Studio Theatre Announces Cast of FUN HOME

Studio Theatre has announced the cast of their production of Fun Home, with performances starting June 28. The musical, with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, is based on the autobiographical graphic novel of the same name by cartoonist and writer Alison Bechdel. The tragicomic coming-out story follows young Alison as she grows up with her siblings in the “Fun Home” -- their family's funeral home -- and then into college and adulthood as she comes to terms with her identify and her family's secrets.  

Studio's production will star Andrea Prestinario as Alison, Quinn Titcomb as Small Alison, Maya Jacobson as Medium Alison, Thani Brant as Joan, Adante Carter as Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby Jeremy, Rebecca Pitcher as Helen, Teddy Schechter as John, August Scott McFeaters as Christian, and Bobby Smith as Bruce. 

“I've been excited about Fun Home since I saw it at The Public in 2013,” said Studio artistic director David Muse. “It is a perfect Studio musical—complex, joyful, deeply theatrical, and ready to be seen in an intimate staging. It's the first musical I've directed since Murder Ballad, and I look forward to sharing this story of personal and artistic coming of age with DC.” 

About the Production

Previews begin June 28, 2023
Press preview: 2pm on Sunday, July 2, 2023
Where: Studio Theatre's Mead Theatre
Address: 1501 14th St. NW
Tickets: $75-$125

About Fun Home

Alison is 9, begging her father to play with her. She is 19, overcome by the aching and joyous pain of first love. She is 43, an out lesbian hunting for the truth of her brilliant, volatile, and closeted father's life and death. She is all three at once, trying to untangle the central mystery of her childhood: How did she survive their shared hometown, when her father could not? With a score that ranges from exuberant 70s pop to aching melodies and dissonant harmonies of characters longing to be known, Fun Home is the Tony Award-winning story of a daughter and father, of coming out and coming to terms with a life shaped by a family's secrets. 

About the Cast

Andrea Prestinario (Alison; she/her) is making her Studio Theatre debut. Regional credits include Alison in Fun Home at Baltimore Center Stage, Eliza in My Fair Lady and Martha in 1776 at Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and Alison in Fun Home at Weston Theater Company, Eliza in My Fair Lady and<> Maureen in Rent at Paramount Theatre,<> Louise in Gypsy at Drury Lane Theatre, and Gertie in Oklahoma! at Lyric Opera Chicago. Additionally, Andrea has performed at New York Theatre Workshop, Lincoln Center Theatre, The York Theatre Company, Gulfshore Playhouse, Writers Theatre, and Marriott Theatre, among others. She received a Jeff Award for her work as Violet in Side Show at Boho Theatre. Television credits include roles on Succession and Law & Order. A graduate of Ball State University and The School at Steppenwolf, she is the co-founder of Ring of Keys, a nonprofit artist service organization amplifying queer women and trans artists working in musical theatre. andreaprestinario.com. On social media @andreaprestinario (Instagram).  

Maya Jacobson (Medium Alison; she/her) is an actor and writer making her Studio debut. Her recent theatre credits include Fiddler on the Roof at Lyric Opera of Chicago, A Walk on the Moon at George Street Playhouse, and Fidler Afn Dakh at National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. Maya can also be seen as Angela in the web series Mordeo for Crypt TV. She is a member of The Mamales, a Yiddish trio that performs nationwide, and has been featured in The Forward and Hey Alma. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston Conservatory at Berklee . www.mayajacobson.net On social media @mayajacobson (Instagram). 

 

Quinn Titcomb (Small Alison) is a ten-year-old actress from South Florida. Her favorite theater credits include the Broadway national tours of Waitress as Lulu, The Sound of Music as Gretl, Les Misérables as Little Cosette, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical as Cindy Lou Who. She has also performed in numerous regional and local productions at Broward Center for the Performing Arts including appearing in Annie as Molly, Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical as Matilda, and A Christmas Carol as Tiny Tim. Quinn most recently worked alongside Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal on the development of the new Broadway-bound musical Norma Rae. Her television and film credits include Alice in Theater Camp from Searchlight pictures, coming to theaters July 2023 and starring Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, and Amy Sedaris. Winner of Sundance U.S Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble for Theater Camp.  

Bobby Smith (Bruce) was last seen at Studio Theatre in A Class Act. His other Studio credits include The Long Christmas Ride Home; Reefer Madness: The Musical!; Jerry Springer: The Opera; Grey Gardens; and Caroline, or Change. He appeared on Broadway in Crazy for You and The World Goes 'Round. His Off Broadway credits include Forever Plaid and Of Thee I Sing. He traveled in the first national tours of Brigadoon and The World Goes 'Round. He has performed at Signature Theatre in almost 30 shows including Grand Hotel: The Musical, Passion, A Little Night Music, Titanic, Simply Sondheim, Company, Assassins, She Loves Me, Midwestern Gothic, Road Show, La Cage aux Folles, and No Place to Go. He was recently seen in Two Jews Walk Into a War... at Theater J. He has received three Helen Hayes Awards and been nominated 19 times. He has received the 2019 Anderson/Hopkins Award. Bobby teaches at Catholic University of America and has a Vizsla named Mabel. 

Rebecca Pitcher (Helen) is best known for her portrayal of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. Described as having “a glorious voice, and a luminous presence,” Rebecca appeared in over 3,000 performances of Phantom including on Broadway, the US national tour, and in Singapore. Other performances include the award-winning A Little Night Music at Barrington Stage Company, the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Carousel, The Sound of Music national tour, An American in Paris international tour , Mary Poppins and She Loves Me at Beck Center for the Arts, Annie at Northern Stage, Camelot at Goodspeed, Street Scene at ECT, The Magic Flute at Pittsburgh Opera, and La Rondine at Pittsburgh Opera. Concert performances include Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Carmina Burana, Requiem by John Rutter, and Handel's Messiah. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the soprano soloist in The Golden Boy composed by Freddie Mercury. 

