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Funny Girl


foxy

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I just received in the mail a flyer for the revival of Funny Girl starring Beanie Feldstein. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos of her and she’s done a number of well regarded movies. I didn’t realize that Jonah Hill is her brother. No doubt a talented family. She also came out as lesbian and will be sharing the stage with another famous lesbian Jane Lynch. So cheers for the home team. 
Previews begin March 26 and opening night is April 24 so there’s some time to do any fine tuning. I’m looking forward to seeing it as I never saw the original stage production with that other singer. But I did see the movie with…..why am I blanking on her name?
Barbra something. 
I think I’ll go for a preview ticket since it’s got to be pretty good. I’ll try to report back. 
I just got off the website and didn’t like the seats that were offered. Plus they add a $15 service charge which is annoying. So I’ll go directly to the box office in a few days and see what they have available. Stay tuned….or not. 

Edited by foxy
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I saw the Boston tryout of "Funny Girl" in 1965.  I strongly suggest that people wait until the show opens until seeing it. No disrespect for the wonderful cast in 2022.

When I purchased the original cast album, the "book" and some of the songs were new to me. Surprisingly, I liked Streisand more in "I Get It For You Wholesale."

Edited by WilliamM
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Yikes.  Two previews in and chat on the show is rough.

Most of it centers around Beanie.  Seems she can't sing well, hold key or deliver the book.  

I'm seeing it in mid-April.  Hopeful they can sand the rough edges.  That said, it wouldn't be the first time a show has fired their lead and someone has gotten the chance to 'become a star.'  Sutton Foster did just that in Millie.

I'm getting tired of Hollywood casting when it's totally inappropriate.  

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24 minutes ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

Yikes.  Two previews in and chat on the show is rough.

Most of it centers around Beanie.  Seems she can't sing well, hold key or deliver the book.  

I'm seeing it in mid-April.  Hopeful they can sand the rough edges.  That said, it wouldn't be the first time a show has fired their lead and someone has gotten the chance to 'become a star.'  Sutton Foster did just that in Millie.

I'm getting tired of Hollywood casting when it's totally inappropriate.  

You always have the theater dish.  Your should have your own review show or podcast.   Ben Does Broadway.   Seems I recall that Ben is not a favorite of yours but Benjamin Does Broadway is a bit awkward 

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24 minutes ago, purplekow said:

You always have the theater dish.  Your should have your own review show or podcast.   Ben Does Broadway.   Seems I recall that Ben is not a favorite of yours but Benjamin Does Broadway is a bit awkward 

A little peek behind my curtain: You (minorly) invest in one hit Broadway show and you get a lot of industry gossip.

Everyone and their mum wants to be a critic and thanks to message boards, they can be.  I enjoy reading the professional opinion and the man-on-the-street.  Creating an entire podcast to wax poetic about what I've seen might just ruin the fun of theatre for me. 

Plus, I'm lazy and it all sounds like a lot of work.

 

You sir can call me Ben anytime :)

Edited by Benjamin_Nicholas
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1 hour ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

Yikes.  Two previews in and chat on the show is rough.

Most of it centers around Beanie.  Seems she can't sing well, hold key or deliver the book.  

I'm seeing it in mid-April.  Hopeful they can sand the rough edges.  That said, it wouldn't be the first time a show has fired their lead and someone has gotten the chance to 'become a star.'  Sutton Foster did just that in Millie.

I'm getting tired of Hollywood casting when it's totally inappropriate.  

The out of town  chat on the original "Funny Girl" was far from great 

Saw the Boston try out in 1964.

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4 hours ago, WilliamM said:

The out of town  chat on the original "Funny Girl" was far from great 

Saw the Boston try out in 1964.

The show had Streisand. Full stop.  

She was the show. Her voice. That charisma. And that she was hungry to become a star also helped. 

I just don't see Beanie transcending. 

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2 hours ago, foxy said:

I’ve seen several videos of Beanie singing and she was good. But that’s not 8 shows a week. Following Streisand takes chutzpah so maybe she’ll pull it off. I guess we’ll find out. 

