Fun Home: Emily Skeggs joins company

Understudy Emily Skeggs has assumed the role of 'Medium Alison' in the Public Theater's world premiere production of Jeanine Tesori's and Lisa Kron's musical Fun Home which is playing an extended engagement at the Public's Newman Stage through to 29 Dec 2013.

Skeggs assumes the role from original cast member Alexandra Socha who has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons.

Fun Home opened at the Newman Stage on 22 Oct 2013, following previews from 30 Sep 2013, where it was originally scheduled to close on 03 Nov 2013.

The musical opened to excellent reviews: Hurry, hurry, hurry on over (newyorktheatreguide); Beautiful heartbreaker (NY Times); Achingly beautiful musical (NYDN); One of the best - and best-made - new musicals in years (Record).

Fun Home, with music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, based on Alison Bechdel's graphic novel, tells the story of graphic novelist Alison who, following the unexpected death of her father, dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family's Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father's hidden desires.

Directed by Sam Gold and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, Fun Home now features Griffin Birney (John Bechdel), Michael Cerveris (Bruce Bechdel), Roberta Colindrez (Joan), Noah Hinsdale (Christian Bechdel), Judy Kuhn (Helen), Sydney Lucas (Small Alison), Beth Malone (Alison), Joel Perez (Roy) and Emily Skeggs (Medium Alison).

Griffin Birney, Roberta Colindrez, Judy Kuhn, Sydney Lucas, Beth Malone and Joel Perez are reprising their roles from an earlier Public Lab (not fully staged) production of Fun Home, which played at the Public's Shiva Theatre from 17 Oct - 04 Nov 2012, also directed by Sam Gold.