Jeanine Tesori has written a trio of great domestic dramas: "Caroline," "Kimberly Akimbo," and "Fun Home."
In each musical, the house is its own character; the house seems to live and breathe (I suspect because the lyricists were tapping memories of their *own* childhood homes).
"Caroline" has an upstairs/downstairs vibe, with the surly Mrs. Thibodeaux hiding in the basement, chatting with the radio and washer (which are actually anthropomorphized). Upstairs, the depressed father plays his clarinet, and the lonely stepmother whispers into her telephone.
"Kimberly Akimbo" has a prominent "swear jar," a kitchen table that comes to life, creating a whirlpool image, a basement of horrors. It also has Kimberly's bedroom, which becomes the site of a shocking betrayal. The fate of the bedroom is perhaps the most startling event in the evening--and it's the catalyst for the show's 11:00 number.
My favorite Tesori house is from "Fun Home." Mr. Bechdel has a chaotic inner life--and, as in many, many other cases, his sense of anxiety manifests as controlling behavior. His wife--the object of his abuse--wanders around, chanting, "He wants, he wants, he wants..." There is no need to identify the subject by name; this would be a waste of breath, and you need that breath for your cleaning efforts.
Get the lemon pledge and dust the--
They should face the same direction!
He wants it vacuumed, the surface gleaming...
He wants it closer to the door...
He wants, he wants, he wants...
Tesori doesn't always focus on one family, but I like the "family" pieces best. It's a shame it seems we won't be seeing a film adaptation of "Fun Home."
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