Explore "Fun Home" with discussion and Broadway music at Cactus Book Club.
The Cactus Book Club invites you to explore Alison Bechdel’s "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic," a graphic memoir that delves into complex family dynamics and identity. This session, led by Cream City Foundation, will include not only a discussion of the book but also musical interludes from its Broadway adaptation, bringing key moments to life.
Held in the intimate setting of Cactus Club’s back room, this event is part of their Cactus+ programming, which focuses on works by underrepresented groups. It’s a welcoming space where you don’t need to have finished the book to join. Just come ready to engage with the themes of identity, family secrets, and the legacies we inherit.
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Join us on Wednesday, June 3 at 5:30 for our next Cactus Book Club. Cream City Foundation will lead an evening of discussion and music exploring Alison Bechdel’s landmark graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Distant and exacting, Bruce Bechdel was an English teacher and director of the town funeral home, which Alison and her family called the “Fun Home.” It was not until college that Alison, who had recently come out as a lesbian, discovered that her father was also gay. A few weeks after this revelation, he was dead, leaving a legacy of mystery for his daughter to resolve. In her hands, personal history becomes a work of amazing subtlety and power — written with controlled force and enlivened with humor, rich literary allusion, and heartbreaking detail. Bechdel’s memoir was later adapted into a celebrated Broadway musical, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Throughout the evening, we’ll weave in songs from that production to illuminate key moments in the story — no prior familiarity with the show required. Together, the book and its music open a powerful conversation about identity, family secrets, grief, and what we inherit from the people who shaped us. Recommended bookseller: Boswell Book Company
