Funny Girl, With Sher at Helm, Aimed for Broadway Revival- Page 7

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 12:00am

Wow, I think Lea Salonga is completely wrong for this in every way possible and it has absolutely nothing with the fact she's Asian.
I thought Lady Gaga said she went to a performing arts high school when she was on Larry King or something but I guess not, thanks for all the info guys, it's really interesting. I think it'd be amazing if she did this. I keep alternating songs from the FUNNY GIRL cast recording with such things as "Speechless," "Love Game," and "Bad Romance"

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 12:17am

I believe that Gaga will, FUNNY GIRL or not, be the next major star to win all the major awards...Grammy, Oscar, Tony, Golden Globe, etc. She's got the talent, drive, and support.

[PauloFanClem]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 12:24am

The show might run over two and a half hours, with all the encores... Suddenly turns into a Gaga concert in Ziegfeld Follies style (well, her concerts basically already looks like that)!

[TimesSquared]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 12:58am

OMG, he'll be so funny, gurl!

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 3:31pm

I have complete faith in Bartlett Sher.

And I can't imagine that Lea wouldn't be their first choice at this point, or at least very high up on the list. I'd love to see her in the role.

[max2paradise]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 4:16pm

Would it be really crazy to suggest Beyonce? She's said she wants to do Broadway if the right role came along at the right time, she's a documented Streisand fan, and she's certainly a name that would merit being above the title in a revival of this scale.

[Dolly_Levi]

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

Beyonce is a lot of things - but a funny, Jewish girl from Brooklyn she is not.

[JRybka]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 5:00pm

I say.... Jennifer Holiday as Fanny, Julie Andrews as Mrs. Brice and TR Knight as Nicky. I smell a TONY!

[Marquise]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 5:38pm

I swear some of you are so clueless. Names are tossed around with no consideration as to what's required for the character or the show itself. I'd go as far as to say some of you who have suggested people like, Beyoncé and Lea Salonga (!) have no idea who Fanny Brice was or Funny Girl as a show. Yes, you may know about it, but knowing about it and actually knowing it are two different things. If some of you had any knowledge about it at all then you wouldn't in all seriousness be making such laughable casting suggestions.

But keep it comin' because I need a good laugh now and then.

[D2]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 5:52pm

Marquise, I think I love you.

[Marquise]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 5:55pm

Awww..you jus' made me blush. And it's very hard to do that. Thank you.

[munkustrap178]

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

Thank you, Marquise.

[Marquise]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 7:13pm

You're welcome "munks".

[spencspenc]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 8:08pm

CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER. C'MON PEOPLE! she's really cute and is pretty but can look plain like fanny. she's perfect.

I could get a few death threats with this one, but..sutton foster?

Initially, I think Leslie would be my first choice, however, Celia is VERY close as a second choice.

Steph J is my girl. I think she CAN act and CAN sing and CAN give you face..but i feel like she's too tall? idk...

[spencspenc]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 8:11pm

I also think Stephanie Umoh would be awesome as Fanny. Young, but her voice would sell parade.

ANALEIS VAN DER POL (last belle on broadway)
she.would.be.DYNAMITE

[PauloFanClem]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 8:36pm

As I said before, let them surprise me.

And yes, Marquise, I re-read the materials about Fanny and watched back the movie, and my saying of Lea Salonga is a mistake. Sorry. I think I'm just too desperate to see her again. :P

P.S. Haha... so funny, TimeSquared. Let's keep it then.

Updated On: 6/10/10 at 08:36 PM

[Piper3500]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 8:47am

"The producers' comments about Lea Michelle were deflective at best. Also, isn't she a little pretty for Fanny? Ah, well...it's not something I would go see anyway"

if they can put a prosthetic nose on Nicole Kidman to play Virginia W... they can ugly up Lea, but not only do i not think they necessarily want her but can she contractually do it?

[bjh2114]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 8:53am

I also think Stephanie Umoh would be awesome as Fanny.

Do you really not get it?

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 9:23am

I actually believe that people off the street who had never seen or even heard of a musical before could make better casting suggestions for Fanny Brice than many of these here.

For those of you who think race isn't a part of this role or this show, you don't know Fanny Brice. It's as ludicrous as suggesting a white girl play Effie or an Asian girl play Coalhouse Walker Jr.

Fanny was most definitely Jewish, and I don't just mean her lineage. She came from the Lower East Side, and grew up in and around the Yiddish theatre scene. You can't cast all the lily-white "Doris Day" types of this generation, or other ethnics, and have her life story make any sense at all.

Fanny was a breakthrough star. No one from the Yiddish theatre roots had made it quite so big back then. And while they don't hammer that point home in the play or movie, it is the root of Fanny's story. She was unique to mainstream audiences. She was not your typical star of the Ziegfeld Follies or any other Broadway stage. That's what made her special. She broke the convention and managed to rise to the top of her game, regardless.

Casting anyone who doesn't "represent" is an insult to Brice and her story.

[Piper3500]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 9:33am

^ perfectly said. and i loved the story. you described it to a tee.

[Mateo2]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 12:01pm

You are correct best12bars about casting Fanny. Being a big Diana DeGarmo fan, I was going to suggest that she should play Fanny, but after reading your post, I do not think it’s that good of an idea. Can she be funny? No doubt. Can she sing the score? Absolutely. But a Jewish girl from the lower east side? I do not think so.

Diana was considered for playing Fanny in a regional theater revival of “Funny Girl” but that was regional theater and not Broadway.

[PauloFanClem]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 12:34pm

Right so, best12bars. After watching the movie recently, I know what you are talking about. I was also because I'm big fan for Lea Salonga that I suggested her. Now, I totally cannot see her in those shoes. I think at this time only Gaga can fit the role, or they need to do really intensive search for this role, which I won't be surprise, since they had searched for Emile DeBecque for over a year. Again, let them surprise me.
Updated On: 6/11/10 at 12:34 PM

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 2:12pm

Eventually Lea's character will have to graduate from high school, which could happen by 2012, or she could be done with the show long before then if it gets canceled first. I'm not saying she is a good choice for the role right now, but two years down the line, and with a kick ass director, who knows?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 2:20pm

Just to add to what Best12 said, the other factor that seems imperative in casting the role is that despite her unconventional looks and blatant Jewish ethnicity, in a time when such things were routinely frowned up by high brow audiences, Fanny Brice was known for having a certain glamour and sophistication. Its actually these qualities, more than any of the real Brice's other characteristics, that Streisand best embodied.

A lot of the woman suggested in this thread don't really have that quality, and it really is a big part of the character.

[PauloFanClem]

Posted: 6/11/10 at 2:33pm

I think it's fate that back at that time, they found Barbra to play this role. I do find Barbra has the glamorous star quality, yet unconventionally straightforward in personality. I wonder whether they can find another person that has both. I bet this is going to be a long search.