Oct. 13--The first national tour of the critically acclaimed and Tony Award-winning musical, "Fun Home," is to play Chicago, the presenter and landlord Broadway in Chicago announced on Tuesday.
The 2015 musical, the emotional coming-of-age story of the lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel and the prestige hit of the last Broadway season, features book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and a score by Jeanine Tesori. "Fun Home," which received reviews like no other Broadway show last year, will play the Bank of America Theater, 18 W. Monroe St., from Nov. 2-13, 2016.
It's part of Broadway in Chicago's 2016 subscription season, a blend of much-anticipated, first-class Broadway tours and non-Equity attractions that play small towns as well as large markets.
The short run for "Fun Home" likely reflects the general nervousness among touring markets about the adult content of a musical that deals with serious familial difficulties, albeit as a story of resilience. But the show at least is getting a top-shelf, Equity-affiliated tour.
Later that fall, the Broadway show "Finding Neverland," a musical about J.M. Barrie, the creator of "Peter Pan," will also be seen in Chicago in an Equity production, with a two-week engagement slated for the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., from Nov. 22 through Dec. 4, 2016.
Broadway in Chicago is also presenting a new Equity-affiliated touring version of "The Sound of Music" that got a warm reception last month in Los Angeles. The production, which will be in Chicago for June 7-19, 2016, at the Cadillac Palace, is directed by Jack O'Brien but has not been seen on Broadway. It stars a young newcomer, Kerstin Anderson, as Maria.
Another road-only show, a new non-Equity touring production of the classic hoofer musical "42nd Street," is also part of the Broadway in Chicago season, with a run scheduled for March 8-20, 2016, also at the Cadillac Palace. It's directed by Mark Bramble (choreography is by Randy Skinner, who is currently working on a new Broadway production of "Dames at Sea" and is a longtime tap specialist).
Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway The Musical" will be seen at the Bank of America Theatre from April 19 through May 1, 2016. This is a non-Equity tour of a Susan Stroman production that did poorly on Broadway, despite some admirers.
Broadway in Chicago subscribers also will be buying the previously announced pre-Broadway tryout of "The SpongeBob Musical," slated from June 7 through July 3 at the Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.
Single tickets are not yet on sale to these shows. For more information, visit broadwayinchicago.com.
