Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...For fans of "Fun Home," the 2015 Broadway musical by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori that won five Tony Awards, a trip to downtown Aurora in coming weeks is essential. There's a Metra train from the city and west suburbs; the station is only a five-minute walk to the theater."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"..."Fun Home," the exquisite, chamber musical based on cartoonist Alison Bechdel's graphic novel memoir -- now in an emotional, impeccably acted Paramount Theatre revival -- has two, possibly three. The first (and most obvious) is the penultimate "Edges of the World," a confessional from a father despairing over his inauthentic life. The second is the haunting "Telephone Wire," which details a daughter's attempt to connect with her father. And the third is "Days and Days," in which a long-suffering wife expresses the pain of living a lie."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Alison Bechdel's family, captured first in her 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home and then in a Tony Award-winning 2015 chamber musical (music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron), feels right at (uneasy) home on the intimate Copley Theatre stage in downtown Aurora. Presented as part of Paramount's "Bold" series of seemingly more challenging fare than that at the flagship theater across the street, Jim Corti and Landree Fleming's staging is practically note-perfect-as emotionally rich an experience as you'll find anywhere onstage right now."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This version, is amazing and the cast shines through to perfection. The story is based on the life of Alison Bechdel, a cartoonist, illustrator, and we get to watch her life unfold right before our eyes. There are three stages of Alison. There is Alison ( current) who is in reality the narrator of the story played by Emilie Modaff. Emilie is perfect in the role as we watch he interact with her young self , her college self and at one point all three Alisons are onstage to do the final number "Flying Away"."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Fun Home is easily one of my favorite musicals written in this century. Anyone who thinks the golden age of American musicals is long past has only to come to this one and have a good cry. I saw this show the weekend of the Air and Water Show, and ended up having to wade through about an hour and a half of traffic related to that event to see this show and I can unequivocally say that the show was absolutely worth the trip."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Fun Home is an odd-duck musical in that I love it unabashedly but it seldom comes up in regular rotation. One might say I hold it close enough to observe it at a distance, not unlike cartoonist Alison Bechdel‘s way of perceiving the world and herself. Based on her “graphic memoir” (read: memoir in comic format) about growing up gay with a domineering and deeply closeted father, it made history as the first Main Stem musical with a lesbian protagonist and has quietly floored regional audiences ever since."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...The rest of this ensemble is pretty much perfect. Rohm's plaintive "Days and Days," in which Helen outlines how she managed to stay with her gay, philandering, abusive husband, is so powerful it hurts to listen. At the end, Helen tells medium Alison not to come back home...not because Alison is gay but because she knows the oppressive nature of this town and this house and fears that her daughter will end up living a half-life just like her. Unlike her father, her mother is capable of honestly evaluating her life. Alison's brothers, played by Jaxon Mitchell and Ezekiel Ruiz, have a lot of fun with their roles, especially in the single best "Come to the Fun Home" I have ever seen. (Choreographer Ariel Etana Triunfo may not have had access to a casket on stage to play off of, but more than makes up for it in energetic dance moves and comic flair.)"
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...Under the direction of Jim Corti and Landree Fleming, this cast presents an unforgettable evening of theater. The Paramount Band under the direction of Kory Danielson is on the stage behind a scrim. The songs written by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron are the perfect link to the interwoven vignettes. The set design was complimentary to the story. The actors were the stage crew - I think it enhanced the story."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...As heavy as all that sounds, “Fun Home” projects enough levity (mostly through kitschy dance numbers celebrating the 1970s) to remain engaging throughout its one-act, approximately hundred-minute run time. Paramount Theatre also wisely stages the production within the cozy confines of the newly renovated Copley Theater. Within this intimate setting, co-directors Jim Corti and Landree Fleming allow for a nuanced presentation of the central father-daughter relationship. All incarnations of Alison are exceptional but repeatedly stealing the show is Maya Keane (Small Alison), whose big voice and stage presence are well beyond her young years. Stephen Schellhardt also excels as the complicated Bruce whose domineering manner propels the action."
