Fun Home
January 16 – March 2, 2025
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book and lyrics by Lisa Kron
Based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel
Directed by Stephen Schellhardt
Music Directed by Heidi Joosten
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Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Pulitzer finalist, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, emotional and revolutionary musical. Based on Alison Bechdel’s critically acclaimed graphic novel, Fun Home shares how Bechdel unlocks memories, milestones and mysteries of her youth as she begins to write her first graphic novel. With a compassionate score and a brilliant script, Fun Home tells the story of seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
Important Information About The Show:
- Fun Home has a run time of 100 minutes, no intermission.
- CONTENT ADVISORY: verbal abuse, depictions of homophobia and a death by suicide as well as allusions to sexual contact between an adult and teenagers.
The cast including two children’s casts, in alphabetical order, is Neala Barron (“Helen”); Liz Bollar (“Helen” U/S, “Alison” U/S); Patrick Byrnes (“Bruce”); Alanna Chavez (“Alison”); Eli Vander Griend (“Christian”); King Hang (“Roy”/”Mark”/”Pete”/”Bobby”/”Jeremy” U/S); Austin Hartung (“John”); Josiah Haugen (“Bruce” U/S); Dakota Hughes (“Joan”, dance/intimacy captain); Charlie Long (“Christian”); Adelina Marinello (“middle Alison” U/S, “Joan” U/S); Hayes McCracken (“John”); Z Mowry (“middle Alison”); Tessa Pundsack (“small Alison”) and Lincoln J. Skoien (“Roy”/”Mark”/”Pete”/”Bobby”/”Jeremy”).
The production team includes Stephen Schellhardt (director); Heidi Joosten (music director/conductor); Sheryl Williams (intimacy coordinator); Jonathan Berg-Einhorn (scenic designer); Marquecia Jordan (costume designer); Denise Karczewski (lighting designer); Matthew R. Chase (lighting designer); Drew Donnelly (production stage manager, AEA); Carli Shapiro (assistant stage manager); Olivia Leslie (assistant stage manager); John McTaggart (technical director); Danny Carraher (assistant technical director); Lydia Moss (scenic charge); Kayne Bowling (lead carpenter/spot 2); Mark Brown (deck chief); Bette Schneider (costume director); Rachel West (lighting designer); Riley Woods (assistant lighting supervisor/spot 1); Sam Anderson (lead electrician); Morgan Dudaryk (audio and video director); Joe Court (A1); Ali Westendorf (asst. costume director/wardrobe supervisor); Amanda May (hair & makeup director/wardrobe swing); Clare McCullough (wardrobe assistant); Patrick McGuire (properties director); Heather Gervasi (production manager); Michael Weber (artistic director); Majel Cuza (director of production) and Frankie Leo Bennett (producing artistic associate).
Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information, please contact August Compton, Audience Services Director, at august@porchlightmusictheatre.org.
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Fun Home Behind the Show Backstory with Artistic Director Michael Weber
Tuesday, December 10 at 7PM
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N Dearborn
Artistic Director Michael Weber hosts this multimedia presentation about the Tony-award winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated musical Fun Home and includes the history of Fun Home, insights into the production, fun facts and guest performances from cast members Neala Barron, Z Mowry and Tessa Pundsack. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $25.
Tickets to Behind the Show Backstory
Other Events & Special Performances
Porchlight Young Professionals’ Happy Hour & A Hit –– Friday, January 24, 2025
Post-Show Discussion –– Friday, January 31, 2025
Open-Caption Performance –– Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 3PM
Post-Show Discussion –– Thursday, February 13, 2025
Open-Caption Performance –– Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 3PM
Post-Show Discussion –– Sunday, February 23, 2025
JEANINE TESORI (she/her) Music
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.
LISA KRON (she/her) Books and Lyrics
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. Kron and Tesori were the first all-woman team to ever receive a Tony for best score.
As an actor, Kron 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.
Kron currently serves as secretary of the Dramatists Guild Council and on the boards of the McDowell Colony and the Lilly Awards.
