“Your swagger and your bearing, and the just right clothes you’re wearing.” she sings. In a staggering moment of emotional purity, “Ring of Keys” transcends sexuality and captures what seemingly cannot be expressed.
Instead, Tesori and Kron braved uncharted dramatic territory for young LGBTQ characters as Alison grapples to express what she is feeling. Kron initially resisted writing it in fear that the description of a butch woman in song would veer toward unintended comedy-yet another dehumanizing trope. Through a mixture of recognition, curiosity, and wonder, “Ring of Keys” musicalizes the moment a pre-teen Alison sees a “butch” lesbian for the first time.
“Ring of Keys” from Fun Home (Music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics by Lisa Kron) Why it makes the list: Written for the character of Small Alison, “Ring of Keys” has often been misidentified as a love song however its authors state that it is a song of identification. We take a look at five songs that were “firsts” in LGBTQ storytelling onstage. For the last several decades, LGBTQ characters and their stories have become integral parts of the musical theatre canon.
