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Well, nothing bums this author out any more than having one of my own memes put to a stop upon barely starting out of the gate. And Jake "aka Richard Simmons" Gyllenhaal was already lined up to be of my all-time favorites. Jake's team is just a bunch of killjoys, lol.
In case you haven't seen them, we have some fine and dandy pictures to share of one of our fave guys - Mr. Jake. Courtesy of Ashley Samuel's Instagram, who is starring in the play Fun Home at the Young Vic Theater in London. The musical has been playing at the Young Vic since June 27 and closes Sept 1 and its synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: After
her father dies unexpectedly, Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story
of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets
defined her family and her life. Based on Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical
graphic novel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic . - via Playbill
It is not surprising at all that Jake would want to see this show when you look at a better description of the book. From Publishers Weekly via Amazon:
This
autobiography by the author of the long-running strip, Dykes to Watch Out For,
deals with her childhood with a closeted gay father, who was an English teacher
and proprietor of the local funeral parlor (the former allowed him access to
teen boys). Fun Home refers
both to the funeral parlor, where he put makeup on the corpses and arranged the
flowers, and the family's meticulously restored gothic revival house, filled
with gilt and lace, where he liked to imagine himself a 19th-century
aristocrat. - Publishers Weekly
The author of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Bechdel, is a lesbian and came out to her parents while her father was still alive and his sexuality was never divulged. One can imagine the complexities and intensity of their history and since it is based on a written journal that she maintained since the age of ten, the story contains detail, some of which probably even she wouldn't remember until re-reading some of the pages. It doesn't get anymore raw and intimate than that.
[Just as an aside, the Victorian home which the patriarch Bruce Bechdel had his children decorate and help refurbish is now available on VRBO as a rental in Beech Creek, PA .]
Here is Jake while at the performance of Fun Home at the Young Vic Theater in London, England.
Okay, so one picture out of three with the obligatory "pointing" isn't too bad. lol. *sigh*
Another sighting of Jake as he is photo'd with the legendary composer Burt Bacharach at the River Cafe in London:
Beautiful and sunny evening @TheRiverCafe for dinner avec mes amis Janey, Oliver and the indefatigable Burt Bacharach.— KSH Management (@KSHmanagement) July 11, 2018
Quietly having our dinner and who trots along to meet me (or maybe Burt?!).. Jake Gyllenhaal!
Thank you Ruthie Rogers for a wonderful night 👌 pic.twitter.com/hwwcndjSAF
A short post today, although we have several in the hopper right now, particularly one which is one of the more enlightening posts I think Narnia has undertaken. Stay tuned!
Looking darn dandy, Jakers!
pic sources: Giphy, IHJ
our playlist: Coming of Age - Foster the People
Recovery - Frank Turner
Sugar on Sunday - Tommy James and the Shondells
8 comments:
I think possibly Jake's musical attendance may have been real time yesterday. I was going to dismiss this tweet:
Molly Taylor
@MollyAnneTaylor
Saw Fun Home yesterday and it was absolutely incredible. What made it better was turning around and seeing Jake Gyllenhaal sat 2 rows behind me also with red bloodshot eyes from crying at the show
4:38 AM - 15 Jul 2018
But now that I have read up more on this play and what it was about, I could definitely see that tweet being true, for once.
This book by Alison Bechdel has glowing reviews and I found several very interesting.
This Amazon review of Ashley Bechdel's book caught my eye:
Rachel McElhany
VINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 starsFun Home
December 8, 2015
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I first heard of Fun Home when I read an article about how it was on the summer reading list for incoming freshman at Duke University and a group of students were boycotting it. They said it was pornographic and that its homosexual themes violated their Christian moral beliefs. Learning a group is trying to ban or boycott a book is one sure way to get me interested in reading it.
Fun Home is Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir of her life growing up. Fun home is what she and her brothers called the family-owned funeral home her dad ran. This was the first adult graphic novel I’ve read. (And by adult, I mean for grown-ups, NOT porn.) I was really surprised how drawn into it I was. I didn’t realize that characters could be so defined in the graphic format. I really felt for Alison, having to grow up with such distant, detached parents. Her pain and confusion over her father’s death jumps off the page.