STEPHEN SCHELLHARDT (he/him) Director
Previously seen at Porchlight: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder
Stephen Schellhardt is thrilled to be back at Porchlight and working with this beautiful company of artists. Stephen is a Jeff Award-winning director whose credits include The Play That Goes Wrong , The Wizard of Oz and Footloose (Barter Theatre), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Porchlight – Jeff Nomination), Queer Eye: The Musical Parody (Second City), Big Fish (Jeff Award), Urinetown (Jeff Nomination), Dogfight (Jeff Nomination) at BoHo Theatre, Greater Tuna (Timberlake Playhouse), Songs for a New World (Rockford University) and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown(Northwestern University) Stephen is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. W: StephenSchellhardt.com
HEIDI JOOSTEN (she/her) Music Director
Previously seen at Porchlight: Broadway in your Backyard (2024), Porchlight in Concert: Sunday in the Park with George
Heidi Joosten is a Jeff-Award winning music director (Assassins, Theo Ubique 2024), composer and performer who has music directed and conducted more than 150 productions across the country. National conducting/adaptation credits include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Barbie: Live in Concert at The Hollywood Bowl, Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse and Labyrinth in Concert. Other recent Chicago credits include Kokandy Productions (Alice by Heart, American Psycho), Drury Lane Theater (Grease), Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Beauty and the Beast) and The Second City (Don’t Quit Your Daydream). W: HeidiJoosten.com IG: @heidijoosten.com
NEALA BARRON (she/her) Helen
Previously seen at Porchlight: Porchlight in Concert: Sunday in the Park with George, Cabaret, Merrily We Roll Along and more
Neala Barron is grateful to call Porchlight an artistic home, having appeared in productions of Sunday in the Park with George, Cabaret, Merrily We Roll Along, A Funny Thing.., and many editions of Chicago Sings. Other Chicago credits include: 1776 (Marriott Theatre); Assassins – Jeff Nomination (“John Wilkes Booth”), Hello Again (Theo); Botticelli in the Fire (First Floor); 110 In the Shade – Jeff Nomination (“Lizzie Curry”), Marie Christine (Boho); 25th Annual… (Music Theater Works); Queen of the Mist (Firebrand); Ragtime, Titanic (Griffin Theatre); Adding Machine (The Hypocrites); Assassins, The Full Monty (Kokandy Productions), The Fly Honey Show and other projects with CST, Circle Theatre, BPB Co., Raven, GRSF and more. TV: “Chicago Med” (NBC), “Night Sky” (Amazon). BFA Acting: UIUC. Represented by DDO Chicago!
LIZ BOLLAR (she/they) u/s Helen, Alison
Liz Bollar (she/they): Marry Me a Little – “Woman u/s” (Porchlight Music Theatre), Assassins – “The Proprietor” (Jeff Award, Best Ensemble), The Threepenny Opera – “Jenny Diver”, Never Better – “Aynsely” (Theo Ubique), The Last Session – “Vikki” (Jeff Nomination, Best Supporting Performer) (Refuge Theatre Project), Queen of the Mist – “New Manager/Ensemble” (Firebrand Theatre), Hair-“Ensemble, u/s Jeanie” (American Theatre Company), Belfast Girls – “Hannah u/s” (Artemsia Theatre), 35MM – “Woman 2″ , Reefer Madness -” Mae (Circle Theater). “Always for Kyle Lyndee Bollar, who is with me most when I am singing”
PATRICK BYRNES (he/him) Bruce
Previously seen at Porchlight: Far From Heaven, On a Clear Day…, and Marry Me a Little
Patrick Byrnes returns to Porchlight, previously featured in Far From Heaven, On a Clear Day…, and Marry Me a Little (U/S). Recent credits: 1776 (Marriott Theatre), A Little Night Music (Theo Ubique), Clue (Mercury Theater Chicago), I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (U/S) (Steppenwolf Theatre), The Sound of Music (Beverly Arts Center), Casa Valentina (Pride Films & Plays), Assassins (Kokandy Productions) and Titanic (Griffin Theatre). TV: “Chicago Med” and “4400.” W: PatrickByrnes.us. For dad.
ALANNA CHAVEZ (she/her) Alison
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Alanna Chavez is making her Porchlight Music Theatre debut. Chicago credits include work at the Goodman, Marriott Lincolnshire, Paramount Theater Aurora and Theo. Regionally, she has performed with The Phoenix Theatre Company and Hale Centre Theatre. Alanna is a champion of new work and contemporary musicals and loves that Chicago is too. “What would happen if we spoke the truth?” – Alison Bechdel
KING HANG (he/him) u/s Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby/Jeremy
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Regional Theatre: ensemble/”Jay” U/S in SuperYou!, ensemble in Evita!, “Llloyd/Freddie” U/S in Noises Off! (Skylight Music Theatre), “Actor 3” in The Anarchists (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre), “Luke U/S in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (First Stage Theatre), “Claudio” in Much Ado About Nothing (Summit Players Theatre).
AUSTIN HARTUNG (he/him) John
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Austin Hartung is thrilled to be making his professional debut at Porchlight Music Theatre! Austin has performed with Ovation Academy for four years and loves all things musical theatre. He would like to thank his family and friends, his teachers, his coach Ragan Hughes and his entire team at DDO Chicago for making his dreams come true!
