Directed by Rod Oden
Music Direction by Laurie Klaus
Choreography By Kristin Swilley
November 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 at 7:30pm
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life.
Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires. Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes. Winner of the 2015 Tony for Best Musical, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Cast
RAQUEL ODEN (ALISON) has been involved in all facets of theater for over 25 years. Her first performance was in the Los Angeles Children’s Theater Peter Pan when she was only 5 years old. Since then she has performed on stages from Los Angeles to New Orleans and now Salisbury, NC. Some of her favorite roles include Lucy in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Ivy in August Osage County, Miss Casewell in The Mousetrap, and Miss Poppenghul in Moonlight and Magnolias to name a few. She would like to thank her husband, Rod, and children for supporting her theatre passion.
CAROLINE FORRESTER (Medium Alison) is a Senior at Catawba College majoring in Communications and minoring in theatre and worship arts. You may see her performing on campus or leading worship at local churches. Some of her favorite roles include Lucy Van Pelt in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” Toffee in “Zombie Prom,” and Ensemble in “Anything Goes” at Catawba College. Most recently, she played Mama Murphy in Catawba College’s production of “Bright Star”. She is thrilled to bring Alison Bechdel’s unique story to life.
MARYELLA ROSKO
Small Allison
TOMMY FOSTER (Bruce Bechdel) is honored to be returning to Lee Street Theatre, where he played the roles of Edward Bloom in BIG FISH and Dan in NEXT TO NORMAL, as well as directed THE LAST 5 YEARS, SOUNDS OF THE 60’s, and created the revue, BROADWAY LULLABIES. Other local credits include the evil Miss Trunchbull in MATILDA THE MUSICAL at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, the tortured Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in JEKYLL & HYDE at CPCC Summer Theatre, and Ned in THE NORMAL HEART at Theatre Charlotte. He re-located to his hometown of Concord, NC after nearly 15 years of being professionally based in New York City; having appeared in FOOTLOOSE!, GEORGE M!, THE LAST 5 YEARS, Andrew Lippa’s THE WILD PARTY, THE FULL MONTY, THE WHO’S TOMMY, NEXT TO NORMAL, JOHN & JEN, SLUT! THE MUSICAL, CAROUSEL, and tic…Tick…BOOM!, among others, having worked1 at the Ogunquit Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse, the Gorilla Theatre, Kalliope Stage, Mill Mountain Theatre, the Gallery Players, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, and Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte. He’s toured the East coast as Aslan in THE LION, THE WITCH, & THE WARDROBE; toured the world performing onboard the Norwegian Crown and won a 2005 Bistro Award from Backstage Magazine for his one man show, THE METHod TO MY MADNESS. Tommy has directed for Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Carolina Actor’s Studio Theatre, Old Courthouse Theatre, Lee Street Theatre, local high schools, and Catawba College. Tommy has taught Musical Theatre, Shakespeare, Clowning, Dialects, and New Thought for Actors to at Catawba College, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Acting Up! Children’s Theatre, and privately through the Tommy Foster Studio. He has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and MFA in Classical Acting from the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University. For my sons: may you endeavor to be better men than I could ever be. www.tommyfosternc.com / www.tommyfosternyc.com
(The real) Allison is honored to bring the role of Helen to life in Fun Home. Allison lives in Concord with her two dogs and two cats and acts as the Board President for Old Courthouse Theatre. She was last seen in the livestream version of Lee Street's 9 to 5 in the ensemble. Prior to covid she has played several roles at Old Courthouse Theatre, Lee Street Theatre, Uwharrie Players, and Piedmont Players. Thank you, Rod, for giving me a chance to take on this difficult role and be a part of this moving show. And thanks to all my friends and family who are always so supportive.
LUKE BARDINAS (Christian Bechdel) My name is Luke Bardinas and I am in the 7th grade at Salisbury Academy. In my free time I love to act, sing, dance, and play the piano. Being in a production or part of a play gets me out of the house and away from my three brothers. So far I have been in four productions at the PPT and my favorite shows that I’ve done are Stinky Cheese Man and Junie B. Jones is not a crook.
NUNNA NOE (Joan) is a Senior at Catawba College, pursuing a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre and a minor in Sociology. Some of her favorite previous credits include Lucy Grant in Catawba’s production of Bright Star and an ensemble member and co-deviser in the world-premiere of a new play, The Space Between. This upcoming year, she will serve as Vice President of the Blue Masque, Catawba’s theatre club. She is also a proud member of Catawba’s Improv Team, Where Are the Diamonds, and she is currently working on an Honors thesis that mixes devised theatre work with genocidal studies. She is beyond excited to be able to work with such a talented cast and crew! She sincerely hopes you enjoy the show!
MATT WINDSOR (Roy/Pete/Mark/Bobby Jeremy) is a recent graduate from Catawba College. He graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a Minor in Music. His past credits include PPT’s Shakespeare in Love (Ned Alleyn/Fight Captain), Lexington Live’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Carl Dad/Jesus & Leaf U/S) and CPCC’s Jekyll & Hyde (Ensemble). He is beyond excited to work with such a talented cast of individuals and do his part in helping Allison Bechdel tell such an amazing story.
