The new musical “Fun Home,” which had a critically acclaimed run last fall at the Public Theater, will move to Broadway this spring, the producers announced on Thursday. The show, about a young woman awakening to her sexuality and to her father’s secrets, is scheduled to begin preview performances on April 4 at Circle in the Square Theater and hold its opening night on April 22. The deadline for potential Tony Award nominees is typically at the end of April.
Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling memoir, which was largely told through comic-book panels, “Fun Home” has music by Jeanine Tesori (“Violet,” “Caroline, or Change”) and a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron (“Well,” “In the Wake”). The director will again be Obie winner Sam Gold. Casting for Broadway will be announced later; the Public production featured Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris and Judy Kuhn, as well as three actresses playing the character of Alison at different ages.
“Fun Home” is an expected but nonetheless major entry to the new musical lineup for Broadway this season. The production at the Public was honored with best musical awards this year by several theater groups, including the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama.
Three other new musicals have announced Broadway runs in the months to come: “The Last Ship,” with music by Sting; “Honeymoon in Vegas,” based on a 1992 movie; and “An American in Paris,” an adaptation of the 1951 Gene Kelly film. Additional possibilities include “Finding Neverland,” a musical adaptation of the 2004 movie starring Johnny Depp; Harvey Weinstein is producing the show, which is running this summer at the American Repertory Theater.
The subject matter of “Fun Home,” which also includes death and marital discord, will make the show’s commercial success dependent on serious-minded theatergoers and adult ticket-buyers. New Broadway musicals nowadays are typically geared toward families and tourists who make up the bulk of audiences, and shows tend to be based on popular movies (like “Aladdin”) and well-known books (like “Matilda the Musical”).
“Fun Home” drew sizable audiences to its 299-seat theater at the Public; it will have between 700 and 800 seats to fill at Circle in the Square. The Broadway production will be capitalized at a relatively modest $5 million. The lead producers will be Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson of Fox Theatricals and Barbara Whitman.
An earlier version of this post, using information from a publicist, misstated the capacity of the space at the Public Theater where "Fun Home" played. It is 299 seats, not 499.