FUN HOME's Jeanine Tesori On Resolving Musical Theatre's Gender Gap

It wasn't long ago when a discussion of musical theatre's most successful female composers began and ended with Mary Rodgers and her one commercial hit, ONCE UPON A MATTRESS.

But beginning with 1997's Playwrights Horizons production of VIOLET, and continuing on with light entertainment like THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and SHREK, and inventive musical dramas like CAROLINE, OR CHANGE and Fun Home, Tesori's success has helped create an increased presence of high-profile musical theatre productions composed by women.

"Of all the theatrical forms, musical theatre is slowest to recognize it has a gender problem," Tesori says to The Sydney Morning Herald as VIOLET makes its Australian premiere.

"We are by nature and nurture as women taught to collect and gather and smooth over," Tesori says. "If you want to make a difference, you have to be prepared to go against that, stand out and then wrestle with feelings that come from doing that."

Even after the initial success of VIOLET, Tesori's major Broadway credits were as an arranger up until THROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE's 2002 opening, although she was recognized with a 1999 Tony nomination for her scoring of Lincoln Center's production of TWELFTH NIGHT. She also spent many long runs playing and conducting other people's music.

"I was unbelievably bored," she says. "I'm not good at maintenance. Keeping something going is not my strong suit. I did a lot of shows and I got to a point where I didn't want to work so hard on someone else's music and so I left New York for a year, just to relearn how to use my time."

Mentoring and "micro-activism" will provide some of the answers to the gender issue, Tesori believes. "We have to bring women into the industry earlier, get them younger. The theatre demands a really distinct skill set - leadership skills, how to delegate, how to ask for help and knowing how to deliver clear news, good and bad."

"The instrument of being an ambitious woman has to be practiced," she adds. "It doesn't just happen overnight. It's like playing your scales. It happens one note at a time and after a time you become fluent."

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The Hayes Theatre Co production of VIOLET plays through December 20th. Visit hayestheatre.com.au.

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.

Featuring a cast led by 2015 Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris, as well as 2015 Tony Award nominees Judy Kuhn, Beth Malone and Emily Skeggs, Fun Home also features Roberta Colindrez, Zell Steele Morrow, Joel Perez, Oscar Williams, Lauren Patten, Gabriella Pizzolo, Marrick Smith, Jim Stanek, and Nicole Van Giesen.

Fun Home introduces us to Alison at three different ages, revealing memories of her uniquely dysfunctional family- her mother, brothers and volatile, brilliant, enigmatic father- that connect with her in surprising new ways. This intimate and emotional theatrical experience is performed entirely in the round, bringing audiences closer to Alison's story than ever before. Hailed as "the best musical of the season" by both The New York Times and New York Magazine, Fun Home "demonstrates how much our world has changed and reflects just how far we've come" (The Wall Street Journal). Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

Fun Home was also nominated for 2015 Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of Musical (David Zinn), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Ben Stanton) and Best Orchestrations (John Clancy). The creative team also includes Danny Mefford (Choreography), Kai Harada (Sound Design), and Chris Fenwick (Music Direction).

Photo Credit: Rodolfo Martinez