FUNNY GIRL on Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 71

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 3:03pm

Was just chatting with a friend who saw the show last night and "absolutely loved it". She's a gal who has done some community theater and enjoys going to plays and musicals but I'd consider her the average theatre-goer.

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 4:57pm

Dollypop said: "Was just chatting with a friend who saw the show last night and "absolutely loved it". She's a gal who has done some community theater and enjoys going to plays and musicals but I'd consider her the average theatre-goer."

The revival is probably going to do very well and please more people that it (apparently) offends. I think a lot of it is general nostalgia for a "big, old-fashioned" show, which apparently The Music Man wasn't enough to sate. There are also people who just want to see this show revived, but it probably also has a target audience who skews younger and is more easily satisfied. What's interesting about that is that such a demographic usually hasn't got the funds for these ticket prices, but in this case the show is still selling strong.

I have no problem (and never had, never criticized) those who saw the show and write negative reviews based on their experience. But overall, audiences seem more than satisfied. 

[denali.fire]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 5:26pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Azúcar! said: "Thank you for your review. It will be interesting to see how audience perception and reaction changes now that word is out."

According to the show’s marketing, and what the general public sees as they don’t hunt down the reviews, seems FUNNY GIRL is the next biggest Broadway hit sensation after HAMILTON.



So, in spite of the above advertisement, I have been reading most of the reams of posts and get the stark realization that a cast cd is not in the near future.

[Up In One]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 5:33pm

This show will play well to the young girl demographic and the bridge and tunnel crowd. Funny Girl and Streisand's rise to fame in the early sixties is a good follow up to Jersey Boys in an odd way. And Beanie in Funny Girl, even more so with this critical adversity, makes it another girl power show like Wicked. We perfectionists are outnumbered. If you look though this thread its more in-thread conversation than actual folks who have seen the show. I'm seeing it Tuesday after Beanie gets a 4 day rest. All this chat and the reviews have appropriately lowered my expectations so it will be interesting to see how it plays for me. I found the streaming version of Harvey and Michael's earlier London version hard to sit through - and I was home!. Will be interesting to see how they've adjusted it for NY. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 5:36pm

So, in spite of the above advertisement, I have been reading most of the reams of posts and get the stark realization that a cast cd is not in the near future.

Stranger things have happened, but who would want to listen to that? 

Updated On: 4/27/22 at 05:36 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 5:41pm

Sutton Ross said: "So, in spite of the above advertisement, I have been reading most of the reams of posts and get the stark realization that a cast cd is not in the near future.

Stranger things have happened, but who would want to listen to that?"

Oh, this will 100% get a cast recording.  The funding is definitely there for it, so that’s not an issue on this show. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 5:42pm

They using Julie or......? 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 5:59pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Azúcar! said: "Thank you for your review. It will be interesting to see how audience perception and reaction changes now that word is out."

According to the show’s marketing, and what the general public sees as they don’t hunt down the reviews, seems FUNNY GIRL is the next biggest Broadway hit sensation after HAMILTON.

"

Stop being so ridiculous -- you only embarass yourself.  It's called advertising.

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 7:43pm

JSquared2 said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Azúcar! said: "Thank you for your review. It will be interesting to see how audience perception and reaction changes now that word is out."

According to the show’s marketing, and what the general public sees as they don’t hunt down the reviews, seems FUNNY GIRL is the next biggest Broadway hit sensation after HAMILTON.

"

Stop being so ridiculous -- you only embarass yourself. It's called advertising."

He called it marketing, you correct him by calling it advertising. What finite difference do you discover between the two terms? He's clearly saying it's only the people who rely on the ads who will think it's the next Hamilton, so how how is he "embarassing himself"?

[fosterfan2]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 7:46pm

Sutton Ross said: "So, in spite of the above advertisement, I have been reading most of the reams of posts and get the stark realization that a cast cd is not in the near future.

Stranger things have happened, but who would want to listen to that?"

