Fun Home Grabs 12 Tony Award Nominations

Fun Home on Broadway, right next to another pretty popular musical. Credit: Pamela Polston

Vermont cartoonist Alison Bechdel‘s star just got even shinier. The musical based on her graphic memoir Fun Home was nominated for 12 Tony Awards!

As reported in the New York Times and elsewhere today, Fun Home is in the running for the following:

Best musical (along with An American in Paris, Something Rotten! and The Visit)
Book—Lisa Kron
Original score—Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (lyrics)
Actor, lead, in musical—Michael Cerveris (who plays Bruce Bechdel, Alison’s father)
Actress, lead, in musical—Beth Malone (as adult Alison)
Actress, featured role, musical—Judy Kuhn (Helen Bechdel, Alison’s mother), Sydney Lucas (young Alison) and Emily Skeggs (middle Alison)
Scenic design, musical—David Zinn
Lighting design, musical—Ben Stanton
Direction, musical—Sam Gold
Orchestration, musical—John Clancy

Alison Bechdel at Fun Home Credit: Eva Sollberger

The nominations come on the heels of Fun Home‘s triumphant opening night at New York City’s Circle in the Square Theatre. I wrote about the experience of seeing the show last week, and Seven Days multimedia producer Eva Sollberger produced an [un-]Stuck in Vermont video, as well.

Though Bechdel was not involved in creating the musical interpretation of her life story — a story that involves her coming out as a lesbian and her closeted gay father’s suicide — her brilliant memoir catapulted her on this remarkable career trajectory. “I’m not fully inhabiting this yet,” Bechdel told me in New York. “It’s an amazing experience.”

No doubt the Tony Awards ceremony will bring more amazing experiences to absorb. That will take place on Sunday, June 7, at Radio City Music Hall in NYC, and will be broadcast live 8-11 p.m. on CBS. Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming will host.