Director Liz Whitbread knew the Saskatoon Summer Players production of Fun Home was making theatre magic from the first read-through.
As the cast sat together and parsed through the words and music, the very real emotions at the core of the 2015 musical came to the surface. By the end of it, everyone was weeping.
“I’m looking around at everyone, including myself, crying and being like, this is already so beautiful. This show is so special,” Whitbread said.
Based on the 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, the show tells the story of Bechdel’s upbringing in rural Pennsylvania and journey toward understanding her sexuality. That includes her often fraught relationship with her father Bruce, whose struggles being closeted led him to lash out at his family and ultimately, to a tragic end.
The Tony Award-winning show is new territory for SSP. Actor Bobby Williston, who plays Bruce, said its strength is that it has “less splash, more heart.”
When the show was announced, Williston said he learned about it by first listening to, and falling in love with, the music composed by Jeanine Tesori.
“The story hit me afterward,” he said. “And the journey of these real humans, the fact that this is this is not pretend, this is reality. These humans in this family existed, and it’s reflective of our actual world.”
It’s something he kept in mind as he worked to understand and inhabit the complicated, often volatile Bechdel patriarch while trying “to bring the reality and humanity of his story to the stage.”
“He is both abuser and victim, and so the layered complexities of Bruce make him human, make him real, make him a man that is in constant pain and suffering and lashes out from that,” he said.
“Absolutely, it’s not a defense of his mistreatment of others. But understanding where that comes from has been a beautiful journey with getting to know [him].”
Given the show’s emotional heft, one of Whitbread’s priorities was being cognizant of how people would react and ensuring the rehearsal room was a safe space.
“People are bringing their full selves to this show, and I want to make sure that they are doing that in a safe way, so that they can feel the freedom of performing, and not be triggered or weighed down or carry these heavy emotions with them,” she said.
The show is an early foray into directing for Whitbread. As an actor and dramaturge, she wanted to explore the new role within a show she was passionate about: one that shares the lived experience of queer people, including young Alison as she comes to understand her sexuality. It’s especially poignant as legislation is rolled out in Canada and the United States targeting trans and gender nonconforming youth, she said.
“While Allison Bechdel’s story is not a trans narrative, she was a gay kid. And I think that piece of this story is so important because it shows like, gay kids are there, trans kids are there. They’re real. They exist. Their feelings are real, and they always have been,” she said.
“To me, the underlying message is how important it is for people to feel the freedom to be who they really are and to be their authentic selves — and how it is life saving.”
Saskatoon Summer Players’ production of Fun Home will be at the Broadway Theatre from November 6-10. Tickets can be purchased online at broadwaytheatre.ca/events.