August Scott McFeaters (Christian) is an actor, singer-songwriter, and composer. August's theatrical credits include A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre, Aladdin at Herbert Hoover Theatre, and Tosca and Carmen with the Washington National Opera. August's on-camera credits are TV's Preston Playz episode “Hide and Seek”<> and commercials for Museum of the Bible, AARP, LGND, and Whip Smart. August is an accomplished pianist and flutist and was an award winner for composition in the National PTA's Reflections competition. www.youtube.com/@AugustScottMusic 

 

Teddy Schechter (John) is thrilled to be making his professional theatrical debut at Studio Theater. He loves to dance and is a member of C & C Dance Company's show troop team for lyrical, musical theater, contortion, tap, ballet, jazz, and acro. His routines have earned him first place lyrical and overall top score awards. He also loves acting; his theatre credits include The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Shrek The Musical, Peter Pan, and Metropolis. Teddy is a vocal student of Maureen Brown.  

Adante Carter (Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby Jeremy; he/him) is an artist and creative originally from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Some favorite credits include Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls First National Tour, Berger in HAIR at Serenbe Playhouse, Sonny in Xanadu at Hangar Theatre, Newsies at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Gulfshore Playhouse, and Sweetee at Signature Theatre Company. adante-carter.com. On social media @adantecarter (Instagram).

Thani Brant (Joan; they/them) is an actor and writer based in New York City. Their recent theatre credits include Notes From Now at 59E59 Theaters, The Tempest at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Spring Awakening at Northern Stage. They are a graduate of the University of Michigan with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a Minor in Musical Theatre Composition. thanibrant.com.

 

About Jeanine Tesori

Jeanine Tesori is a composer of musical theatre, opera, television and film. She won the Tony Award for Best Score (with book writer & lyricist Lisa Kron) for the musical Fun Home in 2015. Her other musicals include Kimberly Akimbo (with David Lindsay-Abaire); Caroline, or Change (with Tony Kushner); Shrek The Musical (with David Lindsay-Abaire); Thoroughly Modern Millie (with Dick Scanlan); Violet (with Brian Crawley); and Soft Power (with David Henry Hwang), which was her second work, after Fun Home, to be a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her latest opera Blue (libretto by Tazewell Thompson) received the Music Critics Association of North America Award for Best New Opera. Along with Missy Mazzoli, she is one of the first women to be commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to her work as a composer, Jeanine is the founding Artistic Director of New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center series, was the Supervising Vocal Producer for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, and is a lecturer in music at the Yale School of Drama. 

About Lisa Kron

Lisa Kronwrote the book and lyrics for the musical Fun Home, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori, which won five Tony Awards in 2015 including Best Book, Best Score, and Best Musical, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Lisa's other plays include In the Wake, Well, and the Obie Award-winning 2.5 Minute Ride. As an actor, she received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Well and a Lucille Lortel Award for her turn in the Foundry Theatre's acclaimed production of Good Person of Szechuan. She is the recipient of Guggenheim, Sundance, and MacDowell fellowships; a Doris Duke Performing Artists Award; a CalArts Herb Alpert Award; a Helen Merrill Award; the Kleban Prize for libretto writing; and grants from Creative Capital and New York Foundation for the Arts. Lisa is also a founding member of the Obie and Bessie Award-winning collaborative theatre company The Five Lesbian Brothers. Since 2010, she has served on the Council of Dramatists Guild of America. During the 2020-2021 season, Studio digitally produced her play 2.5 Minute Ride. 

About David Muse

David Muse is in his thirteenth season as Artistic Director of Studio Theatre, where he has directed People, Places & Things, Cock (the in-person and digital productions), The Children, The Remains, The Effect, The Father, Constellations, Chimerica, Murder Ballad, Belleville, Tribes, The Real Thing, An Iliad, Dirt, Bachelorette, The Habit of Art, Venus in Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, reasons to be pretty, Blackbird, Frozen, and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. As Studio's Artistic Director, he has produced 110 productions; established Studio R&D, its new work incubator; significantly increased artist compensation; created The Cabinet, an artist advisory board; and overseen Open Studio, a $20M expansion and upgrade of Studio's four-theatre complex. Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he has directed nine productions, including Richard III, Henry V, Coriolanus, and KingCharlesIII (a co-production with American Conservatory Theater and Seattle Rep). Other directing projects include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune at Arena Stage, The Bluest Eye at Theatre Alliance, and Patrick Page's Swansong at the New York Summer Play Festival. He has helped to develop new work at numerous theatres, including New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center, Arena Stage, New Dramatists, and The Kennedy Center. David has taught acting and directing at Georgetown, Yale, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy of Classical Acting. A nine-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Direction, he is a recipient of the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and The National Theatre Conference Emerging Artist Award. David is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Drama. 

About Studio Theatre 

Studio Theatre is a longstanding Washington cultural institution dedicated to the production of contemporary theatre. Over more than 40 years and 350 productions, the theatre has grown from a company that produced in a single rented theatre to one that owns a multi-venue complex stretching half a city block, but has stayed committed to its core distinguishing characteristics: deliberately intimate spaces; excellence in acting and design; and seasons that feature many of the most significant playwrights of our time. Studio is a values-focused organization that pursues artistry and inclusion, and brings characteristic thoughtfulness and daring to our efforts, onstage and off. The theatre serves nearly 75,000 people each year, including more than 1,000 youth and young adults through community engagement initiatives. Founded in 1978, the quality of Studio's work has been recognized by sustained community support, as well as 78 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre. 

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