Hudson Valley Premiere Of FUN HOME Opens At The Center For Performing Arts At Rhinebeck

Rhinebeck Theatre Society (RTS) announces the regional premiere of the musical FUN HOME. Winner of the 2015 Tony award for best musical, this innovative show reinvents the classic coming-of-age story. Based on Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir of the same title, the musical follows Alison's memories of her sexual awakening and her father's suicide. A 2015 report from the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network shows that LGBTQ people in the Hudson Valley also deal with limited or poor media representation, family estrangement, limited access to affirming healthcare, and severe social isolation. Fun Home's honest representation of LGBTQ narratives will be particularly impactful with a cast of nine local actors, many of whom identify as LGBTQ, especially for specially invited audiences of local high school Gay-Straight Alliances.

The production will run June 1st-24th at The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 3PM. RTS is excited to debut the first-ever "Pay What You Will" Fridays, where community members can pay as much or as little for a ticket with cash or check at the door. Tickets will cost $27 with a $25 senior discount; $20 student tickets will be sold at the door with valid ID. Tickets can be purchased at www.centerforperformingarts.org or by calling call the box office at (845) 876-3080.

Fun Home traces the story of Alison Bechdel's life as she struggles to write her own graphic autobiography. As Alison reflects on her past, she grapples to make sense of her relationship with her father, Bruce, a closeted gay man and the owner of the family business -- the Bechdel Funeral Home. As she watches her father's self-loathing consume him, Alison recognizes her own experience of discovering, and ultimately embracing, her own identity as a lesbian. As Fun Home progresses, Alison is drawn deeper and deeper into her memories, desperate (but unable) to reverse her father's self-destruction. A poignant and groundbreaking musical, Fun Home explores the haunting pull of memory and the power it has to shape our identity.

With funding support from Arts Mid-Hudson and partnership with the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, RTS is proud to engage the greater Rhinebeck community with this production. Fun Home is one of a series of plays with strong women protagonists in the RTS's 2018 "Season of Women." RTS will be inviting local high schools' Gay-Straight Alliances to attend the show and participate in a Q&A session. Oblong books will sponsor a promotional event and panel discussion, and stock plenty of copies of Bechdel's graphic novel.

The production stars Ashley France, Mary Kate Barnett, Eliza Petronio, Erin Flory, Jared Allyn Decker, Alex Heinen, Lisa Delia, Dylan Tomas Castle, Molly Lyons and Jamison Fountain.

Show Dates: June 1-24, Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 3PM
Ticket Prices: Adults $27; Seniors $25; $20 student tickets at the door with valid id. "Pay What You Will" Fridays (cash or check at the door)

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