Character guide
Bruce Bechdel
from Fun Home
Bruce Bechdel is Alison's closeted father in Fun Home, Jeanine Tesori's 2015 musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir.
- Show
- Fun Home
- Broadway premiere
- 2015
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Jeanine Tesori
Who is Bruce Bechdel?
Bruce Bechdel runs the family funeral home, teaches high school English, and pours his energy into restoring the family's Victorian house, all while secretly pursuing relationships with young men that he hides from his wife and children. His perfectionism and volatile temper leave a lasting mark on Alison, even as the show also gives him moments of genuine warmth and shared taste with his daughter.
Bruce's death, which the show treats as likely a suicide not long after Alison comes out to her parents, hangs over the entire piece, and much of Alison's narration is an attempt to understand a man who never let himself be fully known.
Bruce's role in Fun Home
Bruce is a lead role in Fun Home, and Michael Cerveris originated the part on Broadway in 2015, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the performance. The role demands a performer who can suggest charm, cruelty, and deep unhappiness within the same character, often within a single scene.
Audiences remember Bruce as one of musical theatre's more complex father figures, a man whose secrecy and self-loathing shaped his family in ways the show refuses to resolve neatly.
Bruce Bechdel: frequently asked questions
What show is Bruce Bechdel from?
Bruce Bechdel is a lead character in Fun Home, which opened on Broadway in 2015.
Is Bruce Bechdel a lead or supporting role?
Bruce is a lead role, originated on Broadway by Michael Cerveris, who won a Tony Award for the performance.
Who wrote the music for Fun Home?
Jeanine Tesori composed the music, with a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron.
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