Fun Home
Playing at The Huntington Theatre
Musical or play? Musical
Lottery or Rush tickets? Discount ticket options available. Details online HERE.
What I Paid: n/a [PR Invite]
My Rating: ★★★★
Official Website: https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/fun-home/
Winner of five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Fun Home is a beloved, groundbreaking, and emotionally rich story of seeing your parents through grown-up eyes. Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir, the musical traces Alison through childhood, college, and adulthood as she unravels her coming-out story, and her complex relationship with a brilliant, volatile, and closeted father. How have the mysteries of her father’s life shaped her own understanding of love and acceptance of her lesbian identity? With a soaring score by Jeanine Tesori and a sharp, heartfelt book by Lisa Kron, Fun Home is a beautiful, can’t-miss theatrical experience, directed by Logan Ellis.
REVIEW
One of my favorite things about regional theatre is being able to see shows that I missed on Broadway. That is the case for Fun Home, now playing at The Huntington Theatre in Boston through December 14, 2025. This musical is based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir of the same name. While you can certainly see the show with no pre-existing knowledge of the storyline, I did read the book in advance and I’m glad I did, as it adds a rich layer of character development to an already complicated family drama.
The musical opens with Alison, now in her forties, attempting to create her memoir while struggling to put her story down on paper. We flash back to her childhood and college years, while the present day Alison shadows her younger selves throughout key moments in her life. From her unique childhood growing up in the funeral home business, to her coming to terms with her sexual identity as a lesbian, Fun Home showcases the complexity of life. There are moments replete with anger and sadness, and others full of joy and epiphany. The musical itself captures these emotions through its dark humor, which invokes both laughter and tears throughout the course of the show.
One of the strongest themes in this production of Fun Home is reflection. The set utilizes a mirror at several points, with the characters gazing upon their reflections. This not only encapsulates the feeling of seeing your true self mirrored back at you, but we also see this theme at play when Alison interacts with the younger versions of herself. She spends the show literally reflecting on her life, but we also see the physical representation of how all of our lives are made up of different versions of ourself. It is both moving and endearing to see Alison feel embarrassed of her college-aged self, for example, as I’m sure many of us can relate to cringeworthy moments from our youth. Of course, Alison is also trying to grapple with whether or not she is a reflection of her father, who unbeknownst to her, was a closeted gay man who had several affairs with men, some of them underage.
Moreover, I was very impressed with both the direction and acting performances in Fun Home. The characters balance the complex emotions of the show well. For example, Middle Alison (Maya Jacobson) is charming with her naivety as she accepts her newfound lesbian identity, while Small Alison (Lyla Randall) puts up a brave front while loving, yet being fearful of, her father. Bruce Bechdel (Nick Duckart), however, is truly the most intriguing character in the show. The audience can empathize with his decision to live in a fraudulent marriage, yet still detest his violence. Seeing these incredible performances really gave a lot of meaning to Alison’s memoir, which was difficult for me to relate to in book form.
Overall, I highly recommend seeing Fun Home if you have the opportunity. My favorite scene in the show was “Come To The Fun Home,” in which the Bechdel children make a commercial for their family’s funeral home. It is hilarious, and showcases the talents of the child actors. Similarly, “Ring of Keys,” is another powerful moment that demonstrates how important the story Fun Home is. At the end of the day, this piece of musical theatre depicts why it is vital to uplift and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, so that no one feels the need to hide their true selves, or fear to live authentically.
Watch my vlog of seeing Fun Home on Instagram HERE.
