Luke Barbato Smith

Like so many other awards presentations, the Young Entertainer Awards (YEA) in Hollywood are going virtual this year.

Pasadena Playhouse's vibrant re-thinking of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's masterpiece, 'Ragtime' is a triumph of innovation and imagination. The show has been extended until March 7.

Fun Home is a coming-of-age musical about a lesbian and her repressed gay father, who teaches literature, manages the family funeral home and eventually commits suicide. The musical is based on the memoirs of writer/cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Bechdel's 2006 book and was adapted into a musical with book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and music by Jeanine Tesori.

While most Broadway shows pack a powerful punch, FUN HOME accomplishes that by capturing the viewer's heart, whether gently plucking at one's heartstrings or tugging with all its might, and its opening night in Nashville at TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall offered viewers a bevy of emotion.

It's not a revival of an old classic. It doesn't have the cache of a recognizable movie title. And it's got a synopsis that may make some people weary. All of these reasons could be why there were far too many empty seats at last night's opening night of "Fun Home" at the 5th Avenue. And that fact of the open seats makes me incredibly sad as this Tony Winner for Best Musical deserves so much more attention as it's one of the most honest, raw and real musicals around today. I cannot urge you enough to see this show.

You can find an abundance of gay jokes in any musical or play, but FUN HOME is one of the few musicals that actually revolve around characters being gay and discovering that world.

It's a deeply emotional musical telling the story of a lesbian girl as she navigates her way through life with a closeted gay father. The Broadway Production won the Tony in 2015 for Best Musical as well as top honors for its book and score. It is a handsome show, acted expertly, and it will move anyone lucky enough to connect with its take on what it is like to be queer in the world.