Funny Girl

[+ WilliamM]

1 hour ago, jeezifonly said:

As a piece of stage literature it’s hardly worth all the drama surrounding the whole casting thing. The Broadway show is known because of the film, and the film is Barbra. What exactly was expected, I wonder. 

I  wasn't a huge fan of the Broadway show,  but the original  cast recording is wonderful.

[jeezifonly]

43 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

I  wasn't a huge fan of the Broadway show,  but the original  cast recording is wonderful.

I love the OBC recording! The show’s troubles have usually been with the book, though. 

[skynyc]

On 7/11/2022 at 11:45 PM, EZEtoGRU said:

I'm doing a theatre visit to NYC this weekend.  I'm not seeing Funny Girl thanks to this forum...thanks for the advice.  I'm seeing Company and Moulin Rouge for sure.  Trying to decide between Mr. Saturday Night and Into The Woods for the other show.  Thoughts?

They're both great choices...and very different. Mr. Saturday Night is funny, better-than-decent score, Billy Crystal doing his thing. Into the Woods is funny, Sondheim, great cast. Since you're seeing Company, I might suggest ITW as a good Sondheimian juxtaposition, but if you're not a huge fan, then Billy Crystal won't let you down. 

[EZEtoGRU]

On 7/11/2022 at 11:59 PM, handiacefailure said:

Company and Moulin Rouge are both great shows.   One show I'd really recommend is Hadestown.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I'll consider Hadestown as well.

2 hours ago, skynyc said:

They're both great choices...and very different. Mr. Saturday Night is funny, better-than-decent score, Billy Crystal doing his thing. Into the Woods is funny, Sondheim, great cast. Since you're seeing Company, I might suggest ITW as a good Sondheimian juxtaposition, but if you're not a huge fan, then Billy Crystal won't let you down. 

Good to know whichever way I go it's going to be good.  Thanks!

[samhexum]

On 3/19/2022 at 6:17 PM, WilliamM said:

I saw the Boston tryout of "Funny Girl" in 1965. 

On 3/29/2022 at 9:43 PM, WilliamM said:

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

Saw the Boston try out in 1964.

So... the story changes!  Did you really see the tryout at all, or are you just trying to get attention?  😇

On 3/30/2022 at 1:59 AM, BenjaminNicholas said:

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. 

How about transitioning?  😁

On 3/29/2022 at 10:44 PM, foxy said:

Calling Lea Michele now  

 

On 3/30/2022 at 1:59 AM, BenjaminNicholas said:

Dear God, no. 

Please no. 

Hello, @BenjaminNicholas, it's me, God...  sorry, my bad!  🤪

[+ WilliamM]

8 minutes ago, samhexum said:

So... the story changes!  Did you really see the tryout at all, or are you just trying to get attention?  😇

How about transitioning?  😁

Hello, @BenjaminNicholas, it's me, God...  sorry, my bad!  🤪

Yes, I saw the Boston tryout when a student at  Boston College.

[CheckCar]

Inside the blow-up over Lea Michele replacing Beanie Feldstein

 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-real-broadway-drama-over-lea-michele-replacing-beanie-feldstein-in-funny-girl?ref=scroll&fbclid=IwAR38-geC1sRBzx9XkEQOEI0lKlflTrWRU1EAa4DwTCnNbwAYWxCc7CysHno

 

[samhexum]

Beanie (does she have a twin brother Cecil?) has tonsillitis.

[handiacefailure]

I read that about the tonsillitis.   Makes sense she wouldn't be able to perform and she should be resting her voice but the broadway article says she was told not to perform because it's contagious     I never heard of of tonsilitis being contagious    

I know she had covid and I heard that can be an after effect.

Seems like she is out sick more than she is performing.  Unfortunately she wasn't out sick the day I went, I think I would have enjoyed the show a lot more if the understudy was doing Fanny's part

[Guest MikeThomas]

It looks like Lea M had a great opening night.  Standing ovations throughout the show.

[+ WilliamM]

On 7/13/2022 at 1:27 PM, samhexum said:

So... the story changes!  Did you really see the tryout at all, or are you just trying to get attention?  😇

How about transitioning?  😁

Hello, @BenjaminNicholas, it's me, God...  sorry, my bad!  🤪

Yes, I saw  Funny Girl in Boston 

[skynyc]

I saw this production for the third time last night. My comments on Beanie were submitted last Spring. I saw Julie Benko, who was the understudy for Beanie and interim Fanny between her and Lea Michelle, last summer. She was great. Made the production work. Had the voice to really deliver the songs and had the humor down. (She still performs every Thursday night.) 

But Lea Michelle. Wow. I wasn't a Gleek, and know there's been a lot of back and forth about her bad behavior in the past. I'd seen her in Ragtime, Les Mis, and Spring Awakening (several times, she was excellent.) But here, she blew me away. There's a Yiddish line in the show about the star being "heimish" described as being "familiar" with the audience. Well, Ms. Michelle has "heimish" down. The entire August Wilson theater was in her pocket from the second she said "Hello Gorgeous." I knew from the few times I watched Glee that she could sing (but I was watching for Darrin Criss, so didn't pay much attention to LM). Here she made every song work beautifully. She caught every bit of humor, and added more. And amazingly, she made every bit look like it was being done for the first time. No indication she'd already done it that afternoon. There was a spontaneity to her performance that imbued every scene. Her chemistry with Ramin Karimloo was red-hot, (I was getting jealous.) And her scenes with Jared Grimes were poignant and real. (And despite the tour-de-force around him now, he still stands out, giving the deservedly Tony-nominated performance that he gave when he was the only thing to watch.) As is often noted, Funny Girl is a flawed show, it worked (soared, in fact) due to Ms. Streisand's performance decades ago. It soars again with Ms. Michelle. 

Tovah Feldshuh who is playing Fanny's mother is also wonderful. At 74, she makes great sense as Mrs. Brice, a little over-the-top at times, but totally in control, as Rose Brice would probably have been.

Had this production opened with Lea Michelle, she would have won the Tony, and if I was on the Tony committee, I'd be trying to finagle a way to give her some recognition in order to have her on the telecast this year...that would get folks to tune in. There are probably close to 100 folks who still have jobs thanks to her, and will have until she leaves the show.

I have seen a lot of theater in my life, and this is probably in my top ten lead performances of all time. Up there with Angela Lansbury in Sweeney, Nathan Lane in Guys and Dolls, Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman. 

Full disclosure, I went with my friend Tim who knows LM, and we sat in her house seats, and there were numerous times during Fanny's "on-stage" bits where she sang right to Tim. It was a special night.