FUNNY GIRL on Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 96

[Penna2]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 11:19am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Ouch! Kinda sad when I was genuinely poking fun at the typical scenario you’d assume from the cliché snooty rich kids AND it actually was true. And they say it’s rude to generalize. Gotta say it - there’s a reason for stereotyping as it’s never far from the truth. I was baffled when I saw countless news outlets mentioning this wedding and thinking my joke was being used as reliable news. Kudos they truly were reporting a wedding that did indeed take place so it was true. "

A number of us here over the past few months have pretty much observed as people who understand theater and human nature, what was going to happen with Beanie (the time off the week after the event did suggest a pre-scheduled event she had no control over, but an attachment to. The August dates are likely for something similar).

Beanie never had what it takes to carry a show. No knives, no grudges, no grievances involved - just eyes and ears and a certain amount of experience. For my part, I called mid-July for her leaving when she was still out with Covid. The news came out that it would be September. However, if your suggestion about an announcement for the replacement happens in mid-July, I would say that we all seem to be on the same page.

Not that it matters, but I do hope it's Julie not Lea. Once again, I have no personal knowledge of Lea except for a few videos I've watched on YouTube (just FG songs). JMO, she is a Babs wannabe who doesn't hit the mark. the show is about Fanny Brice, not Barbra Streisand and anyone who even mimics her in the slightest is going to be called on it. Her singing is maybe 65% singing and 35% shouting and tends to be behind the music most of the time. She also doesn't seem to be very nice even when singing to a friendly audience (not talking about the Glee or Tony performance, this was at a concert). Fanny must be loveable, first and foremost - this is what they saw in Beanie. 

Julie Benko may not have the name, but she has the talent and the ability to become Fanny when she performs according to those who were able to see her perform (I only heard some bootlegged audios). She may not be box office, but I think they will find a box office problem with Lea, if only for a different reason. I would go with the likeable, talented standby instead of more drama. Again, JMO. 

One other note - I would assume there are talks about Jane as well - we all knew she would be leaving in September. I suspect that deal might already be sealed or at least in the works. If this turns out to be a "name," which is likely what they were looking for, this could make the Lea issue moot and possibly guarantee Julie the lead.

Updated On: 6/17/22 at 11:19 AM

[kdogg36]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 11:39am

FranklinDickson2018 said: "Has she ever done a lead in a musical?"

I'm surprised no one has jumped on this one.  She was, of course, the lead in Spring Awakening. 

Updated On: 6/17/22 at 11:39 AM

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 11:48am

I’m not sure, but I kind of thought given her role in Spring Awakening is common knowledge, they were asking more about a lead along the lines of Fanny Brice, a more central figure. Cause Wendla is definitely secondary to Melchior.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 12:18pm

ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure said: "I’m not sure, but I kind of thought given her role in Spring Awakening is common knowledge, they were asking more about a lead along the lines of Fanny Brice, a more central figure. Cause Wendla is definitely secondary to Melchior."

She was a lead in Spring Awakening.

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 1:10pm

Didn’t say she wasn’t a lead, I said, I figured they were asking about her portraying the lead of a show, which she didn’t in Spring Awakening, Groff was the central figure of that show.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 1:21pm

Wendla in Spring Awakening is a bit smaller than Melchior, but it is still definitely the female lead. There was also much hubub when she wasn’t nominated for the Tony for Lead Actress, which is how the producers rightfully submitted her. I saw her in the show, and other than the fact that it was hard to buy her as a super-Christian German girl, she was very good.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 2:06pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Gotta say it - there’s a reason for stereotyping as it’s never far from the truth."

Wow, you just revealed a lot about yourself with this statement.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 3:38pm

OhHiii said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Gotta say it - there’s a reason for stereotyping as it’s never far from the truth."

Wow, you just revealed a lot about yourself with this statement."

Absolutely.  I’m 200% exactly what people would assume of me.  I own it and will never get defensive towards anyone ripping me a new a**hole.  I truly merit it and I don’t apologize for it.  I pay my own bills, thank you very much.  

[DAME]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 4:47pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "OhHiii said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Gotta say it - there’s a reason for stereotyping as it’s never far from the truth."

Wow, you just revealed a lot about yourself with this statement."

Absolutely. I’m 200% exactly what people would assume of me. I own it and will never get defensive towards anyone ripping me a new a**hole. I truly merit it and I don’t apologize for it. I pay my own bills, thank you very much. "

Brody.. the wedding chit chat was all over Til Tok before you even brought it up.  I had assumed that's where you were sourcing from.  And your right.. you do you honey.  

