Penn State will be celebrate its own Pride Month this month, so it makes sense that No Refund Theatre will be present a show this week with the first lesbian protagonist to hit the stage in a Broadway musical. The musical “Fun Home” is based on Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name.

The show is comprised of various vignette-style scenes that depict Alison’s relationship with her gay father and the discovery of her own sexuality. The audience is able to follow the progression of these events and watch Alison learn more about herself and her sexuality along the way. Everything is connected and commented on by an adult Alison looking back on the moments.

The entire cast has an extraordinary way of bringing Bechdel’s stories alive with love, laughter, and sorrow. It’s refreshing to see perspectives on stage that are not often shown.

Seniors Noelle Marchetti and Julie Whelan are the directors of this week’s show. They both saw “Fun Home” performed live before they decided to direct it at Penn State.

“I really think this show is just about being yourself no matter who is standing in your way. The first time I saw this show was over the summer and it stayed with me,” Whelen said.

One of the concerns both directors had was casting college students as the children in the Bechdel Family, but Whelan said the cast worked hard to master the mannerisms and emotions of the young characters.

Marchetti wants the audience to understand how Bechdel’s real-life experiences translates into the story on stage.

“[‘Fun Home’] is a true story. It is Bechdel’s story, which is something the audience needs to keep in mind,” Marchetti said. “It makes it even more meaningful and powerful to know that this is something that really happened in someone’s life.”

NRT presents “Fun Home” at 9 p.m. Thursday, April 5 through Saturday, April 7 in the HUB Flex Theatre. You can visit the show’s Facebook event page for more information.