Rebecca Luker Books a Two-Month Stay at the Fun Home

Show Boat, The Sound of Music, and The Music Man are just a few of the Golden Age scores that three-time Tony nominee Rebecca Luker has lent her radiant soprano to throughout her Broadway career. Classic musicals have been her niche for nearly three decades, but beginning April 5, she explores contemporary territory in the cast of Fun Home, Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron's Tony-winning musical based on Alison Bechdel's graphic novel.

While original star Judy Kuhn takes a short medical leave, Luker jumps into the role of Alison's mother Helen — a woman who chooses to stay married to a closeted gay husband before his ultimate suicide. "It's a very complicated character," says Luker, who's been given only a few weeks to pick up where Kuhn left off, and will only have a few weeks to make it her own. But through May 22, she's excited to be welcomed as "part of the club."

How did the opportunity to join Fun Home come to you?
I went in to audition for various things. They were looking for people for the tour, even though I never expressed interest in doing the tour, but they were thinking they might need a replacement coming up. This thing with Judy [Kuhn] having her hip replaced was something new. So it's been sort of a crazy journey. I guess they liked what I did [so] they called me when they decided she needed some medical leave. I'm very excited to do it.

When did you first see the show?
I waited a really long time to see it. I probably saw it three or four months ago and I just loved it. Since then I've seen it about four times and every time I love it more. This show really deeply affects me. It's funny and it's sweet and it sort of sneaks up on you that way. Then they get you with these really deep dark emotional moments. There's really no show like it out there.

How do you prepare for such a short run?
It's hard. It's like getting on a moving train. But I'm very excited to go on this two-month journey with these people. It's going to fly by. [Judy] is a good friend of mine and I'm a huge fan of hers. I so respect her work and I love how she created Helen. I'm looking forward to put my own stamp on it. I read Alison Bechdel's book…and I'm reading another book she wrote called Are You My Mother?, which came out about six years after Fun Home. It's a very valuable book about conversations with her mother — mostly after her father's death, when Alison was college-age or older. That has helped me have some insight into Helen.

Is it difficult for you to relate to that character?
I am very unlike Helen. It's a very dysfunctional, sad family, but I'm trying to see the hopeful parts of Helen. Why is she staying in this marriage? There's a very deep connection that keeps her there. Everyone else is going, "Why doesn't she just leave him?" But there's a lot more to her. She likes her life for the most part. She likes teaching English and practicing her piano and raising her children, but it's a very weird juxtaposition. Every day I try to get inside her head and think about what motivates her.

As one of Broadway's most notable sopranos, you've performed primarily in shows with classical scores. Are you excited to take on a role in a contemporary musical?
It's really such a great challenge. I thought, "Oh yay I'm part of the club!" [Helen's song "Days and Days"] is beautiful and it does lend itself to me and Judy, but even though it has classical-sounding or American-songbook moments in it, it's really contemporary. As an actress it's an amazing thing to be allowed to do something different.

You recently got to revisit your 1991 role in The Secret Garden with the benefit concert at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. What was that experience like?
It really was like a religious experience for me. Gabby Pizzolo, who's going to be my young Alison, was my Mary. I had just seen her do the show and she was amazing. It was just a gift to revisit that show and that score. I was happy to find out that I could still sing it and in some ways sing it better — because one likes to think you've learned a thing or two in a quarter of a century. [laughs]

Beyond the stage, you're also very politically vocal on Twitter. Do you enjoy being part of a production like Fun Home that has been so politically outspoken?
Yeah, I love being political on Twitter. [laughs] I very much enjoy it. It's been a long time coming — this kind of musical. And I hope there are lots more like it that are just blatantly out there about accepting people for whoever they are. I think we all have to be political these days. We can change the world through our art and supplement with social commentary. I deeply believe in that.