A crowd of around 80 descended on the Wanee Theater Friday night to see the much-anticipated release of Fairyland, a movie adapted from a book by Alysia Abbott.
The author of Fairyland: A memoir of my father spent weeks of her childhood visiting her grandparents, Dr. Paul and Ann Binder in Kewanee. The movie is described as a coming-of-age drama that follows the story of Alysia who was raised by a single father in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district after her mother, Barbara, was killed in a car accident. The narrative spans the 1970s to the early 90s during the AIDS crisis.
Alysia’s uncle, Barbara’s brother, David Binder, returned to Kewanee to attend the local movie premiere. David is mentioned in the book, having just graduated high school when Barbara (Binder) Abbott was killed in a car accident. It’s David’s memories of the wake at the Binders’ home that Alysia used to fill the gaps.
David said while Alysia never interviewed him formally for the book, she did ask questions about his memories and listened to his stories.
And his memories surrounding his childhood growing up in Kewanee are plentiful, he said, recalling his childhood home on Roosevelt Avenue and Vine Street and his walks around town, ducking into stores like Osco that once stood on the corner of Main and Second streets.
David graduated from Kewanee High School in 1973. He played on the golf team at Baker and Midland and worked part-time in the summer and on vacations at Clark’s Gas Station.
“My memories are vivid,” he said.
David remembers when he first heard that his niece was planning to write a book on her childhood, he was nervous.
“I was nervous but also very proud of her. I wanted to support her talent,” he said.
A private person, David said he was concerned about what the book might reveal. But after reading Fairyland, David said he was incredibly impressed by Alysia’s talent and ability.
“There were some things I didn’t know, specific details about my sister that I found startling,” he said.
Even more incredible was the decision to turn the book into a movie.
“I was very excited for Alysia knowing how difficult it is to get anything written turned into a movie,” David said.
When he heard that the actress Geena Davis was cast to portray his mother or Munca, he was taken aback.
“Wow,” he said. “Geena Davis is playing my mom.”
David had seen the movie several times before the Kewanee premiere and said the producers and writers did a very good job on the movie but said they didn’t quite capture the complexity of his mom.
“I think the Geena Davis portrayal of my mom, (Munca) in Fairyland may have implied that she was gruff and a bit prudish, but in actuality, she cared deeply about Alysia and was committed to assisting Alysia in any way she could, knowing the difficulties that may confront a motherless child,” David wrote in an email to The Kewanee Voice a few days after the Kewanee premiere.
David said his mother loved Alysia “to the core” and her concern about Steve, Alysia’s dad, was primarily based on worries that he wasn’t doing enough to provide Alysia every opportunity for her to succeed in the future.
“But Alysia has been successful in her life, perhaps with the help of her grandparents when she was a child but more due, I think, to the strength she developed while living through adverse circumstances,” he wrote.
David, who appeared at the movie premiere as a special guest, also wanted to note that in his closing remark in the theater Friday night, he acknowledged that many in Kewanee have lost siblings or children or family members who died way too young.
“We all deal with the aftermath and grieve in our own ways,” he said.
Some people, he said, grow up in non-traditional families or were left in a non-traditional family as the result of tragedies.
“This movie did not sugarcoat the difficulties of growing up in a non-traditional family during trying times,” he said, adding that he hopes the movie did show that we can succeed in this world if we allow ourselves to give and receive the love from those around us. “We are resilient people who can survive loss and heartbreak and still soldier on in life.”
At the end of the Friday movie premiere, Alysia appeared via Zoom and answered questions for about 45 minutes.
An audience member requested a show of hands for people in attendance who knew Barbara (Binder) Abbott. About 25 people raised their hands.
Several questions directed to Alysia included her own memories about Kewanee. Alysia said she spent every summer in Kewanee and spoke of sunset on the railroad tracks on Page Street, cicadas in Windmont Park, her daily walks at Windmont, trips to the Kewanee Public Library and an acting class she took at Blackhawk.
One audience member asked how long it took to film the movie. Alysia said it took 21 days and all interior shots were filmed in a movie studio building. Scenes were made to look as close as possible to where she lived, and actual photos of the Binders were used and hung on the set walls. Exterior shots were filmed on location.
The last time Alysia visited Kewanee was 17 years ago when Ann Binder or Munca’s ashes were scattered.
The movie, Fairyland, is still playing at the Wanee Theater.
