BACKSTAGE with the Bechdels: Five Fun Facts From Our FUN HOME Panel

On September 10, the Bechdel family is flying away from Broadway's Circle in the Square Theater when the the groundbreaking, Tony Award-winner for Best Musical plays its final performance. But before the cast moves out of their Broadway home, BroadwayWorld brought a few of the Bechdel's together for one last interview to reminisce on some memories from their run. The cast happily obliged, discussing everything from the emotional response to the piece, to their backstage camaraderie, to the political timeliness that has made Fun Home, as Judy Kuhn puts it, "a show meant for right now."

Here are a few fun facts we learned about Fun Home during their chat with BroadwayWorld correspondent, Richard Ridge.

1) Beth Malone is the resident "note-giver."

In her role as an artist remembering a tumultuous upbringing as a means of excavating her relationship with her father, Beth Malone spends much of her time onstage observing the actions of her fellow actors. As a result, Beth has become an acting touchstone for the cast, providing occasional notes and observational insights for her fellow actors, Emily Skeggs and Judy Kuhn.

2) Michael Cerveris' dressing room is wallpapered with drawings made during the show.

Gabby Pizzolo, who plays burgeoning cartoonist Small Alison, draws onstage during the show. As part of a pre-show ritual, Pizzolo consults with co-star Michael Cerveris on what to draw before each performance and gifts the finished product to him afterward. Throughout the run of the show, Michael has accumulated a large collection of drawings from the "insanely wonderful mind of Gabby Pizzolo" which now line the walls of his dressing room.

3) The kids of Fun Home have caught the entrepreneurial bug.

The younger cast members of Fun Home have taken to operating a series of small businesses backstage at the show. Zell Morrow, who plays John Bechdel, is flexing his art muscles through a custom drawing business, sketching anything from faces to a "dragon picnic" for co-star Judy Kuhn, while Cole Morrow, who plays the littlest Bechdel, Christian, has taken up fortune telling.

4) The Fun Home company is made up of three generations

Judy Kuhn notes that there are three separate generations of actors in Fun Home and each age group and individual brings a different energy and dynamic to the show. In understanding and respecting the wildly different work and life experience of each member of the company, the show as a whole is made better by the strengths brought by each age group.

5) The family vibe doesn't end at the curtain call.

In playing a family eight times a week, the cast has established real life familial ties that extend long after the curtain has come down. Judy Kuhn noted that she has never worked with a company that "plays so well together onstage and plays so well together offstage." The cast is also there for each other in times of need, with Beth Malone adding that it was Michael Cerveris she turned to for comfort and support following the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub.

Click the video to get the full stories behind these facts and many more in Richard Ridge's full interview with the stars of Fun Home.

Based on Alison Bechdel's best-selling graphic memoir of the same name, Fun Home, the 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, features music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, and direction by Sam Gold, all of whom won 2015 Tony Awards for their work on this production. Fun Home began previews March 27, 2015 and opened to rave reviews at the Circle in the Square Theatre (235 West 50th Street) on Sunday, April 19, 2015.