After two decades in the alternative-press trenches, cartoonist Alison Bechdel burst into the mainstream with the 2006 autobiographical graphic novel “Fun Home.” The book was a critical and commercial hit despite — or maybe because of — its thorny subject.
As the stage version of Alison puts it bluntly in the new musical adaptation of “Fun Home”: “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.”
That’s a lot for one show to handle, especially when you realize that Dad was both an English teacher and a funeral home director, and that his long-suffering wife knew his true nature.
Composer Jeanine Tesori (“Caroline, or Change”) and book writer/lyricist Lisa Kron (“Well”) tackle the material with great sensitivity and warmth. Directed by Sam Gold, their adaptation boasts a solid chamber-pop score, a handful of wonderful scenes and a winning cast.
Like the book, the show is narrated by the adult Alison — Beth Malone, a dead ringer for the bespectacled, androgynous Bechdel — reflecting back on herself at age 8 (Sydney Lucas) and as a first-year college student (Alexandra Socha).
Set mostly in the mid-’70s to early ’80s, the show tracks the parallel evolutions of Alison and her father, Bruce (a poignant Michael Cerveris). He’s a fussy fellow obsessed with literature and home restoration, and his smooth exterior stands in contrast to Alison’s butch demeanor.
“Where’s your barrette?” he asks his young daughter. “It keeps the hair out of your eyes.”
“So would a crew cut,” the kid mutters.
“Medium Alison,” as the Playbill calls her, comes out at college while Bruce remains secretive about his affairs. His behavior takes a toll on his wife, Helen (Judy Kuhn), a frustrated would-be thespian stranded in the Pennsylvania boondocks.
The action moves fluidly back and forth in time, but the show’s focus can be erratic. It’s frustrating that Kuhn doesn’t have more to do while the young Alison and her brothers (Griffin Birney and Noah Hinsdale) get a gratuitous Jackson 5-inspired number, even though the boys don’t really figure in the plot.
“Fun Home” has a lot going for it, thanks to the great affection and humor it accords its flawed, searching characters. Still, it’s ironic that a show about frustrated longings may leave you feeling the same.