that the amount of work that was put in behind the scenes was incredible and I can’t imagine what it takes to hold a play like that. I thought that every scene really contributed to the story as well and throughout the play I became more and more clear with what was happening,” said Aidan, 10th grade.
Sara, a junior, said of the production, “When the scene would change and you could see the different ages of the main character I thought it really showed her memories well and how her life went. I like the way the play was produced. I like how it was different memories and different parts of her life that she was reflecting. Finally, I was really sad when the father died, but it really showed that it was real and not fantasy. I like how they showed the fighting and the kissing and the emotions, because in some plays they make it seem like it’s always happy-go-lucky and that everything is perfect, but you know it will never be like that. Another thing that I really enjoyed was the raw emotion that went into the different songs and scenes. I just overall enjoyed this play very much and it was definitely one of my favorites.”