FUNNY GIRL Revival — Page 2

You know who'd make a great Fanny Brice?

Seth Rudetsky.

---

I don't think there's much likelihood of a FG revival for the simple reason that Barbra made the role so much her own -- AND committed it to a good film for future generations to see -- that comparisons would always dog the show. IMO, FG is even more of a one-woman show than Dolly or Gypsy and the paradign has been etched into everyone's consciousness for all time. The shame of it is that it has a great score -- one of the last of that kind of show -- that should be heard with regularity.

---

How long is Fanny really supposed to be nineteen? Not even halfway through the first act, right? I got the impression that a couple of years were supposed to have passed before "Cornet Man," and by the time Fanny is a full-blown headliner for Ziegfeld ("His Love Makes Me Beautiful"), she's certainly in her twenties.

I'd rather see a performer with the chops and voice in this role, even if she is in her thirties.

somethingwicked, you are officially our Funny Girl expert.

I was in the show once, and I don't even know it as well as you!

(For the record, I was 'Polly', a chorus girl who actually has a name! My big moment came every night when Fanny told Ziegfeld that she wasn't going to be in the finale. I was walking onstage with a giant box, and I would drop it in surprise at her declaration, pick it up, wide- eyed, and then scurry off. Well... I kept hamming it up until it got to the point where I hurled the box across the stage, threw myself across it in terror, and then dragged it offstage while gawking at Fanny and gasping. Cast members stopped calling me 'Polly' and started calling me 'Box Girl'.)

What is the relevance of this story? None. BUT I JUST NEED TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING THAT'S NOT THE STRIKE!

Still, Polly is a plum role. She also gets to spy on Fanny and Nick from outside the dressing room. Meaty. Hm.... what about Mylinda Hull?

---

Is there even really a question as to which actress should play Fanny in a Broadway revival of FUNNY GIRL? It has to be Leslie Kritzer. God willing that A CATERED AFFAIR is a hit, then that would be the optimal time to revive FG and have Kritzer headline it. Anyone who's heard/seen her Fanny knows that Kritzer is the real deal and is in the best position to take on this iconic role for a generation that didn't get to see Babs strut her stuff at the Winter Garden.

Ooh! Or Hugh Panaro for Nick!

Hm... could Jarrod Emick play a non All- American role on Broadway?

---

Sutton Foster and Stephanie J. Block are my top choices.

fachedula, Fanny's age progression is not that quick at all. She goes from 19 to her late twenties/ early thirties over the course of the show and is on the younger side of the spectrum for almost the entire first act. Streisand was 22 when she originated the role on Broadway for a reason.

While you are right in that Sutton Foster and Stephanie Block are separated in age by only a few years (Block is 35 and Foster is 32), Foster comes off leagues younger on stage, though she lacks the appropriate look for the role and is much more "apple pie" than "a bagel on a tray full of onion rolls."

Laura Marie Duncan, who most recently completed a stint as Christine Colgate on the National Tour of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS after covering the role in New York, would make a fierce Fanny if she was a few years younger (though she tends to skew young on stage, much like Foster does.)

---

Updated On: 11/28/07 at 11:34 AM

Having seen Leslie do this show at Paper Mill, I can say that she would be the absolute perfect choice for a revival. (there was even serious discussion at the time of bringing it to Broadway) The critics loved her. The thing that blew me away wasn't that she is just so remarkably funny (which we know) but that she vocally delivered the goods while bringing a emotional warmth that brought much of the house to tears. (especially in "The Music That Makes Me Dance" just a beautiful performance all around)
Have any of you heard Leslie do "Don't Rain on My Parade" at cabaret events over the past 2 years? She does such a dramatic vocal leap at the end of the song, that there is no question she has raised the bar on performing this song. I really hope everyone gets to hear her sing this one day.

Updated On: 11/28/07 at 05:02 PM

Foster is a swell actress but I'm with somethingwicked on this one. She's too much of a Shiksa to play the role convincingly. Her "I'm the Greatest Star" at the Actor's Fund Benefit was alright but I just think the humor of Brice doesn't suit her.
I'm all for Kritzer, she'd be great if Encores! or Reprise! decide to tackle the show.

---

I am DYING to hear some of Kritzer in this role.

Me too!

---

actually, if you look at real life pictures of Fanny Brice--she never looked young even in her prime in the 1920's. She never looked like a young spring chicken even when she was. Actually, with the right hair style and costuming, Idina would look very close to the real Fanny Brice.

Plus, I don't know why people's actual age in real life matters when casting. It never mattered before--we still have people in their late 20s playing teenagers on television, and on stage, it is harder to actually tell how old a person is in real life without knowing beforehand (unless it is 60 year old playing a 20 year old--but Stephanie or Idina playing Fanny would be fine).