[trpguyy]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 7:05pm

I’m old enough to remember when this board, Twitter, and TikTok were all sourcing each other, spreading the verifiably false rumor that Amber Gray was the next Hermes. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 8:09pm

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 2:33pm

'Funny Girl' Insider Says Lea Michele Cast After Beanie Feldstein  Exit 

https://www.musictimes.com/articles/85445/20220617/funny-girl-insider-lea-michele-casted-beanie-feldstein-exit-report.htm 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 3:03pm

trpguyy said: "I’m old enough to remember when this board, Twitter, and TikTok were all sourcing each other, spreading the verifiably false rumor that Amber Gray was the next Hermes."

What a time that was

[Penna2]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 5:47pm

Robbie2 said: "'Funny Girl' Insider Says Lea Michele Cast After Beanie Feldstein Exit

https://www.musictimes.com/articles/85445/20220617/funny-girl-insider-lea-michele-casted-beanie-feldstein-exit-report.htm"

I wonder if all this business about Lea Michelle is just a nasty trick to get back at her for her past actions. Not sure exactly what she did - never heard of her before this Funny Girl business - but understand she is/was not well liked. Get her all excited and then find someone else has been cast to bring her down. 

Also wondering why they made the Beanie announcement now (14 weeks out) because they had to expect speculation of this sort. Much as I think Beanie was the wrong choice for the role, she can't be feeling great about the response to her leaving the show. Of course, they may want her to leave earlier (I'm still speculating on mid-July). The timing overall just seems weird - was someone already signed? When was this new contract negotiated? Seems Beanie's decision was only made a couple of weeks ago - so were they planning to give her the boot and she just made her decision before that could happen?

I'd be surprised if it's Lea Michelle (Babs wannabe), but the people behind this show haven't shown much sense about it from the get go with the exception of Ramin. He was actually Barbra's choice if you take it back to his appearance at her concert in the UK in 2019 and he was first asked to portray Nicky. Failed production, but still betting on the Streisand influence here in terms of his casting at least, plus his history with Mayer.

A friend mentioned a critic who commented that all things Funny Girl seem to go back to her. 

Guess we'll see.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/18/22 at 8:02pm

As some opined on Twitter, you don't "fire" someone and then make them perform 14 more weeks, 100+ performances. Many Broadways contracts are only 15 weeks total for limited runs. Three full months isn't a couple of weeks and then out the door. This is not a standard announcement, especially coming on the end of a Covid out that's been the hallmark of this season for most stars, Jackman, Craig, LuPone, some of the folks in Flying Over Sunset, and now The Minutes (6 out of 11 early this week, covers). It a seemingly negotiated early exit to be sure, but not an immediate one. So perhaps the feeling is: leaving with Lynch puts a satisfying period on a 6 month run.   

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/19/22 at 3:39am

https://www.vulture.com/2022/06/who-should-replace-beanie-feldstein-in-funny-girl-top-picks.html

Why has Vulture suddenly hired so many people to write about theater when Helen Shaw is the only one who says anything sensible?

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/27/22 at 7:55pm

Julie Benko Triumphs as Standby Fanny Brice in ‘Funny Girl’

https://ff2media.com/blog/2022/05/04/julie-benko-triumphs-as-standby-fanny-brice-in-funny-girl/

[bwwLA86]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:34pm

Gawker reporting...

https://www.gawker.com/celebrity/lea-michele-to-replace-beanie-feldstein-in-funny-girl

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:38pm

How reliable is Gawker? I'm unfamiliar with entertainment news so idk how to differentiate between tabloid rumors and those that truly have an inside scoop...

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:39pm

Love to see it!!!

[bwwLA86]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:45pm

Gawker used to be pretty notorious for their scoops back in the day. Well connected within NY circles. I'd say this is fairly credible

[soxboy22]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:51pm

bwwLA86 said: "Gawker used to be pretty notorious for their scoops back in the day. Well connected within NY circles. I'd say this is fairly credible"

I thought so too.  If true, I’d love to see the matinee with Julie and the evening performance with Michelle. Would be incredible.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:51pm

bwwLA86 said: "Gawker used to be pretty notorious for their scoops back in the day. Well connected within NY circles. I'd say this is fairly credible"

Thanks!

[kwoc91]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:52pm

One pleasant tidbit from the Gawker piece is that it sounds like Julie would be an official alternate with a set performance schedule.

[Penna2]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 5:09pm

bwwLA86 said: "Gawker reporting...

https://www.gawker.com/celebrity/lea-michele-to-replace-beanie-feldstein-in-funny-girl"

I wonder if anyone has told Beanie. I'll believe it when I see something "official" from the FG people. Doesn't make sense if they are trying to keep the show going through Beanie's run, unless she leaves sooner (mid-July?), in which case, that announcement needs to happen first with some sort of explanation. This is just plain insulting to her, however, badly things have gone with the great plan.