I went to the theatre tonight.

So first of all, you should probably expect that title for many of my posts.  The theatre is my one true non-family passion.  Now that I have my night life back again, I hope and plan to see and participate in much more theatre in this town before my soul breaks.  And screw you, Spellcheck, for not accepting my spelling of the word!

So, the national tour of Fun Home, the 2015 Tony winner for Best Musical.  The first musical written entirely by women to ever win that award.  I was very happy to learn the show was coming to the Smith Center (Las Vegas for those needing a reminder), and I'm even happier I actually got to see it!

                                              

I actually had not heard much of the score and only had cursory knowledge of the story going into this tonight.  I had heard a couple of songs on the Sirius XM On Broadway channel 72, and of course the performance at the Tonys that year.  I knew it is autobiographical, based on Alison Bechdel's graphic novel of the same name (which I now want to read more than I did when I first heard about it).  And I knew the inevitable outcome because, like Hamilton (see what I did there?), it doesn't hide the climax of the story, spelling it out in the second song of the piece.

What can I say: I really enjoyed this play and its company!  Led by Actor's Equity President Kate Shindle, this fantastic cast presents a moving story of a young woman trying to figure out who she is at several ages as she also tries coming to grips with shocking revelations about her family.  For those afraid of spoilers, as I am, I will try to avoid giving too much away here.  I will say that if you have a problem with any sort of LGBTQ lifestyle, references, etc., a. you're an asshole, please stop reading and go beat your head into a wall until you join the rational, civilized world; and 2. don't bother with Fun Home, you will be offended, and please return to point a. above.

If you're nowhere near a city where the tour is coming, I highly suggest you get a copy of the cast recording.  You'll get a very good idea of what the show is.  There are several clips of the show online; this one gives you a quick glimpse of this cast.  I say this because the music is definitely the star.  Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) wrote a warm score full of emotion and period fun.  I know I will be giving it deeper listens in the near future.

One problem I had with the production, though: I desperately wanted to see the actor's faces. There is a lot of emotion exuded throughout the show, and while the Smith Center really doesn't have a bad seat (except maybe the vertigo-inducing balcony, and even there you can still see), I was far enough away that, because I could not clearly see faces, I somehow did not become quite as emotionally connected as I wanted or expected to.  That said, I was just reminded that the show ran at the Circle in the Square theatre on Broadway.  Suddenly it made sense to me: this show wants to be intimate, which CitS is - I saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee there years ago when I lived in New York, and it is a great space for shows of this kind.  Fun Home doesn't translate as well to a full proscenium theatre that has 2,050 seats; it needs a small house of a couple hundred, in the round, with a minimal set.  Or maybe I just needed my eye drops.

I now feel the need to rant a bit here: either learn theatre etiquette or do the rest of us a favor and DON'T COME!  It's bad enough people think nothing of coughing out loud during a performance, but one of the saddest things about attending a live show in the last couple of decades is there has to be a pre-curtain announcement: "Please turn off all cell phones, recording is strictly prohibited, and if you have any candies, please open them now."  Ugh, I hate it, but this is the culture we are now in. What's even sadder is people don't heed it!  I can't tell you the number of murmurs and crinkles and coughs I dealt with for this straight 100 minutes (Fun Home runs without intermission) of fine theatre.  What's more, several people got up at various points throughout the show; a. it's rude, and 2. it's tremendously distracting to the other patrons and to the actors.  So here's the deal:

1. Either pee before you come or get to the theatre early enough so you can go before the show. And don't expect to go at intermission (if there is one) because everyone thinks that and restroom lines for fifteen minutes are ridiculous.
2. GET THERE ON TIME!!  That way you won't miss opening numbers and you're not a distraction as you're seated late.
3. Turn of your phone, or at least the ringer, the second you walk into the building.  And don't you dare take a flash photo!
4. You're at the theatre, not a movie; you don't need refreshments - forget the candies and snacks!!
5. If you're sick with a cough, I'm sorry you're ill, but don't come to the theatre.

Okay, you get my point; rant over.  Educate yourself about Fun Home - it is an excellent musical - and get yourself to the theatre as much as you can!!