JOSIAH HAUGEN (he/him) u/s Bruce
Previously seen at Porchlight: Anything Goes and Cabaret
Josiah Haugen is thrilled to be back for his thirdr season with Porchlight! Previous Porchlight credits include: “Sailor Quartet” in Anything Goes and “Ernst Ludwig” in Cabaret. Other Chicago credits include: “Beadle Bamford” in Sweeney Todd (Kokandy Productions), “Dan (cover)” in Sex Tips… (Matt Murphy Productions) and “Gideon (swing)” in The Last Session (Refuge Theatre Project). Josiah is a proud member and lead vocalist for The Four C Notes. Education: BFA MT from CCPA. He would like to thank his family (both blood and chosen), his wonderful partner Jack and all patrons of live theatre for their love and support. IG: @josiahjhaugen
DAKOTA HUGHES (they/them) Joan, dance/intimacy captain
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Dakota Hughes is thrilled to be making their Porchlight debut! Recent Chicago credits: “Martha,” Secret Garden (Theo ), “Arnie,” Poor People (Hell in a Handbag), “Mr. Braithwaite,” Billy Elliot, “The Steward” Into the Woods, “ensemble” Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, School of Rock, Cinderella, Kinky Boots (Paramount Theatre), “Bev/Executive” Queer Eye: The Parody Musical! (Second City), “Hunchback,” FRANKENSTREISAND (Hell in a Handbag – Jeff Award). Represented by Gray Talent Group.
CHARLIE LONG (he/him) Christian
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Charlie Long is thrilled to be making his Porchlight debut! Chicago credits include “Charlie Bucket” in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Paramount); “Jason” in Falsettos (Court); Billy Elliot, School of Rock, The Sound of Music (Paramount); The Music Man (Marriott) and Matilda (Fireside). In 2024, Charlie was a Chicago Cubs junior broadcaster finalist. Many thanks to the incredible Fun Home team, teachers, coaches, friends, family and Paonessa Talent Agency! W: @Charlie_Long_Official
ADELINA MARINELLO (she/her) u/s Middle Alison, Joan
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Adelina Marinello is thrilled to be making her Porchlight Music Theatre Debut! Adelina, a recent graduate of Northwestern University, is a performer/playwright/teaching artist based in Chicago. Chicago credits: Gay Card (PrideArts). Regional credits: Kitty Hawk (Adrienne Arsht Center), Edge of the World (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Film credits: “The Premiere” (dir. Jon Silver). Educational credits: SHIMMER, Louisa Gillis, “Violet” in Violet (Wirtz Center for the
Performing Arts). “Eternally grateful for my family and friends!”
HAYES McCRACKEN (he/him) John
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
This is my first time on stage. I also make my own plays. I’m so happy for this to be my first play. My Dad owns Vagabond School of the Arts. I love building Legos.
Z MOWRY (they/them) Middle Alison
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Z is beyond excited to be making their Porchlight debut! Recent credits include ensemble/”Jean Michel U/S” in Cinderella (MPAC), “Jonathan U/S” in tick, tick…BOOM! (Boho Theatre), ensemble in Shrek (Music Theater Works) and “Helga/emcee U/S” in Cabaret (MPAC). Outside of theatre, you can find Z cooking, reading and hosting dinner parties. Love to Renée. Hire trans talent! IG:: zzmowry W:.LizzieMowry.com
TESSA MAE PUNDSACK (she/her) Small Alison
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Tessa Mae Pundsack is excited to be making her debut at Porchlight Music Theatre. Recent credits “Little Girl” in Ragtime in Concert (Highland Park Players), “Becky Del Vechio” in Dear Edwina Jr. (ATC Chicago) and youth ensemble in Music Man in Concert (Metropolis). Her film credits include featured roles in ”Ghostlight” and ”In the Jungle.” She is forever grateful for her teachers, family and friends for always believing in her. Represented by Stewart Talent. IG: @TessaMaeOnStage
LINCOLN SKOIEN (any with respect) Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby/Jeremy
Previously seen at Porchlight: New Faces Sing Broadway 1984
Lincoln is extremely excited to make their proper Porchlight debut after performing in New Faces Sing Broadway 1984. . Most recently, Lincoln played “Dickon” in The Secret Garden (Theo). Other credits include: “Jesus” in Godspell (Redhouse); “Glen Guglia” in The Wedding Singer (New London Barn Playhouse) and “Franklin Shepard” in Merrily We Roll Along (CCPA). Lincoln would like to thank his family and Emma for all of their love and support. IG: Lincoln.Skoien
ELI VANDER GRIEND (he/him) Christian
Porchlight Music Theatre Debut
Eli Vander Griend is honored to make his debut at Porchlight Music Theatre. Eli was last seen as “Jason” in Falsettos (Timeline / Court Theatre) and “Bruce” in Matilda the Musical (Fireside Dinner Theater). Other Chicago credits include: Billy Elliot, School of Rock (Paramount) and A Christmas Carol (Metropolis). Eli is a member of the ETC Tap Company with Extensions Dance Center in Chicago. Many thanks to Stephen Schellhardt and his amazing agents at Talent X Alexander! IG: @EliVanderGriend