Silhouette Stages Offers an Emotional Rollercoaster in ‘Fun Home’

As the queer community continues to experience relentless attacks on its rights by the Trump administration, it is refreshing and timely that Silhouettes Stages is presenting the musical Fun Home this month. The groundbreaking show, which opened on Broadway in 2015 and captured 5 Tony Awards among its 12 nominations including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score, is perhaps the first Broadway musical production to feature a lesbian protagonist. The story is potent and heartfelt with two queer characters traveling on a road where one has discovered the joys of her identity and living proudly and openly while the other is joyless in that respect and resides in the closet.

Award winning director Stephen Foreman deftly guides the talented cast through a structure that entwines three storylines revolving around a single character.  Within this framework, Mr. Foreman allows the performers to exhibit a wide range of emotions with clarity and precision. The pacing of the production is rapid but still leaving sufficient time to reflect on and appreciate what transpired in each scene. There are complexities and challenges, to be sure, such as, conveying conversations between the living and the dead, but Mr. Foreman and the cast adroitly pull it off.

Kaylee McDonald as Medium Alison,
Katie Cashin as Alison and Caroline Anderson
as Small Alison

Based on the graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, Fun Home is a deeply intimate and quietly revolutionary musical that redefines what Broadway storytelling should look like. With music by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, the show transforms Bechdel’s coming-of-age story into a moving exploration of memory, identity, and family secrets.

Set in a small-town in Pennsylvania during the 1970’s, the story unfolds across three timelines, following Alison as a child (Small Alison), a college student (Medium Alison) discovering her sexuality, and a middle-aged cartoonist (Alison) reflecting on her father’s life and death as she attempts to pen captions to her work.

Alison, played deftly by Katie Cashin, is a fixture onstage throughout the show. She serves as the narrator, often at the side of the stage or upstage observing and commenting as she conjures up memories of her childhood and her relationship with her father Bruce, played exceptionally by Michael McGovern.

Bruce is the owner of the Bechdel Funeral Home (‘fun home” as it’s known to young Alison and her brothers John and Christian) and is a teacher. At times an overbearing father, Bruce is concerned or even obsessed with how Alison’s attire (dresses as opposed to jeans) and other facets are perceived by others. With an abundance of confidence and perkiness, Small Alison, sprightly played by Caroline Anderson on the evening of the reviewed performance (alternates with Jules Kanarek) seems to be the focus of Bruce’s parenting.

Significantly, Bruce is a closeted gay man trapped by societal expectations. He has trysts in secret with young men he meets.  His self-loathing and subsequent self-destruction are chronicled throughout with episodes of reckless behavior amid the secrecy. 

As Medium Alison (Kaylee McDonald) attends Oberlin College, she discovers her own identity and ultimately embraces it. She finds love with Joan (Maria Maclay) and eventually sends a letter to Bruce and her mother Helen (Ellen Quay) proclaiming she’s a lesbian. After not receiving a response, she returns home to confront her parents as to why they avoid a conversation on the subject.

Bruce’s death was revealed earlier in the show, so there is no surprise ending on that front. It appeared to be a suicide by standing in front of a truck or perhaps an accident. But Alison believes it was a suicide given the pressures and pitfalls her father had been experiencing.

"...Mr. Foreman allows the performers to exhibit a wide range of emotions with clarity and precision."

Sadly, we have seen too often in the entertainment media that a queer person feels compelled to take their own life. Alison submerges deeper into her memories and ultimately enters into them but is unable to reverse her father’s demise.

Tesori’s score is intricate and character-driven, blending folk, classical, and contemporary Broadway influences. Kron’s lyrics are intelligent and naturalistic, often feeling more like thought than performance. Together, they create a work that feels personal rather than performative. Numbers like “Ring of Keys” and “Telephone Wire” are low-key yet devastating, capturing both the elation of self-recognition and the agony of unanswered connection.

