PicksInSix Review: Fun Home - Porchlight Music Theatre

“A Raincoat Made Out of Love.”
PicksInSix Review | Ed Tracy

Porchlight Music Theatre is celebrating their 30th Anniversary with an exhilarating revival of the 2015 Tony award-winning musical “Fun Home,” based on cartoonist Alison Bechdel’s 2006 groundbreaking graphic memoir, now playing at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

Directed by Stephen Schellhardt with music direction by Heidi Joosten, the show stars Alanna Chavez as Alison, Patrick Byrnes as Bruce and Neala Barron as Helen who lead a stellar cast in bringing the moving Lisa Kron/Jeanine Tesori score to life.

Kron’s book follows Bechdel’s conflicted relationship with her gay father as she discovers and comes to terms with her own lesbian sexuality. Chavez’s Alison serves as a 43-year-old stage voyeur looking back on her life growing up in the family funeral home, her sexual awakening in college and facing the inevitable truth of her father’s destructive behavior, all the while capturing the drama in her artwork. Moving in and out of the scenes with versions of herself as a child—alternating roles for Tess Mae Pundsack and Meena Sood as young Alison and Z Mowry as Middle Alison—Chavez expertly navigates the transitions, never leaving the stage for the entire 100 minute runtime of the piece.

Byrnes is a commanding force as Bruce, sheltering his true nature behind the veil of dutiful teacher, husband, father and community mortician while fighting to control an inner rage that will ultimately tear the family apart. Early on, his efforts to shield Alison and her siblings—Eli Vander Griend and Charlie Long alternating as Christian, and Austin Hartung and Hayes McCracken alternating as John—plays out as a domineering perfectionist but not without a sensitivity to literature, art, culture and a flair for restoration projects like the funeral parlor coined the ‘Fun Home’ by his children.

As Bruce’s anguished wife Helen, Barron gives an outstanding, multi-layered performance culminating in the heart-stopping ballad “Days and Days.” Among the other memorable numbers in the melodic score are the musical commercial “Come to the Fun Home” delightfully showcasing the young talent; Mowry’s “Changing My Major,” the touching anthem to her lover Joan (Dakota Hughes); the poignant “Ring of Keys” duet; and Byrnes “Edges of the World.” Lincoln J. Skoien rounds out the cast playing multiple roles and leads the lively company number “Raincoat of Love.”

Scenic designer Jonathan Berg-Einhorn has transformed the Ruth Page stage into an exquisite and intimate multi-level interior that allows Schellhardt the ability to transition effortlessly between scenes. Denise Karczewski’s lighting design and costumes by Marquecia Jordan complete the visually stunning production. With Matthew R. Chase’s pitch-perfect sound design and Joosten’s five-piece band hitting the right notes all night long, Porchlight’s memorable “Fun Home” is not to be missed.

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Editor’s Note: Longtime photographer Rich Hein, who published his work as Liz Lauren, passed away on Sunday, January 19. 2025. Rich’s matchless photographic contributions will be sorely missed by the entire Chicago theatre community. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends. and colleagues. et

Porchlight Music Theatre
presents
FUN HOME
Ruth Page Center
1016 N. Dearborn St.
through March 2, 2025

WEBSITE

PROGRAM

PARKING

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PicksInSix Review: The SpongeBob Musical - Kokandy Productions

We All Belong At The ‘Bottom’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder

Waves of gleeful Hawaiian melodies welcomed the patrons into the Chopin Theatre’s basement black box for Kokandy’s 2023 Season kickoff production of Nickelodeon’s “The SpongeBob Musical.” Bathed in buckets of coral, curtains of kelp and barnacled pillars, the audience floated into the bubble-filled venue, while a cartoon montage of the most recognizable SpongeBob characters dashed across shower curtain screens. Submerged in this experiential environment, the venue was brimming with excitement for the underwater opening night adventure to come.

“The SpongeBob Musical,” based on the television series by Stephen Hillenburg, doesn't just tell the story of the titular character, SpongeBob Squarepants, it’s a deep dive into the animated ecosystem that thrives in Bikini Bottom, a fictional underwater city. We meet the characters at the start of a typical Bikini Bottom Day, but the waters soon heat up when the seemingly inevitable eruption of a nearby volcano, aptly named Mount Humongous, threatens the city’s very existence. Faced with their impending doom, “SpongeBob” challenges its cast to band together to find their strength to fight or fly together.

