This long-form feature was written for my Arts Journalism class. The assignment was to write a piece of 1200 words or more about an arts-related event or subject. I chose to write about a local theater production of “Fun Home.” I submitted the story on Oct. 12, 2018 and I received a grade of 100 percent.

The title “Fun Home” conveys a sense of lighthearted wholesomeness. An ode to the 60’s or 70’s when families would gather around the dinner table for a chicken roast before congregating in front of a small TV to watch “Happy Days.”

When it’s revealed that “Fun Home” is short for “Funeral Home,” however, it takes on a grave new meaning.

That shift is at the heart of “Fun Home,” a musical that bounces between light and dark themes to explore the life of one woman through three time periods. The show opens at Phoenix Theatre this week.

Phoenix Theatre Associate Artistic Director Robert Kolby Harper is directing the production. He said the show is “a redefinition of what musical theater can be.”

“Many musicals don’t deal with universal themes,” he said. “They’re thought of as pure entertainment: ‘Take me away, make me feel happy.’ This does the same thing, but it’s satisfying.”

“She views her character, even though she happens to be a lesbian, as a human being first. If we all viewed each other like that, we’d realize our differences are way less than you imagine, less than our similarities.”

Robert Kolby Harper,
Associate Artistic Director at Phoenix Theatre