Funny Girl 2022 Revival- Page 18

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 12:35pm

And as Mrs. Brice, Fanny's mother, we have Rosie.....yeah!  Or, just maybe......Melissa McCarthy

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 12:39pm

Highland Guy said: "And as Mrs. Brice, Fanny's mother, we have Rosie.....yeah! Or, just maybe......Melissa McCarthy

McCarthy would only agree to doing FUNNY GIRL as Fanny (and her husband Ben Falcone as Nicky Arnstein).  No way in HELL would she agree to a bit part like Mrs. Brice.  Those who know Melissa, know.  

"

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 2:46pm

Beanie in action as Monica Lewinsky, along with an unrecognizable Sarah Paulson.

 

[gibsons2]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 2:56pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Beanie in action as Monica Lewinsky, along withan unrecognizable Sarah Paulson.

Edie Falco looks phenomenal, can't wait to see her in the Morning Sun

Updated On: 8/12/21 at 02:56 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 3:18pm

What a massive space after your comment. Did you mean to add a photo?

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 3:36pm

If they have an alternate, I was just thinking Lindsay Mendez would be phenomenal. (She’s half-Jewish, so I think that would count if that’s a concern.)

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 4:38pm

the sheer haughtiness of people here declaring this revival to be a disappointment before a single rehearsal has been held, declaring a *well liked actress with Broadway experience and proven stage presence* to be a complete failure as a vocalist before she has rehearsed a single note, announcing their disdain for X Y or Z based on NOTHING but guesswork and conjecture...

im just reading this thread and laughing. i have NO idea what this will turn out to be, how Beanie will do, etc. etc., but neither do any of you, so why will it to fail? Why insist on disappointment? Let her disappoint you first!

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 5:06pm

It's called an opinion. Feel free to have another one. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 5:46pm

JDonaghy4 said: "the sheer haughtiness of people here declaring this revival to be a disappointment before a single rehearsal has been held, declaring a *well liked actress with Broadway experience and proven stage presence* to be a complete failure as a vocalist before she has rehearsed a single note, announcing their disdain for X Y or Z based on NOTHING but guesswork and conjecture...

im just reading this thread and laughing. i have NO idea what this will turn out to be, how Beanie will do, etc. etc., but neither do any of you, so why will it to fail? Why insist on disappointment? Let her disappoint you first!

"

Of course she could be fantastic on her own merits, but I do believe she's being set up for failure.

Comparisons are inevitable and, apart from the score, the show is not very good. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 5:51pm

MikeInTheDistrict said: "If they have an alternate, I was just thinking Lindsay Mendez would be phenomenal. (She’s half-Jewish, so I think that would count if that’s a concern.)"

I think Mendez would have been a better choice for the role than Feldstein. 

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 6:00pm

broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "may i remind everyone that when Barbra started Funny Girl on Broadway, she wasn'tthe star she would become...yes she had a voice, but she hadn't really proved herself in a leading role...this holds true for Beanie...this is a star making role, so one does not have to be a star to inhabit it...one becomes a star doing it...the stage is set for Beanie, so we shall see what happens...break a leg Beanie!!"

It genuinely is a star making role. Even the understudy in the West End production, Natasha Barnes, became the talk of the town when she went on for Sheridan Smith. She was on the national news being lauded as the next big thing! 

Barnes has said in interviews that before FUNNY GIRL she really struggled to find work and considered giving up. 

Updated On: 8/12/21 at 06:00 PM

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 6:47pm

unless the producers are complete idiots - a possibility I can not discount - they know Feldstein is not a name to sell tickets. So, they must have confidence that her performance will be such that it is her performance that will sell tickets. (unless they stuntcast a "big name" as Nick)

But, this is all just idle speculation - a proud BWW tradition.

[latitudex1]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 6:57pm

MikeInTheDistrict said: "If they have an alternate, I was just thinking Lindsay Mendez would be phenomenal. (She’s half-Jewish, so I think that would count if that’s a concern.)"

If they cast Feldstein, they aren't looking for a voice that could blow the roof off the ceiling like Babs'. Mendez would be phenomenal, of course. 

If they cast Feldstein, they are going for a recreation/reincarnation of Fanny Brice herself. Brice herself had a serviceable yet capable voice and was known as a comedian first. She wasn't blowing the roof off every night with a high E in a jazzy or soulful belt.