I hope she proves me wrong and knocks it out of the park.

I also hope that in the event she can't, they poach Shoshana Bean from Mr Saturday Night for the role.

She was born to play Fanny.

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This is one of the bigger shows of this season but if this doesn't do well, it'll be another very weak season. of course the past 2 years was COVID, but Broadway is desperately in need of some turbo-charged new musical blockbusters...  it's been a lot of revivals, and movie adaptations.  Where's the new Rodgers and Hammersteins?  The new Leonard Bernsteins?  The new Jule Stynes?  There's got to be talent out there, but Broadway seems to have gotten so corporate and everything now is take this movie, throw together a lousy score, and bingo you've got a musical.  Don't they know musicals are ALL about their scores?  There hasn't been a hummable showtune in ages.

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Sixty plus years ago, Gertrude Lawrence starred in musicals by the Gershwins, Kurt Wheill  and Rodgers  & Hammerstein 

Her husband owed a  Summertheater on Cape Cod and Gertie appeared there frequently in musicals and plays. Thus her name was frequently in the news.

Mary Martin and her husband owned the rights to Maria von Trapp's life story and worked with Rodgers and Hammerstein  together.

Not sure if actors are so involved financially now. But stars stay with musicals when they understand the financial aspect of musicals and plays, I think.

 

Lawrence died when she was still the star of "King and I."

Edited by WilliamM
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  • 2 weeks later...

I am seeing this tonight and word of mouth has lowered my once, very high anticipation. I do wish they'd brought the Paper Mill production from xx years ago with Leslie Kritzer in. She was phenomenal, and feel it would truly have been a repeat of a star-making moment.   After a long hiatus, and lots of help reactivating my account, I look forward to rejoining the discussions here. 

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Sadly, this may be my biggest theatrical disappointment of all time. I enjoyed Beanie in Dolly and in a couple Youtube things, didn't see her Monica Lewinsky. I hoped that the producers had ensured she could pull it off. She really didn't, at least not last night. She had some pitch issues, and was not directly to deliver the lines well...many of her quips went flat. And her costumes were hideous. The original Fanny was quirky looking but fashionable. Most of Fanny's dresses here accentuated her weight, and were in hideous colors. The ensemble, however, had lovely costumes. Tap choreography was amazing and Jared Grimes as Eddie is a really highpoint. However the two other major dance numbers, Henry Street and Sadie, Sadie looked like they were onstage at a college production. Jane Lynch didn't disappoint, and Ramin Karimloo has nothing to sing to show off his voice. (And he had no chemistry with Beanie.) The set is a large floating turret, that kept making me think of the Tower of London and takes up the center third of the stage and makes the Ziegfeld numbers look small. I had spent a lot for me, getting front row mezzanine with the first discount code I found, so our seats were pretty idea. Despite my disappointment, I had a good night in the theater, with a friend on one side and three nurses visiting from Louisiana on the other side. They were enjoying it greatly and that was fun to see. They were also seeing Wicked, Hamilton, and Music Man on this trip, so their enjoyment would only improve. 

 

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Sorry...I never know if I should post lousy reviews, don't want to spoil for those with tickets, or stop people from getting tickets and supporting live theater. I guess I classify it in the "managing expectations" category. 

Edited by skynyc
correcting grammar
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@skynyc, Welcome back! You’ve been MIA for a few years. Glad to read your take on the Broadway shows. Hope all is well.

As for Funny Girl, yes, I have a ticket to see it next month. I’m looking forward to it. I’m not a critic just someone who enjoys the theater and is glad that Broadway has reopened. 🎭 

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Also seeing it mid-May. Thanks for your review even though it wasn’t a rave. So maybe with a little time Beanie will improve. On the other hand when I’m not expecting something great I can enjoy the good parts that you’ve pointed out. Opening night is April 24 so we will see what the paid critics have to say. Or maybe we don’t. 

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