Funny Girl, With Sher at Helm, Aimed for Broadway Revival- Page 2

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:44pm

You know how bitchy fags can be.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:44pm

Also, I'd like to see Tony Yazbeck as Nicky Arnstein.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:45pm

Kelli O'Hara's presence as Fanny will make the show much less ethnic and a lot more accesible to tourists. Matt Morrison's following from Glee of course make him natural to be Nick Arnstein and Victoria Clark is perfect for Mrs. Brice.

[wicked1492]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:47pm

I really can't see Kelli as Fanny. She is so talented, she needs an original show to highlight HER talents.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:48pm

"I'm a petit-fours on a plateful of onion rolls!"

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:50pm

This is going to be a real annoying 2 years of speculation.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:52pm

If Kelli O'Hara is not available I would like to see Rebecca Luker play the part.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:53pm

How about Mary Testa? Or Mary Stout? Or Mary Alice?

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:54pm

"LEA MICHELLE?

I do NOT understand what people see in this girl. Her voice is nasally when she tries to "belt." Her version of "Don't Rain on My Parade" is like nails on a chalkboard. Awful."

I presume that's a bad joke about the best Broadway singer of the current generation? And up there as one of the greatest voices ever to come out of Broadway?

[Broadwayboy2631]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:54pm

We'll forget about this in a month, when there's speculation about Bernadette Peters replacing Kristen Chenoweth in Promises, Promises. She looks young enough. Right? Then, she’ll move on to playing Fanny in this revival.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:55pm

Forget the casting for a bit.

What in the holy hell are they going to do with that book - Act Two to be specific?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:56pm

Hopefully throw it in the garbage and start over, or at least pull a lot from the film.

I personally can not tell if Lea Michele has one of the best Broadway voices of her generation because she is always auto-tuned on her television show.

[steven22]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:57pm

I vote Lea Michele. I've loved her since her Spring Awakening days!

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 3:58pm

See her live...the jokes about Rachel's perfect pitch etc. on Glee? Not one word of a lie, and the same in Lea's case.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:00pm

"I presume that's a bad joke about the best Broadway singer of the current generation? And up there as one of the greatest voices ever to come out of Broadway?"

Ha
Updated On: 6/8/10 at 04:00 PM

[callitquits]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:06pm

Michele is so far from being the right kind of funny for Fanny Brice, it's absurd. Fanny is supposed to be purposely funny, ALWAYS. Although she's often hilarious on Glee, her character's humor derives from the fact that all of her "punchlines" are UNINTENTIONALLY funny.

And count me in the "autotune works wonders" group re: her voice. Undoubtedly, Michele has a fine voice, but I think "the best voice of her generation"/"one of the best to ever come out of Broadway" is a huuuuuge stretch. Watching her sing live is like watching paint dry for me. Pretty, but so, so bland. To me, nothing about Michele is right for Fanny Brice. I actually think she'd be downright cringeworthy, but to each his own.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:09pm

I am not going to speak much as to whether she could handle the demands of the role, but I will say, all joking aside, that sometimes the most obvious people for a role are ultimately the least interesting.

The actress playing Brice doesn't need to have a voice like Streisand, but more than anything (and Streisand had this in spades) she needs to be totally unique. A complete original. That is what made Brice special. She was unlike anyone.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:12pm

BWWers...they're the snarkiest people...in the woooorld.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:13pm

And that's the thing about Leslie Kritzer, Lea Michele, Stephanie J. Block: dime-a-dozen.

Kritzer, out of those 3, comes the closest...but she's old.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:14pm

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think Julia Murney is PERFECT for this part. Her performance of "People" at the Actor's Fund concert was astounding and I would love for her to get the chance to do it. I know it's probably not going to happen, but I think she would be fantastic.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:17pm

Former poster Margo Channing and I used to concur that Sandra Bernhard (who was Jule Styne's choice for a revival briefly in the late 80s) would probably would have done something really wonderful and different with the material simply because she was/is so unique.

I'm in the camp that says there aren't any Broadway stars at the moment (Kritzer included) who are right for this.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:18pm

She reads older than Kritzer does.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:23pm

Rebecca Luker? Are you kidding me? Awful. She can't act to save her life. She's completely wrong for the role and too old.

And Matthew Morrison? Jesus Christ. All wrong.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:23pm

A quote from the rave Kritzer got in The Times, if people are interested:

"Ms. Kritzer, handed prime fixings, is setting a table of joy, with her own flair.

They are a pair. It is no secret that Ms. Streisand was on a star trip, ad libbing, changing tempi. Ms. Kritzer plays a star with generosity of spirit, paying as much mind to ensemble and to characterization as to vocal finesse. Fanny Brice had a mouth and she had refinement. Yes, Ms. Kritzer is funny and elegant, sings a ballad meltingly, hits every high note, accurately, and holds it until you drop..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/nyregion/theater-review-a-revival-mines-a-golden-age.html

Updated On: 6/8/10 at 04:23 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 4:25pm

Its good to see you recognize a joke when you see one Munk...