[rating=5]For those of you that listen to me on the radio ( WCPT820 every Sunday 2-3 p.m.), you have heard me say that seeing a play is unique each time you see it. Unlike a film that is cut and spliced and then stays the same, a play enjoys a new life each time it is done. A different director sees things differently. A different venue changes the blocking. Each set causes a different concept and of course the actors and their interpretations of the roles they are playing is unique. I say this all because tonight, Jane and I attended our third incarnation of “Fun Home” with music by Jeanine Tesori and the book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, as staged by Jim Corti and Landree Fleming as part of the BOLD SERIES at Paramount Theatre’s Copley Theatre in Aurora. What a production!We have seen the Broadway road company and the beautiful production staged by Gary Griffin at Victory Gardens, which I thought might be the better of the two. Could this be topped?
For those of you unaware of this Tony Award Winning gem of a musical, it is a story about coming of age and coming out. It is a story about family and family secrets. It is a story about complex lives and mostly it is a story about truth and finding the truth to take from 2d ( two dimensional) to 3D ( three dimensional). It is a story about understanding yourself, and others. Many families live in a way that others cannot understand. This family is one of those. What appears to be an ordinary small town family turns out to be a far cry from what the neighbors might think, and in the case of Alison, upon her father’s death as she learns more, she finds the hidden truths that were there but never noticed.
As I said earlier this cast is sensational. Let’s start with Small Alison ( tonight played by Maya Keane who is a pure delight to watch and listen to- on other performances Milla Liss takes on the role). Medium Alison (Elizabeth Stenholt truly captures the energy of a young girl away from home finding herself for the first time). Her “Changing My Major” was adorable. Devon Hayakawa as Joan, Medium Alison’s “new friend” is adorable.
The band under the direction of Kory Danielson is well done , never overpowering the singers. The sound ( Adam Rosenthal) and lighting (Mac Vaughy) were just right and the costumes (Jordan Ross) and properties (Jesse Gaffney) worked. The set (Yeaji Kim) was nothing out of the ordinary, but one could see that it was created for easy transitions from scene to scene, so there were never any awkward breaks in the action or the storytelling. The flow of this show must be clean and this production is just that.
Wednesdays:1:30pm & 7:00pm
Stage: Copley Theatre- Covid rules- masks are optional
8 East Galena Blvd. ( across the street from The Paramount) in Aurora
Show Type: Musical
Box Office: 630-896-6666
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Fun Home”
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