Under Construction @ Keele 2016 Volume 2 Issue 1 | Page 10

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brilliance of Tesori’s music in this instance happily diverts attention away from Lisa
Kron’s questionably weak lyrics particularly in the rap section: ‘These are cool, you
know what they are? Flags with magnets, for your car!’1 Despite the premise that the
song has been 'written' by the Bechdel children, the rap interlude is particularly
cringe worthy. However, when the songs take on an emotive tone, we are able to
hear a more conducive and formidable partnership in Tesori and Kron’s song writing
talents. Those pieces that personify Alison’s growing sexual identity such as
“Changing My Major”, and the stirring “Ring of Keys”, exemplify this. In particular, the
carefully placed lyric pauses in Lucas’s sung verses of “Ring of Keys”, embody
Alison’s mystification on seeing an "old school butch" for the first time
ingeniously.2 Tesori accompanies these specific moments beautifully with a serene
guitar and piano accompaniment, before the swell of the full band and a rousing
chorus exemplifies Bechdel’s epiphany with artful precision. “Helen’s Etude”, “Maps”
and “Telephone Wire” are other perfectly crafted songs that support the touching
narratives faultlessly. So good are the vast majority of tunes to listen to in fact, that
one can forgive the inherent cheesiness of “The Partridge Family” inspired “Raincoat
of Love”.
Musically overall, nothing impresses more than Tesori’s fascinating
combination of leitmotif’s that weave through the opening and closing songs of this
production: “It All Comes Back” and ‘Flying Away”. In the opening a young Alison’s ‘I
wanna play airplane’3 tune introduces us to her father's ‘until now gives way to then’4
segment (Michael Cerveris), before the adult Alison (Beth Malone) provides her
signature ‘it all comes back’ offering.5 The song finally merges these elements
together in a synthesis of matured compositional elegance. For the finale, Tesori
employs this same formula again but brings in Alison’s teenage self (Emily Skegg)
with excerpts from “Telephone Wire” to add to the overall fusion. Having seen the
Broadway version at Circle in the Square theatre quite recently, the recording
enables the differentiation of these moments to be appreciated so much clearer than
in a live setting. With live audio mixing criticisms aside, this soundtrack is a perfect
way to introduce Fun Home to a prospective audience. As a bonus, the interspersion

1

Lisa Kron, “Come to the Fun Home” from Fun Home – A New Broadway Musical [CD recording]
performed by Oscar Williams. (Bronxville, PS Classics, 2015).
2
Lisa Kron, “Ring of Keys”, performed by Beth Malone.
3
Lisa Kron, “It All Comes Back (Opening)”, performed by Sydney Lucas.
4
Ibid., performed by Michael Cerveris.
5
Ibid., performed by Beth Malone.