If this gets a cast recording and Company doesn't,I will be livid. So what that there's already one with Patti form the 2018 London production? No such thing as too much Patti,imho. I'm not able to see Company and I'd love to have a recording with this wonderful NY cast,not just Patti.

 

Updated On: 4/27/22 at 07:46 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 8:20pm

Well, a recent recording was made for Company so perhaps that's the argument for it. 

[Deedee23]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 8:20pm

fosterfan2 said: "Sutton Ross said: "So, in spite of the above advertisement, I have been reading most of the reams of posts and get the stark realization that a cast cd is not in the near future.

Stranger things have happened, but who would want to listen to that?"

If this gets a cast recording and Company doesn't,I will be livid. So what that there's already one with Patti form the 2018 London production? No such thing as too much Patti,imho. I'm not able to see Company and I'd love to have a recording with this wonderful NY cast,not just Patti.

"

SAME!! 

[joevitus]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 8:50pm

Add me to the list of those who will be upset if Company doesn't get a cast recording. The first American production with switched gender, the last revival Sondheim witnessed, and a production that seems to be embraced by both Sondheim fans and the general public? We need an audio preservation of this. Plus, damn it, I just want it!

[artscallion]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 10:39am

Why is she on the phone??? It looks like she's calling everyone to tell them "a new star is born!"

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 12:44pm

I saw the show with my mother last night, both of us having seen the movie multiple times and neither of us having any particularly strong feelings about Streisand.

With that attitude going in, we had a BLAST! It’s certainly not the most well written musical and the story about a woman who gains fame and fortune, but is willing to humble herself for the sake of a (not so good) man doesn’t really play well in this era. However, when you put the book issues aside, you can tell that every single person on that stage is having a grand old time and their joy and exuberance leaps across the footlights. I thought Beanie was perfectly fine in the title role and she had me laughing quite a bit. Ramin Karimloo was also great and I loved his showcase number “Temporary Arrangment” - it was one of the highlights of the evening. Jane Lynch is her typically droll self and it fits, and Jared Grimes, while the character is under drawn, was a revelation as a dancer. The tap choreography got the most audience reaction and applause because it was very much spectacular and never felt unnecessary or excessive (*stares at Paradise Square*)

Go. Have fun. It’s hokey, sweet, funny, and you’ll leave the theatre on a high.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 3:35pm

quizking101 said: "Beanie was perfectly fine in the title role."

 

Probably not a quote we will see in the official advertising for this production of "Funny Girl".   Perfectly fine.

 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 4:45pm

Would also like to say that Beanie's singing, while unpleasant to the ear, is also completely empty of any emotion or energy.  Very emotionally and energetically flat singing.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 4:46pm

This prolonged conversation about FUNNY GIRL has me recalling the line about Fanny's "incidentals" has me craving lentils. I have a pot of lentil soup simmering on the stove as I type this.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 4:48pm

Ramin has tested positive for COVID.

Whoever is going this weekend will catch understudies on for both Fanny Brice and Nick Arnstein!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 4:54pm

Julie Benko is a standby for Fanny, not an understudy. 

Updated On: 4/28/22 at 04:54 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 4:58pm

Who's Ramin's understudy?

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 5:01pm

ACL2006 said: "Who's Ramin's understudy?"

Jeremiah James is listed as his standby.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 5:03pm

Actually, Nick's understudy is Kurt Thomas Csolak. 

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 5:08pm

Sutton Ross said: "Actually, Nick's understudy is Kurt Thomas Csolak."

Just reporting what the Playbill says as of last evening's performance.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 5:08pm

Fanny’s second cover surely also waits in the wings. Along with other players’. This show had a big opening last Sunday night, a party with media coverage. Considering the ways other Broadway shows have faced infection moving through fully vaccinated casts quickly (review Company threads this past winter; multiples out for several weeks).
 
Another moment to pause and cheer the ways this vaccinated industry has risen to this challenging occasion. Important annotation: avoiding serious illness and hospitalization while continuing performances. No small achievement, 25 months into a deadly global pandemic. Now, it’s Funny Girl’s turn. They will rally. 

Updated On: 4/28/22 at 05:08 PM