The first of five productions from the Little Theater in the 2019-20 season at Central Methodist University will be Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori’s musical Fun Home. Adapted from Alison Bechdel’s coming of age graphic novel, Fun Home follows the author’s journey of discovering her sexuality and her relationship with her father in a series of vignettes.
CMU’s production of the musical will be directed by Dr. Mark Kelty, with Lacy Gladden and Dr. John Perkins serving as vocal and orchestra music directors, respectively. Elizabeth Hartwell is the head of choreography, Lonna Wilke is the scenic and lighting designer, and Terri Rohlfing is the show’s costume designer. In addition, Janet O’Neill has served as the rehearsal accompanist.
The cast for the show includes Catherine Barnard, from Columbia, as Alison Bechdel; Hailey Sage, a music major from Fayette, as Medium Alison; Haiden Sage, from Fayette Middle School, as Small Alison; Philip Brown as Bruce Bechdel; Zane Spoeder, also of Fayette Middle School, as Christian Bechdel; Ben Gouge, from Glasgow Middle School, as John Bechdel; and Hadley Wiggans, a music major from Macon, as Roy, Mark, Pete, Bobby and Jeremy. Helen Bechdel will be played by Kona Asi, a pre-education and music double major from Waynesville, with Anna Geurkink, a music education major from Perryville as understudy. Jaiden Preston, a psychology and criminal justice double major from Kennett, will portray Joan.
In the crew, Emily Braden, a theatre arts major from Silex, will serve as the assistant director/stage manager, while Jenny Barnett, an interdisciplinary studies major from St. Louis, will be the assistant stage manager. Geurkink and Sage are the publicity team, while Barnett; Zeke Jones, a music major from St. Louis; Tay King, a psychology major from St. Louis; Ben Kixmiller, a theatre arts major from Prairie Home; Eric Lotz, a marine biology major from Imperial; Kayla Wainscott, a theatre arts major from Butler; Tres Hampton; and Dylan Deeney, a biology major from Kansas City, are working as part of the production team in charge of set construction, lighting, sound and props.
Fun Home will debut at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 3, with shows following at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 6. The show is intended for mature audiences only.