The only way that Alison and her father relate to one another is through a mutual love of books and reading. Fun Home is peppered with literary references and comparisons that went completely over my head. Once again I’m pulling the “I was an accounting major so I didn’t read any classics in college card”. If you have, you may enjoy the references and Alison’s book will have even more meaning for you. However, I still liked this book a lot anyway.
There were a few nude drawings in this book, when Alison figures out she’s a lesbian and starts having relationships with women. However, Alison is a talented illustrator and they looked like works of art in my opinion. If the scenes had been described using words, they would have been much more graphic. I am applying Justice Potter Stewart’s “I know it when I see it” test of obscenity and this ain’t it.
As far as the homosexual themes in the book goes, yes this is a memoir written by a lesbian about her relationship with her gay dad. It’s a gay book. But isn’t one of the great things about reading learning about people who are different than you? Reading helps one develop a deep sense of empathy. Maybe you might even learn that people you once thought were evil are not. Maybe that’s a scary thought for some people and they would rather live in their insulated bubbles. I’m glad I’m not one of those people. However, I should thank the students at Duke for alerting me to this book’s existence.
Amazon review of a Duke University summer reading list recommendation
^^^ That first sentence should say Alison, not Ashley. Grrr. I already re-typed it once, I didn't want to have to c/p yet again. Sorry, Ms. Bechdel! Not intentional.
It is hotter than a turkey fryer out there today. Just incredibly miserable! I am coming LIVE from Brookside, MO as I am watching little Mercy, the Shih Tzu. There used to be two, but Danny passed away earlier this year. It's very strange not to have him here as he was my little Royals game buddy. He would stick by my side at night until the game was over and it was time to turn in. Meanwhile, his sister Mercy would go on upstairs and leave us in the dust! She could have cared less about us.
Now? She stays downstairs with me until time to go to bed. Awww.
Jakers is looking pretty darn fab, isn't he?
;-)
#DAMN
I'm also not insinuating anything at all "promising" about Jake's choice of play that he went to go see, certainly don't want to mislead. He and Austin are so cemented in their closet and the more M&M and I research on some topics, we are finding only more discouraging and stomach churning kinds of information.
We're going to have a heckuva post to do sometime in the near future, but it's going to take a while to put together. I know that I haven't tweeted as much, haven't been posting here on Narnia as much, but don't think that we're going anywhere. Far from it. But it takes time to read. Time to check out other links. Time to make JPEG's. Time to write it all out.
It takes time to just absorb some of what's happening and talk it out between ourselves. And we don't want to be knee-jerk reacting to every little thing that happens, not only with Jake/Austin, but with other OTP's.
Good lord, for anyone following Harry and Louis, it's constant drama. Their fans do an incredible job on Tumblr; have no idea how they keep up. Takes me forever just to put together one post, LOL.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to visit our site. I hope it can cause pause to think.
Jake obviously has a complicated relationship with his parents. And as so often happens the dysfunctional family cycle continues into the next generation. Jake closeted himself based on assumptions and expectations of what was possible, which despite the imposed "rules" and career pressures, was still his choice, once he decided to pursue a career as an actor.
Now, he and Austin have imposed a closet on their entire family, but this time no choices were part of the transaction. Given this context, I can see him being attracted to a play like Fun Home, with all its complexities and depictions of illusion, hidden truths, and embellishments. Those dark secrets, false appearances and inevitable strained relationships that the closet brings. Along with the disequilibrium inherent in the depth and breath of familial chasm between public versus private.
In the final analysis, what are the very real consequences of lies in everyday discourse within a family setting? Like any fathers, Jake and Austin have made choices. And, those choices have impact. Insert the very real imposition of Jake allowing outsiders (e.g, agents, NDAs, mother, sister, peers, producers, etc.) to help shape those choices and you have a ready made recipe for tragedy as well as comedy. Or, should I use the word farce?
I've been a fan of Alison Bechdel for a long time. I saw Fun Home when it was on Broadway a few years ago. It's very good and very powerful. Surprised Jake decided to see it.
I wouldn't mind seeing the play myself, Dest. Sounds really interesting. Wonder how sad it is although reviews indicate there is also some humor, too.
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