If anything, I'm guessing her alt/understudy will be an unknown.

blaxx said: 

Of course she could be fantastic on her own merits, but I do believe she's being set up for failure.

Comparisons are inevitable and, apart from the score, the show is not very good."

I know most people walk in to a production of Funny Girl to see "Music That Makes Me Dance" and "Don't Rain on My Parade," but most of the numbers are comedy numbers. Feldstein might surprise folks and make people like the material a little bit more.

Updated On: 8/12/21 at 06:57 PM

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 10:37pm

JBroadway said: "
Wow, a lot to unpack in this thread.

And Fanny, much like Sally Bowles, is a role where you can get away with passable vocals if all the other pieces are there."

You are one of the best and one of the most insightful contributors to this message board, but this is nuts. Fanny MUST be played by a performer with a great voice.

Personally, I'd argue the entire subtext of Funny Girl is "talent is beauty." The real Fanny Brice's talent may have been as a comic, but the Fanny Brice of Funny Girl's main talent is voice, which makes sense, as it's a musical. So if you don't have the voice, her beauty isn't given a chance to shine through.

Putting aside my personal interpretation of the musical, the whole reason she's put in the bridal number for her first Follies show is because Ziegfeld insists she's the only one in his employ with the voice to do it justice. She tells him she can't because she isn't beautiful enough and people will laugh, he tells her he needs a singer with a good enough voice to do the song justice. So her need to be a great, not just a passible, singer, is right there in the book.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 10:45pm

Agreed Joey. But I’d also add it’s 2021. It’s Broadway. We want powerhouse voices. It’s just what we have been accustom to. So I’m not sure. But happy to be surprised

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 11:27pm

@joevitus - regarding the lines in the book about her voice: fair enough point. In all honesty, I did not remember that being a plot point.

That comment came from my experience having been blown away by Sheridan Smith’s performance in London, and Smith’s vocals were only passable.

I see your point about the real Fanny vs. the musical Fanny, and how that plays into the “talent is beauty” theme. But I’m not sure I agree with your interpretation (aside from the specific references to her voice, which I conceded above). To say that “the real Fanny Brice’s talent was humor, and the musical Fanny’s talent is singing” is simply an untrue dichotomy. Fanny Brice in the musical is supposed to be funny - to use your words, it’s right there in the book (in the title, even). It’s true that sometimes musical theatre uses music as a metaphorical stand-in for other forms of expression, but in Funny Girl, I don’t think that’s the case. Musical Fanny is funny AND a singer. And in my opinion, her humor is far more integral to her character, and the central theme of the show (“talent is beauty”), than her singing voice. The music, for me, is simply one of the ways in which she expresses that humor, and in the book scenes, the way she expresses her deepest emotion. And as long as someone is good enough at acting through song, that can be achieved without an amazing voice.

When Sheridan Smith sang the final verse of “People” after Nicky kisses her, it seemed like she was going to die of joy and the only medicine was to pour her heart into the song. True musical theatre in its purest form. I had tears in my eyes, and my heart was still pounding well into the next scene. And her singing was just ok.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 12:04am

JBroadway said: "@joevitus - regarding the lines in the book about her voice: fair enough point. In all honesty, I did not remember that being a plot point.

That comment came from my experience having been blown away by Sheridan Smith’s performance in London, and Smith’s vocals were only passable.

I see your point about the real Fanny vs. the musical Fanny, and how that plays into the “talent is beauty” theme. But I’m not sure I agree with your interpretation (aside from the specific references to her voice, which I conceded above). To say that “the real Fanny Brice’s talent was humor, and the musical Fanny’s talent is singing” is simply an untrue dichotomy. Fanny Brice in the musical is supposed to be funny - to use your words, it’s right there in the book (in the title, even). It’s true that sometimes musical theatre uses music as a metaphorical stand-in for other forms of expression, but in Funny Girl, I don’t think that’s the case. Musical Fanny is funny AND a singer. And in my opinion, her humor is far more integral to her character, and the central theme of the show (“talent is beauty&rdquo, than her singing voice. The music, for me, is simply one of the ways in which she expresses that humor, and in the book scenes, the way she expresses her deepest emotion. And as long as someone is good enough at acting through song, that can be achieved without an amazing voice.

When Sheridan Smith sang the final verse of “People” after Nicky kisses her, it seemed like she was going to die of joy and the only medicine was to pour her heart into the song. True musical theatre in its purest form. I had tears in my eyes, and my heart was still pounding well into the next scene. And her singing was just ok. "

I wouldn't call Sheridan Smith’s vocals "passable". She's a MUCH better singer than Feldman.