Production Staff
Rod Oden
Laurie Klaus
About the Composer Jenine Tesori
Jeanine Tesori has written a diverse catalog for Broadway, opera, film and television. Her Broadway musicals include: Fun Home (2015 Tony Award Winner, Pulitzer finalist); Violet; Caroline, or Change; Shrek the Musical; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Twelfth Night (LCT); John Guare’s A Free Man of Color. Delacorte: Mother Courage (starring Meryl Streep). She has received five Tony nominations, three Obie Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. The hallmarks of her work have been described as "close-to-the-surface emotion, structural rigor and rhythmic drive."
Her operas include: The Lion, the Unicorn and Me and Blizzard on Marblehead Neck (MET/LCT Opera/Theater and Glimmerglass Opera commission); her upcoming collaboration with Tazewell Thompson, Blue, was commissioned for Glimmerglass Opera company and will premiere there next season. She wrote the musical featured in the 2016 revival of Gilmore Girls and has also written special material for artists such as The Girl in 14G for Kristin Chenoweth and has been featured in the documentaries Show Business and Theater of War.
Jeanine Tesori became the founding Artistic Director of a new concert series at New York City Center called Encores! Off-Center, for which she has helmed seasons joined by artists such as Stephen Sondheim, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Randy Newman, William Finn, Alan Menken, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Sutton Foster and Jonathan Groff. After producing four seasons of Off-Center concerts, she took one of those concerts, Sunday in the Park with George (starring Jake Gyllenhaal) to Broadway where she produced the 2017 revival, with ATG and Riva Marker. She was the recording producer for Sunday as well as the Original Cast Recordings of Violet; Caroline, or Change; Shrek; Twelfth Night; etc.
A lecturer in music at Yale and on faculty at Columbia University, Tesori has spoken and taught at universities and programs all over the country. She is the founding Creative Director of the non-profit A BroaderWay, an arts empowerment program for young women. She was given the Einhorn Mentorship Award by Primary Stages for her exceptional work with young artists. Her daughter, Siena Rafter, is a sophomore at Brown University.
About the Author and Lyricist Lisa Kron
Lisa Kron is a writer and performer whose work has been widely produced in New York, regionally, and internationally. Her plays include Well, 2.5 Minute Ride, and The Ver**zon Play. She wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Fun Home (with music by composer Jeanine Tesori), winner of five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Lisa and Jeanine were the first all-woman team to ever receive a Tony for best score. As an actor Lisa was most recently seen as Mrs. Mi-Tzu and Mrs. Yang in the Foundry Theater’s acclaimed production of Good Person of Szechuan (Lortel Award, Outstanding Featured Actress). Honors include a Guggenheim fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artists Award, and the Cal Arts/Alpert Award. She is a proud founding member of the OBIE- and Bessie-Award-winning collaborative theater company The Five Lesbian Brothers. Lisa currently serves as Secretary of the Dramatists Guild Council and on the boards of the McDowell Colony and the Lilly Awards.
Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming, and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including the Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwriting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by President Bill Clinton, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street - The August Wilson Theatre.
Today, his plays continue to be produced, and his place in the American Theatre continues to grow. New York Public Radio recorded all ten plays in the THE AMERICAN CENTURY CYCLE at the Greene Space, casting many of the actors that worked on the original productions. PBS aired a documentary on Mr. Wilson entitled, The Ground On Which I Stand, as part of the American Masters series. Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero, who is the executor of his estate.
Executive Director Rod Oden
Whether for the audiences on a professional stage or teaching students in a technical workshop, Rod Oden is proud to have over fifteen years experience in a variety of venues, genres and audiences. Rod has designed on stages from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and in virtually every type of venue. He enjoys working alongside community members, volunteers and students to help grow and create professional experiences in the theatre. Rod’s experience has provided him a varied theatrical background, including being a former Artistic Director, founding 2 non-for-profit theatre groups, marketing and business systems for the theatre, all the while enjoying the privilege of Technical Directing.
Some of his favorite work includes Tuck Everlasting (New Orleans Regional Premiere), Chicago, August: Osage County, The 39 Steps, The Mousetrap, Spamalot, How I learned to Drive, Shrek, and Lombardi (WV Premiere). Rod was previously the Production Manager & Technical Director of the Jefferson Performing Arts Society in New Orleans, LA and the Technical Director of the Actors Guild of Parkersburg in Parkersburg, WV. He has worked with countless community theaters, educational organizations and professional troupes to produce quality, high-end productions audiences have enjoyed watching.
As Executive Director, Rod looks forward to continuing Lee Street’s strong delivery of productions, concerts and events that exemplify our Mission Statement and Values. He also looks forward to continuing and growing our community partnerships, investing even more on the strong community that is Salisbury. Rod is blessed and thankful for his beautiful wife Raquel and his four precious boys Tristan, Lucas, Jamie and Sylar. He also enjoys spending time with his two lovely daughters Ariel and Isabelle.
Sarah Large
Kristin Swilley
David Pulliam
Caleb Garner
Beth Bentley
Reviews
"A rare beauty, extraordinary and heart-gripping." - Ben Brantley, The New York Times
"Few shows are as moving, relatable, and funny." - Associated Press
"Exquisite. An emotional powerhouse." - Chicago Tribune
"The best musical of the season." - New York Magazine
"The Best Broadway Musical in years, with the finest score in a decade." - Huffington Post
"FIVE STARS. Fun Home has enormous intelligence and sensitivity. It's not your ordinary Broadway musical, because it is extraordinary." - Time Out New York