Paramount Theatre to Present FUN HOME as Part of the New BOLD Series

Welcome to Fun Home, an unforgettable, groundbreaking musical like no other. Where memories linger like snowflakes, and the truth is always opaque. Where finding yourself means looking to the past and seeing yourself reflected in your father, who is exactly the same and still so different than you. It's a place filled with humor, secrets, anger, unexpected joy, self-revelation and the most confounding thing of all: family.

Paramount Theatre will present the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Fun Home - book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the popular graphic novel of the same name by Alison Bechdel - as the third production in its inaugural four-show BOLD Series.

Bechdel's autobiographical story about her discovery of her own sexuality, her relationship with her closeted gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life is in line with the BOLD mission: to bring fearless, thought-provoking and unexpected new forms of live theater to downtown Aurora.

Jim Corti, Paramount Theatre's Artistic Director, co-directs Fun Home with Landree Fleming, in her Paramount directing debut.

Previews start August 3, 2022, at Paramount's new Copley Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd., in the North Island Center in downtown Aurora. Press openings are Wednesday, August 10, and Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Performances run through September 18: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. and
7 p.m.; Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Pay What You Can performances are Thursday, August 4 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, August 6 at 2 p.m. (see website for details). Regular tickets are $67 to $74.

For tickets and information to Fun Home at the Copley, go online, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Note: Fun Home is suggested for ages 13 and up for or some adult language and references to adult sexual content and suicide.

The Copley Theatre, a sleek, state-of-the-art, 165-seat theater with a modern new lobby bar and lounge, located right across the street from Paramount, reopened this past March as downtown Aurora's newest live theater space following a two-year, $2 million, top-to-bottom renovation.

Behind-the scenes of Paramount's BOLD Series production, Fun Home

Fun Home, the musical, traces author Alison Bechdel's coming-of-age, from her youth, to her years at Oberlin College, and finally to the present, where Alison, now grown, is struggling to write her own graphic autobiography. As Alison reflects on her past, she struggles to make sense of it, particularly her relationship with her father, Bruce, a closeted gay man and the owner of the family business -- the Bechdel Funeral Home ("fun" home, as it's known to young Alison and her brothers, John and Christian). As she watches her father's self-loathing consume him, Alison recognizes her own experience of discovering, and ultimately embracing, her identity as a lesbian.

Paramount's cast for Fun Home features Emilie Modaff as Alison, Elizabeth Stenholt as Medium Alison, with Maya Keane and Milla Liss rotating performances as Small Alison. Stephen Schellhardt plays Alison's dad, Bruce Bechdel, and Emily Rohm plays Alison's mother, Helen Bechdel. The cast also features Jaxon Mitchell as Christian Bechdel, Will Daly as Christian Bechdel (at certain performances), Ezekiel Ruiz as John Bechdel, Jordan Anthony Arredondo as Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby Jeremy, and Devon Hayakawa as Joan.

Jim Corti and Landree Fleming are co-directors. The Fun Home production team includes Ariel Etana Triunfo, choreographer; Kory Danielson, music director and conductor; Yeaji Kim, scenic designer; Jordan Ross, costume designer; Mac Vaughey, lighting designer; Liz Gomez, associate lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Jesse Gaffney, properties designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Jyreika Guest, intimacy director; Mary Zanger, stage manager; and Madeline Scott, assistant stage manager.

Fun Home originally opened Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in 2013. It received nine Lucille Lortel Awards (winning three, including Outstanding Musical), two Obie Awards, eight Drama Desk Awards, and was named a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The subsequent 2015 Broadway production, recognized as the first Broadway show to have a lesbian protagonist, was hailed by the New York Times as "a beautiful heartbreaker of a musical." It went on to earn 12 Tony nominations, winning five, including Best Musical. The Fun Home cast album also was nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Special Events

Paramount will offer two Pay What You Can Performances on Thursday, August 4, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, August 6, at 2 p.m.

Paramount will host Drag Night, a performance where all who wish to attend in full drag are welcome, on Wednesday, August 24, at 7 p.m. The bar will be open an hour after the show for the community to socialize in the Copley Lounge

Paramount will host LGBTQIA+ Night, a performance where the LGBTQIA+ community is encouraged to attend in a safe space, on Sunday, August 28, at 5:30 p.m. The bar will be open an hour after the show for the community to socialize in the Copley Lounge.

Access Services

Paramount will offer an American Sign Language interpreted performance on Friday, September 9, at 8 p.m.

If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office at (630) 896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance.

Paramount offers assistive listening devices free of charge at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a listening device.

Paramount Theatre's Covid-19 commitment to and safety and protocol

Paramount Theatre has followed, and will continue to follow, the requirements of the State of Illinois and the Kane County Health Department. Therefore, Paramount is following the guidance of the State of Illinois and recommends, but no longer requires, masks, proof of vaccination or negative COVID test for patrons. Mask wearing is strongly encouraged, but will be optional. For complete details, please read Paramount's full Covid Policy.

 

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