The comical and energetic song “Come to the Fun Home” is a crowd pleaser highlighting the antics of the young siblings as they were recording a possible commercial for the funeral home, and “Changing My Major” also adds a lighter touch. However, a deeply moving “Days and Days” exemplifies the eclectic catalogue. Overall, there are 27 musical numbers in the show.

In a tour-de-force, Michael McGovern shines as Bruce. Spirited throughout, Mr. McGovern commands the stage and employs his powerful voice in his acting and in song. He conveys his torment in a genuine manner.  Bruce is not only focused on Small Alison’s appearance, but he also obsesses about restoring the house. And when he is given to violent outbursts, Mr. McGovern rocks the auditorium.

Playing the character during the period from Small Alison to the current iteration, Mr. McGovern must undertake numerous costume changes, which is a challenge in itself. Credit costume designer Debbie Mobley for fitting the cast in realistic period attire.

As Alison, Katie Cashin delivers a rather subdued and effective performance. As her memories advance through her mind, her soft-spoken monologue and body language reflect the angst she had experienced as a youngster but is satisfied with the way her true identity emerged. Her regret is the way things turned out with her father. Ms. Cashin possesses solid vocals, which are evident in several group and solo numbers.

Caroline Anderson played Small Alison on the evening the show was reviewed. She and her siblings Christian, played by Noah Anderson and John, played by Cooper Johnsen, are bright stars in the production and provide much of the comic relief. They truly appear to enjoy themselves with their playfulness and quips, but Small Alison’s interactions with her father are poignant and gets your attention. The tension is manifested through her own ways of gender expression, which goes against her father’s viewpoint. Young Caroline does a wonderful job in those situations.

Medium Alison, the college student, is played well by Kaylee McDonald. It is while in college she accidently finds her entrée into lesbianism with her partner Joan, played convincingly by Maria Maclay. Ms. McDonald is a standout in the comical song “Changing My Major.”

Ellen Quay is excellent as Bruce’s wife Helen Bechdel. Not only does she sing very well in the ballad “Days and Days” and the group number “Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue” among others, but she also successfully conveys the complex blend of idealism and disillusionment in her marriage. She was aware of her husband’s affairs but cannot, at least immediately, accept Alison’s emerging identity.

Ryan Kieft is an energetic performer playing multiple roles, some of them were Bruce’s sexual partners. He appears in a few numbers portraying these characters and does a good job vocally and in dance. This is especially true in the group number “Raincoat of Love.”

Most of the action takes place in the Bechdel home, which is decorated with graphic artwork, books and antiques. It’s a real nice and functional set designed by Stephen Foreman and decorator Ande Kolp. Many set pieces and furniture are used giving the production much texture and visual enjoyment. Even a casket appears, which is the source of “Come to the Fun Home.” Lighting Designer Collin Griese does fine work illuminating the set.

And hats off to conductor Dave Foley and his eight-piece orchestra in the pit for giving Jeanine Tesori’s remarkable score the justice it deserves.

A complete list of the remainder of the Production Team is shown at the conclusion of the review.

Silhouette Stages deserves enormous plaudits through its direction, production team and the superb performers in delivering this powerful production, emotional rollercoaster and all.

Fun Home is not a musical with a lot of pizzazz. Yet it deftly blends humor with emotional depth through its portrayal of family dynamics and personal identity.  

At the conclusion of the show on opening night, director Stephen Foreman was seen in the lobby beaming with pride at what he just witnessed. And rightly so.

Running time. One hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.

Advisory: Fun Home contains adult content, mature language and themes, including discussions and depictions of death, violence, suicide, sexuality, and sexual content and is not recommended for children under age 13 using parental discretion.

Fun Home plays on weekends through March 22 at the Slayton House Theatre, 10400 Cross Fox Ln, Columbia, MD 21044. For tickets, call 410-730-3987 visit online.

Photos: Shealyn Jae Photography