Last Day for ‘Fun Home’ at Benedum; Playhouse Hosts ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin…’ (Sun., 4/16/17)

Many children may have wished they could do this but the kids in ‘Fun Home’ get to do it on stage. photo: Joan Marcus.

1) As you know if you have read Alison Bechdel’s graphic-book memoir or seen her interviewed on TV, Fun Home is about growing up in a home that was emotionally hectic and often not so much fun. The true story traces the author’s eventual coming out as a lesbian. It reflects deeply on her relationship with an idiosyncratic dad, who—until his untimely death (possibly a suicide)—led a troubled parallel life as a closeted gay man. Praised as a moving personal saga, Fun Home was adapted for the stage and won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical. The touring production is in town for eight performances, including two on Easter Sunday, and there’s a reason for the generous booking. The show is one of the hottest tickets of the year, so reserve early. 1 an 6:30 p.m. Last day. Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave., Cultural District. (MV)

Harriet Beecher Stowe, posed here for her author’s portrait, wrote the book read ’round the world.

2) Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is widely agreed  to have been the global bestselling novel of the 1800s. Along with vigorous domestic sales, it sold over a million copies in England and was translated into dozens of languages and read worldwide. What’s less known is that here in the United States, vastly more people saw the story performed on stage than read it. Knockoffs called “Tom shows,” some of them quite crude, proliferated quickly. But a relatively faithful adaptation by the dramatist George Aiken had a long run on Broadway, then remained in the repertoire of U.S. companies into the early 1900s—thus becoming the most popular American stage play of that entire span. Now Pittsburgh theater artist Tomé Cousin and New Yorker Jason Jacobs bring us a new version. They’ve combined elements of the Aiken script with a re-reading of Stowe’s original, adding modern social and historical perspectives of their own, to produce Uncle Tom’s Cabin or The Most Popular American Play You’ve Never Seen. Point Park Conservatory Theatre is presenting this new take on a long-controversial classic in the Rauh Theatre at Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. 2 p.m. Ends today. (MV)

3) Revel + Roost is hosting an Easter brunch at both of the two-level sister restaurants. Revel (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.)will feature a traditional brunch menu with highlights which include: Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar, lamb hash, and fried quail + waffles. Roost (11 a.m. – 3 p.m.) is offering a  complete buffet experience with all the culinary accouterments.  Children under six eat for free. 242 Forbes Ave at Tower Two-Sixty. Just steps away from Market Square.

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