Lea stars in int’l preem of Fun Home

MANILA, Philippines - Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) has announced that Lea Salonga (photo) will be playing Helen Bechdel in the first international production of Fun Home, which opens in Manila in November 2016.

Fun Home is the most awarded and acclaimed musical of the year, winning five Tony Awards including Best Musical. 

When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison Bechdel dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind woman 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. 

Fun Home, which is based on Alison’s best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, features music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. The New York Times calls it, “The best new musical to open on Broadway.”

Fun Home will mark Lea’s first musical in Manila since she played Grizabella in Cats in 2010. Her last stage appearance in Manila was in Atlantis Productions’ critically-acclaimed play God of Carnage in 2012. She is currently appearing as Kei in the Broadway musical Allegiance, where she garnered rave reviews.

Bobby Garcia (Saturday Night Fever, The Bridges of Madison County), who will be directing Fun Home, says, “Dreams do come true. It is an honor to be able to stage Fun Home in Manila with Lea Salonga as Helen.”

ATEG producers Tony Tuviera and Bobby Barreiro say, “It is with great pride that we welcome Lea Salonga to Fun Home. We know Fun Home will be a momentous theatrical event in Manila.”