Jake Gyllenhaal will be visiting 'Fun Home'

by Murtada Elfadl

Gyllenhaal with Tesori in 2018

Thankfully the box office failure of Cats hasn’t put the kibosh on green lighting musicals for the big screen. The latest Broadway sensation to get the big screen treatment will be Fun Home, based on illustrator Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about her bittersweet relationship with her father. Yes that’s the Bechdel of the Bechdel test. Jake Gyllenhaal will produce and star as Bruce Bechdel, the role that won Michael Cerveris a Tony for best actor in a musical- one of 5 Tonys Fun Home won in 2015. The part is multi faceted as the elder Bechdel is a closeted conflicted gay man and the musical charts not only his daughter’s queer awakening but also his messy relationship with her and with his wife.

Sydney Lucas as Small alison with Cerveris on Broadway

I loved this show on Broadway and I'm excited to see a film adaptation, but with reservations about this casting. I hope Gyllenhaal can give it the pathos and depth it needs while not relying on the tics that have become a trademark of his performances since Prisoners (2013). On the other hand he has proven himself to be adept at musicals having starred in Sundays in the Park With George on Broadway and Little Shop of Horrors off Broadway. He will be taking Sunday to London next May.

Fun Home featured lyrics by Lisa Kron and music by Jeanine Tesori (Caroline or Change). On stage the part of Alison is played by three actresses at different ages but we don’t know if the movie would follow the same plan. Sydney Lucas was senastional on Broadway as the youngest Alison. That character gets the showstopping number, Ring of Keys. Another great part is that of the mother Helen Bechdel for which Judy Kuhn was Tony nominated. The Daily Mail which broke the news - Baz Bamigboye is reliable on theater and theater to film adaptations - credits Sam Gold, who directed the Broadway production, as the director but no news yet of who’s writing the adaptation. 

Have you got your Ring of Keys ready for this?

Tony Nominations. With Context!

Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe & Tony Nominee Kelli O'Hara in THE KING AND I Tony/Emmy/Globe winner Mary Louise Parker and perpetually undervalued Bruce Willis announced the Tony nominations for the 2014/2015 theater season this morning with the musicals Fun Home & An American in Paris (which are both pretty great) leading with 12 nominations each. Broadway's "Best" will be honored live on Sunday June 7th on CBS with (this just in!) Tony winners and gargantuan cross-media talents Alan Cumming & Kristin Chenoweth co-hosting.

You can expect to see several movie star faces at the ceremony and you can also expect to see several closing notices before then for the shows that were shunned. The big question mark for the night of June 7th is whether perennial bridesmaid Kelli O'Hara (this is her fifth nomination for Best Actress in a Musical and her sixth overall) will finally take home the gold or if one of the living legends she's up against will win another; Chita Rivera and Kristin Chenoweth are not playin' around, each earning rave reviews.

When Oscar makes their announcements we rarely think to consult the list of 300ish movies that are eligible for Best Picture but because the Tony Awards are selected from a very distinct and small group of productions, it's useful to know what else was eligible, so we're serving you context with this full list of nominations. 

Click to read more ...

Stage Door: "Fun Home" & "An American in Paris"

The Tony Award Nominations are exactly one week from today, so we really ought to talk about the musicals that might be vying for top honors. Both of today's shows have movie connections, albeit one more tenuous than the other. Both are also likely nominees in the Best Musical category, which is the Best Picture of the Tony Awards. Yes, there are 3 other top prizes (Play, Revival of a Play, Revival of a Musical) but Musical is the most coveted prize and the one with arguably the biggest impact on legacies and box office. Ten musicals are eligible in this category for the 2014/2015 season and I'd be surprised if these two won't comprise half of the four-wide nominee list. 

Two fine "new" musicals after the jump...

Click to read more ...