Powerful solos and comedic relief on Maple Avenue: Barnard theater department's "Fun Home"

Upper West Side NY

11 March, 2022

1:45 PM

Description

Columbia Daily Spectator BY JANE LOUGHMAN • MARCH 8, 2022, 9:51 PM Content warning: This article deals with topics of suicide. Standing at her desk, drawing her graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel is surrounded by the ghosts of her past. On stage right is her younger self, who pesters her mother Helen as she attempts to practice Chopin on the piano. On stage left is Alison's father, flirting with a man elsewhere in her home. Alison is an observer, watching the breakdown of her parents' relationship in retrospect. Such tension is at the heart of Lisa Kron's "Fun Home," which the Barnard theater department presented at the Minor Latham Playhouse from March 3 to 5. Directed by Barnard adjunct lecturer Lisa Rothe, and adapted from Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir, this first show of the spring season balanced highly energetic scenes with moving contemplations on family, sexuality, and death. "Fun Home" follows Bechdel, or "Big Alison," as she recalls two times in her life: her childhood living in a funeral home with a father obsessed with order and her college days leading up to her father's suicide. In "Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue," the audience is introduced to the core theme of the musical: the friction at the heart of the Bechdel family. "My dad and I both grew up in the same small Pennsylvania town, and he was gay, and I was gay, and he killed himself, and I … became a lesbian cartoonist," said Big Alison, played by Erin Hilgartner, CC '22. Although Big Alison lingered primarily on the periphery of the stage, Hilgartner had a magnetic presence. While she let the action unfold, her close observation served to remind the audience that the people around her are the ghosts of her personal past, fixed characters whose paths have already been cemented. Rothe's direction and use of space added to Hilgartner's performance. The set, designed by scenic designer and puppetry artist Tanya Orellana and painted by Lauren Goedde, BC '22, had an elevated section acting as Bechdel's attic, which allowed Rothe to play with levels. Hilgartner, as the cartoonist, watched her memories from above—hovering in the attic, standing at her desk, or leaning on a rafter. The props complemented the metaphorical significance of the attic set; an abundance of shelves and boxes suggested that Big Alison was unpacking her memories from their storage. The key memories Big Alison addressed featured her father. Thomas Doyle, GS '24, played Bruce Bechdel with pent-up energy that aptly matched the character's inner turmoil as a closeted father in a heteronormative family. Doyle shared the same taut yet loving rapport with both Medium and Small Alison, played by Cat Herrera, CC '25, and Chloë Roe, BC '22, respectively. Doyle paralleled this rapport with Big Alison in her first interaction with the ghosts of her past as she took Medium Alison's place in the tear-jerking number "Telephone Wire." Doyle presented a friendly fatherly front and shocked the audience with his angry outbursts, but the highlight of his performance was "Edges of the World." "Why am I standing here?" Doyle sang, his powerful tenor building up to a crescendo as the lighting brightened, imitating the headlights of a truck. Suddenly, the music cut off and the lights turned off. Well-executed by the orchestra and the lighting team, the timing of this moment silenced the audience, letting the harsh reality of Bruce's death linger in the air. Rothe balanced the sadness in "Fun Home" with many moments of humor. Roe, performing for her senior thesis, had electric familial chemistry with her stage siblings Christian, played by Izabella Lizarazo, BC '24, and John, played by Adelina Correa, CC '23. As college actors, the three performed credibly as young children, nailing the comedic timing required by the roles; the audience wailed in laughter when Correa and Lizarazo, hiding from Bruce as he showed a customer a choice of caskets, emerged slowly from one of those caskets. Two other notable moments of comic relief appeared in "Come to the Fun Home" and "Raincoat of Love." The first number's infectiously joyous choreography contrasted the song's dark lyrics—"Your uncle died / you're feeling low," sang John—while the second number was made memorable by its fun, rainbow-themed raincoats and umbrellas, which added to Nicole Wee's colorful costume design. The relationship between Medium Alison and Joan is portrayed endearingly by Herrera and Skylar Hudson, CC '25. In between Hudson's hilarious quips, the pair's chemistry exhibited the beauty of young love, which contrasted with the excitement and panic that accompany coming to terms with one's sexuality. Herrera's dynamic energy shined through her solo, "Changing My Major," in which Medium Alison exclaims her love for Joan in a delightfully humorous way, singing, "I am writing a thesis on Joan." In contrast, Bruce and Helen's relationship disintegrates slowly, and barely anything is left when Helen, played by Jaeden Riley Juarez, CC '25, sings the solo "Days and Days." Juarez's controlled vibrato was complemented by her vocal delivery, which poignantly conveyed Helen's frustration and heartbreak. In the musical's final number "Flying Away," Rothe made use of space and levels once again. Small Alison flew like an airplane up in the attic; Big Alison put together the final sketches of her graphic memoir center stage; and Medium Alison drew in her notebook, sitting to the left of Big Alison. This image of the three Alisons encapsulates her journey of self-discovery through grief. As Small Alison "flew" above Pennsylvania, Medium Alison was lower as she sat, signifying the loss of her sense of self in her father's absence. However, Big Alison stood higher than Medium Alison, saying the final words of the show. "Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him." Staff writer Jane Loughman can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @queenofquirk. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.