Kicking things off and setting the buoyant bar is Patchy the Pirate, played with plundering aplomb by David Lipshutz, whose puns had the audience hooked from the start. Through a revolving door-style opening montage, we’re whirlpooled through introductions of Bikini Bottom’s inhabitants. From the moment we meet Frankie Leo Bennett’s SpongeBob, we are absorbed by his exceedingly optimistic vitality. And Bennett maintains that same positivity and certainty throughout; both driving his character and energizing the audience. Tempering the spirited tenor of Bennett, Isabel Cecilia García brings a fresh new take with their Patrick Star, less overtly dense than the source animation’s personality and more lovably clueless. Quinn Rigg’s Squidward expertly captures the original cartoon’s Paul Lynde-esque vocal affectations, while fully embodying the cephalopod’s tentacled punctuations. Rigg’s build-up to the explosive, self-celebrating/deprecating showstopper doesn’t “not not” suck in the best way. Most endearing was Sarah Patin’s Sandy Cheeks, who’s land mammal was so refreshingly grounded (pun intended) in the stakes of each moment. Patin shares acorns of truth anchored in such reason that the most outlandish of scenes and scenarios seem completely legitimate. Thwarting our heroes most maniacally and quite fashionably are the diabolical duo of Sheldon J. Plankton and Karen the Computer, played by smashingly villainous Parker Guidry and adorably hesitant hench-device Amy Yesom Kim. And as the script demands, Jennifer Ledesma truly wails every time she belts and riffs as Pearl Krabs. But Bikini Bottom wouldn’t be the aquatic entertainment success it is without the tidal wave of ensemble casting. They school so stylishly through scenes, splashy dances and brisk costume changes, there must be something sustaining in the water.

JD Caudill expertly steers the epic adventure of “The SpongeBob Musical,” teeming with sight gags and continually flooded with stage activity. Even under the frenetic pacing of the plot’s many twists and turns, Caudill never misses an opportunity to extract a brilliant bit. Though set in a more traditionally proscenium style, the pillars, though deep-sea designed, created a few momentary sightline issues. But with a cast mostly moving at a circus tent speed, not too many moments were lost. And the additional use of aisles for entrances and exits inspired the audience to be fully immersed and invested in the action.

With music direction by Bryan McCaffrey, “SpongeBob’s” band is a surge of sound, executing a variety of musical stylings, featuring songs by over a dozen songwriting legends, without missing a beat even if, at times, overpowering the singers and losing the vocals in the wash of sound. But the most treasured noisemaker of all is Foley artist Ele Matelan. Every squish, bounce and awooga was infused with subtext. Jakob Abderhalden’s costume designs made of mixed fabrics, textures and patterns were as captivating and motley as you’d expect from any underwater canyons or amazing coral reef snorkeling exploration. Along with scenic designer Jonathan Berg-Einhorn’s aforementioned undersea achievement, G "Max" Maxin IV’s lighting design accents every gag and caper with toon timing. Combine that with the earthquaking sound design of Mike Patrick, and the audience enjoys a fully immersive, almost theme park-like, sensory experience.

The themes of marine conservation and caring for one’s neighbors bubble to the top of many political and personal conversations across our country today, and “The SpongeBob Musical'' enthusiastically tackles both, making it relevant nearly a decade after its world premiere. What a treasure it would be for a tuneful musical to turn the tides to healing for these topics. Whether you grew up watching the wacky adventures of the yellow protagonist and his friends from SpongeBob SquarePants, or you’ve just landed in Bikini Bottom for the very first time, audiences of all ages are sure to be as happy as a clam after catching Kokandy’s “The SpongeBob Musical.”  

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com

PHOTO|Evan Hanover

KOKANDY PRODUCTIONS
presents
Nickelodeon’s
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL
The Chopin Theatre
1543 W Division St.
through September 3, 2023

WEBSITE

TICKETS

SHOW PROGRAM

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