Also, most of Feldman's comedy is dry and muted, in my opinion, is there anything out there with her that resembles the comedic chops needed in Funny Girl?

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 1:07am

JBroadway said: "@joevitus - regarding the lines in the book about her voice: fair enough point. In all honesty, I did not remember that being a plot point.

That comment came from my experience having been blown away by Sheridan Smith’s performance in London, and Smith’s vocals were only passable.

I see your point about the real Fanny vs. the musical Fanny, and how that plays into the “talent is beauty” theme. But I’m not sure I agree with your interpretation (aside from the specific references to her voice, which I conceded above). To say that “the real Fanny Brice’s talent was humor, and the musical Fanny’s talent is singing” is simply an untrue dichotomy. Fanny Brice in the musical is supposed to be funny - to use your words, it’s right there in the book (in the title, even). It’s true that sometimes musical theatre uses music as a metaphorical stand-in for other forms of expression, but in Funny Girl, I don’t think that’s the case. Musical Fanny is funny AND a singer. And in my opinion, her humor is far more integral to her character, and the central theme of the show (“talent is beauty&rdquo, than her singing voice. The music, for me, is simply one of the ways in which she expresses that humor, and in the book scenes, the way she expresses her deepest emotion. And as long as someone is good enough at acting through song, that can be achieved without an amazing voice.

When Sheridan Smith sang the final verse of “People” after Nicky kisses her, it seemed like she was going to die of joy and the only medicine was to pour her heart into the song. True musical theatre in its purest form. I had tears in my eyes, and my heart was still pounding well into the next scene. And her singing was just ok."

Very insightful response. Now I understood what prompted your original comment. 

[OldTheatreLover]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 3:46am

In my personal opinion, I don’t think a revival of Funny Girl can succeed. It’s totally and forever associated with Streisand who was iconic in the role. ANYONE will be compared to her performance and that won’t end well. Also, very few could handle that score 8 shows a week, if at all, so I say don’t even attempt this revival. 

Updated On: 8/13/21 at 03:46 AM

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 3:55am

She has a rather sweet small voice, kind of like a Disney princess.  She also looks just like brother.  

[JasonC3]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 6:06am

I think it is hard to say "she is being set up for failure."

Anyone taking on this iconic role knows the expectations they are walking into, and I look forward to seeing Feldstein's performance. While they are not infallible, anyone casting, directing, or producing the show knows the same and must believe she can deliver.

She has a winsome quality that may just win over some doubters once they see what she actually does with the character and the songs. Or she won't and they can offer a deserved "I told you so."

[CrawlingRox]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 7:03am

I just do not see her as a lead. she is a bit annoying 

Updated On: 8/13/21 at 07:03 AM

[bway0]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 7:42am

I plan on seeing this but I’m not sold on seeing Beanie. So I might wait until she’s on vacation and grab a ticket last minute to see the understudy.

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 8:32am

OldTheatreLover said: "In my personal opinion, I don’t think a revival of Funny Girl can succeed. It’s totally andforeverassociated with Streisand who was iconic in the role. ANYONE will be compared to her performance and that won’t end well. Also, very few could handle that score 8 shows a week, if at all,so I saydon’t even attempt this revival."

And yet, Funny Girl ran for 18 months after Streisand left the show ….

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 8/13/21 at 11:24am

latitudex1 said: "MikeInTheDistrict said: "If they have an alternate, I was just thinking Lindsay Mendez would be phenomenal. (She’s half-Jewish, so I think that would count if that’s a concern.)"

If they cast Feldstein, they aren't looking for a voice that could blow the roof off the ceiling like Babs'.Mendez wouldbe phenomenal, of course.

If they cast Feldstein, they are going for a recreation/reincarnation of Fanny Brice herself. Brice herself had a serviceable yet capable voice and was known as a comedian first. She wasn't blowing the roof off every night with a high E in ajazzy or soulful belt.

If anything, I'm guessing her alt/understudy will be an unknown."

You are of course correct. They are obviously going to go with a very different interpretation of this character than Barbra's version if they've cast Feldstein. I will probably see it out of curiosity (unless the word of mouth from previews/reviews is really bad).

And now I've just made myself sad that we won't see Mendez in the role, lol.