It’s not often that a musical gets a showing at The Court outside the end-of-the-year summer season production, but so far this year we’ve seen Something Rotten (twice – it had a return season) and now Fun Home follows hot on its heels.

And I mean hot. This is a show you must not miss. I hear two people sitting near me say “wow” once the second standing ovation was over.

Fun Home is autobiographical. It is adapted from a 2006 graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel about her family and particularly about her closeted gay father and her own coming out at college.

Fun Home opens in the present day with 43-year-old cartoonist Alison (Kelly Hocking), recounting her life growing up in a restored museum-like house in small town Pennsylvania. She uses her drawing to gather these memories which start with when she was nine-year-old small Alison.

Alison’s life is spread over almost three decades with small Alison (*Carla Ladstaetter / Eden Taylor) and 19-year-old medium Alison (Emma Katene). Alison has two brothers John (*Franklin Domigan/Barnaby Dominan) and Christian (*Erik Misnyovszki/Ben Cumberpatch), her mother Helen (Juliet Reynolds-Midgley) and father Bruce (Michael Lee-Porter.) The house on Maple Avenue is also the family business; the Bechdel Funeral Home which they all call the “Fun Home”.

In one of the first musical numbers, (‘Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue’), we meet what seems to be a pretty perfect family, working hard to make sure the house is organised and clean as the local historical society may be keen to have tours of the home Bruce has worked so hard to restore. (“Everything is balanced and serene / Like chaos never happens if it’s never seen.”)

Over an hour and a half (no intermission), we get an up close and personal look at the Bechdel family, in particular the relationship between Bruce and both small and medium Alison.

Alison’s journey to her coming out reaches a climax when college-aged Alison has sex with a woman (Joan, played by Lily Bourne) for the first time. ‘Changing My Major’ is one of the highlights.

Bruce, Alison’s father, is on a very different journey with his sexuality. He’s a closeted gay man who despite being truly horrible and controlling, is extremely sad and vulnerable, eliciting at least some sympathy. We see the tragic torment of his life, being unable to be who he really is, and hurting himself and others in the process. Michael Lee-Porter absolutely nails the destructive torment of Alison’s father, and ‘Telephone Wire’, which he sings with his grown-up daughter, is heart wrenching.

Small Alison, played by Carla Ladstaetter on opening night, is phenomenal in everything from her sweet perfect singing voice to her (American) accent and a performance that transports me from my theatre seat.

Kelly Hocking (Alison) has a difficult role, overseeing the other timelines, popping in and out of them and gathering the strands together. She does this beautifully, never pulling the focus away from where it should be, and always being the credible older version of the other two Alisons, but still trying to work things out along the way. She, Michael and Carla are absolute standouts.

Keeping the house and family together, Juliet Reynolds-Midgley as Alison’s mother portrays her frustration and disappointment about her marriage beautifully in ‘Days’.

Franklin Domigan and Erik Misnyovszki are excellent brothers, and the shenanigans in the coffin together with the performance for an audio commercial for the funeral home (recorded on a home cassette player) is very entertaining. Issac Pawson who plays a number of roles – most notably Roy, with whom Bruce has a relationship – rounds out this talented cast.

The set is minimal yet intricate with sliding panels and furniture whizzing in and out. It works well. The lighting reflects the light and dark of the story and is used to good effect where there is a lot happening at once – it’s a busy play! The six-piece band only adds to the talent in Fun Home, and looking at where these musicians come from, underscores how fortunate we are in Christchurch and Canterbury to have the University of Canterbury and ARA music programmes.

Director Kathleen Burns is to be congratulated on a stunning production. Her thoughtful direction is sensitive, getting the best from her cast, and always moving the production forward, while keeping the different timelines clear and connected.

Dabbing my eyes as the house lights come up, I am feeling a little exhausted from the emotional ride we’ve just been on, and it’s a ride I’m glad I caught.

*actors in the role on opening night.

Photographs by Charlie Rose Creative.

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