Tesori is the Tony-nominated composer of Caroline, or Change; Shrek; Violet; and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Book writer and lyricist Kron, a Tony nominee for Well, also penned In the Wake and 2.5 Minute Ride. Fun Home, which dramatizes lesbian cartoonist Bechdel's coming-of-age and her relationship with her closeted gay father, opened to acclaim Oct. 22, 2013. Directed by Sam Gold (The Realistic Joneses, Seminar) the production ended its extended run at the Public Jan. 12.
Read the Playbill On the Record review of the cast album here.
The original cast will also reunite for a March 13 in-store performance at the Upper East Side Barnes and Noble (150 East 86th Street) at 6 PM.
Listen to "Ring of Keys," performed by Beth Malone as Alison and Sydney Lucas as Small Alison. Music direction is by Chris Fenwick; the orchestration is by John Clancy.
The cast album of Fun Home is produced by PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker. PS Classics previously recorded and released the cast recording of The Public Theater production of Road Show.
Krasker told Playbill.com that making the album was "one of the best experiences I've ever had. Philip [Chaffin, co-founder of PS Classics] and I were overwhelmed by the show, and knew instantly we wanted to record it, and I think all of us – Jeanine and Lisa and Sam and Chris and Clancy and I – went into the studio with a shared purpose: not only to preserve these glorious songs that Jeanine and Lisa had created, but also to capture something of the arc and flow and feel of the show itself. It's a very full CD, and I think it serves the show well."
The track listing follows:
. It All Comes Back (Opening)
2. "Sometimes my father appeared to enjoy having children…"
3. Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue
4. Not Too Bad
5. "Just had a good talk with Dad…"
6. Come to the Fun Home
7. Helen's Etude
8. "Thanks for the care package…"
9. Al for Short
10. Changing My Major
11. "I leapt out of the closet…"
12. Maps
13. "Read a book…"
14. Raincoat of Love
15. "I need more coffee…"
16. Ring of Keys
17. "Let me introduce you to my gay dad…"
18. "Shortly after we were married…"
19. Days and Days
20. "You ready to go for that drive?..."
21. Telephone Wire
22. "It was great to have you home…"
23. Edges of the World
24. "This is what I have of you…"
25. Flying Away (Finale)
Additional soundclips can be heard at the PS Classics website.
Read Playbill.com's feature: "An Author's Life Comes to Life: Alison Bechdel on Fun Home."
Fun Home featured Beth Malone (Alison), Sydney Lucas (Small Alison) and Alexandra Socha (Medium Alison) as author-narrator Bechdel at various stages of her life. It also starred Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris as her father, Bruce Bechdel, and Tony nominee Judy Kuhn as her mother, Helen Bechdel.
Completing the cast were Griffin Birney (John Bechdel), Roberta Colindrez (Joan), Noah Hinsdale (Christian Bechdel) and Joel Perez (Roy).
Fun Home is described as "a fresh, daring new musical based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father's hidden desires."
Fun Home had scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by Kai Harada, projection design by Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg, wig design by Paul Huntley and choreography by Danny Mefford.
PlaybillStore.com also offers numerous cast albums and theatre recordings.
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Founded in 2000 by Tommy Krasker & Philip Chaffin, and an eight-time Grammy nominee (for its cast albums of Assassins, Nine: The Musical, Grey Gardens, Company, A Little Night Music, Sondheim on Sondheim, Follies and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess), PS Classics celebrates the heritage of Broadway and American popular song through award-winning cast recordings; solo albums by such artists as Maureen McGovern, Victoria Clark, Steven Pasquale, Liz Callaway and Christine Andreas; and restorations of long-lost musicals, including Sweet Little Devil, Sweet Bye and Bye and Strike Up the Band 1930. Recent releases include Far From Heaven, Philip Chaffin's Dorothy Fields Album "Somethin' Real Special" , Rebecca Luker’s solo disc "I Got Love (Songs of Jerome Kern)," the world premiere recording of Anthony Rapp’s one-man show, Without You, and the revue Noel and Cole. PS Classics will also release the world-premiere recording of the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical Yank!
View highlights below:
