Where you can see the Broadway play that won 5 Tony Awards in 2015

Alison Bechdel had an interesting childhood, and wound up with an intriguing career as a cartoonist.

So it’s no surprise that she combined both into a graphic memoir that became a critically acclaimed and awarding play — one that Columbia theater fans will be able to see Friday, March 23, through Saturday, April 14, at Trustus Theatre.

“Fun Home” isn’t new to South Carolina. Trustus director Chad Henderson says Bechdel’s book was a point of controversy at the College of Charleston when the state Ways and Means Committee considered reducing the school’s funding for selecting “Fun Home” for a summer reading program in 2014.

The original Off-Broadway cast came to Charleston to perform a concert version of the play before it opened on Broadway in 2015. Take this quick true or false quiz to learn a bit more about “Fun Home.”

“Fun Home” won multiple Tony Awards.

True. The musical won several awards. It was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning five, including Best Musical. It was also a contender for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The play focuses on the protagonist’s relationship with an eccentric father who fills his home with toys for his two dozen cats.

False. “Fun Home” deals, in part, with the main character’s relationship with her gay father, as she tries to understand his life after his death.

“Fun Home” is based on a graphic novel.

True. The play is based on Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir. Bechdel is a graphic novelist.

It was the first Broadway musical with a lesbian protagonist.

True. The story, in part, is about Bechdel's discovery of her own sexuality.

There are three “Alisons” in the play.

True. There is present-day Alison, childhood Alison and college Alison.

The protagonist’s family business was an amusement park.

False. The story moves between past and present, as Alison relives her unique childhood in Pennsylvania playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home. Her father was a high school English teacher who operated the funeral home part-time. Her mother was an actress and a teacher.

The play had a long run on Broadway.

False. The play opened on Broadway on April 19, 2015, and closed Sept. 10, 2016, after 583 performances.

The play focuses on Bechdel’s relationship with her father and her awareness of her own sexual identity growing up. Her father dies unexpectedly, and he was a man with secrets.

Using her graphic novel medium, Bechdel wrote an autobiographical story exploring her father’s secrets, which defined her family and her life. The story moves between past and present, as Bechdel re-lives her childhood, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.

Robin Gottlieb, the actress who plays Alison in the Trustus Theatre production of “Fun Home” enjoys playing a real person.

“When playing an actual real-life human, it is important to research her, and honor her in an authentic manner,” Gottlieb says. “I am enjoying that extra responsibility. It is both terrifying and exhilarating. I want to be true to Alison Bechdel while adding a little bit of myself and my own life experiences to the character.”

Paul Kaufmann plays Bechdel’s father, Bruce. Kaufmann acknowledges playing a real person, especially a complex man with secrets, is an intriguing challenge.

“He's a person who's not ‘living his truth’ — probably not a phrase to which Bruce would've been exposed in the 70s,” Kaufmann says. “And he's very repressed, which means much of what's going on in the character's head isn't visible to the audience.”

That’s where the music helps, giving the audience through its lyrics an idea of what the characters are thinking.

“It's in the songs that the audience will understand that Bruce is complicated, conflicted and not successful in dealing with the friction between his desires and his reality,” Kaufmann says. “I like the role because I think, as a character, he's got so many layers to explore. He was also a real man in real life, so to bear witness to his struggle is an honor. Alison Bechdel's graphic novel really covers a lot of ground in helping me explore who Bruce was. I hope to do justice to her powerful piece.”

Kaufmann also appreciates the female point of view of the show — not only is the author female, so is the composer and lyricist.

“It's nuanced and incredibly layered and focuses on exploration of a family's lives from one woman's point of view,” Kaufmann says. “It's truly a human story and will appeal to any audience who is looking for depth, beauty, clear-eyed examination and, ultimately, empowerment and joy.

“The story doesn't end well for Bruce, but the piece is a strong call to be true to the world you live in, to be yourself in all your special glory and to not be afraid to seek the truth of your loved ones. That sounds heavy, but the piece is brilliant, bright and really moves along.”

Gottlieb credits a “tremendous” cast and crew at Trustus with producing an entertaining version of the award winning, “amazing” show.

“This story is extremely relatable,” Gottlieb says. “You don’t have to be an artist, gay, or a funeral home director to find similarities. I mean, if you come from a family of any sort, you can relate to this show. All families have unique dynamics, and this is a look into a very unique family, and it is told in a very unique way.”

And it’s always interesting, as adults, to reflect back on your parents. Part of the poignancy of “Fun Home” is Bechdel looking back on her childhood through the eyes of an adult.

“Our parents, no matter how flawed, are still human,” Gottlieb says. "I think it is interesting as an adult to look back at your parents lives through ‘adult eyes’, which is essentially what Alison is doing.”

Gottlieb thinks audiences will enjoy “Fun Home.”

“This show is hot off the national tour, and just having won numerous Tonys in 2015,” Gottlieb says. “This is as new as it gets, and it really speaks to the mission of Trustus. It challenges the viewer without being intimidating. There is something for everyone.”

If you go

"Fun Home"

WHEN: Various times Friday, March 23, through Saturday, April 14.

WHERE: Trustus Theatre, 520 Lady St.

TICKETS: $30 to $35 ($25 for students) at www.trustus.org.

This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Where you can see the Broadway play that won 5 Tony Awards in 2015."