On Monday, April 21st the cast, director, composer, and writer of Fun Home came to Charleston’s Memminger Auditorium in a gesture of solidarity with the College of Charleston. The book this musical is based of caused a great deal of controversy amongst state legislatures and those who work and learn on the campus. Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel, is a graphic novel about human experiences and the consequences our individual lives have on each other. But to some bible thumping South Carolinian legislatures, this book was nothing more that gay propaganda. Yes, the story is about a gay man and his gay daughter, but I, a straight woman, have not read or seen anything I relate to as much as this work in quite a long time. It touches every person regardless of their back ground. I laughed. I cried. I laughed through tears. It connected each audience member; as each scene of the play were a different section of a long rope dealt out to each corresponding viewer. By the time the play was over, there we were, all with one common thread. Every person, regardless of their background, should be exposed to this kind of eye opening work of art that connects us all through human experience.
There were two shows, one at 7pm and one at 9pm. Both were packed. The audience was invested in the experience. They had come to participate and contribute. Art experiences like this come from a buzz. The buzz is the most organic form of marketing. It is generated with a simple nudge and perpetuated with gentle taps to keep it off the ground. It is created and then kept up; like children at a party keeping a balloon off the ground by blowing it up into the air with short, simple breaths; no hands! People were whispering, taking, arguing, and shouting; all because of this book. Eyebrows, questions, rumors, and opinions were raised in the months leading up to this plays arrival from New York to Charleston. Fun Home had been tossed around on top of the “well I think!”s and “did you hear?”s so much, that by the time the curtained raised on (the one night only showing of this Pulitzer Prize nominated adaptation of) Fun Home, the audience and their anticipation was suspended high above the rafters, right up there with the buzz. Feet stomping, hand clapping, and whoo hooign left the audience throughout the evening’s productions. And I’m not who was performing more for whom. Was the cast performing for the audience? Was the audience performing for Bechdel? Was the College performing for the Legislation? I will tell you this; that one night showing of Fun Home was and is not the sole groundbreaking production being preformed over this controversy.
Viva la revolucion!
(Author, Alison Bechdel and Directors, Lisa Kron & Jeanine Tesori discuss the book, musical, and South Carolina controversies after the 9pm showing)
