Funny Girl - Boston Tryout

[gossipguy215]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 3:58pm

The show didn't get good reviews in Boston, although Barbra was supposedly amazing (I've also heard she was very inconsistent). There was a bunch of material cut, including 5 songs and "You Are Woman, I Am Man" was a solo of Nick. Does anyone know anything else specific about the tryouts and the difference from Broadway?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 4:27pm

Try this... loaded with information

http://barbra-archives.com/live/60s/funny_girl_broadway_2.html

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 9:06pm

Thank you for that link, tallguy. I knew the song changes were legendary, but I'd never read any specifics.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 9:37pm

Updated On: 7/6/13 at 09:37 PM

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 9:45pm

Okay Question: Would FUNNY GIRL be as successful as it now without Barbra? Would you say this is one of those shows where you really need one person driving the show or else it fails? I am watching the Movie at the moment and Barbra is just Electric! Amazing comedic actress.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:22pm

I wonder if the legend is bigger than the reality. The show didn't win any Tony Awards in 1964.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:23pm

It was up against HELLO DOLLY which basically took everything.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:32pm

Which I guess tells us something about 1964 voters. They prefer Carol Channing over that "bohemian hippie" Barbra Streisand

[AnthVoice2010]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:35pm

When the film was released...

Newsweek's review simply wrote:

"Streisand, in her film debut, delivers the greatest musical comedy performance ever filmed"..

Think about that sentence for a second...the enormity of it..

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:42pm

Well I don't know about the GREATEST or anything but She is splendidly perfect in this film. The interesting thing about her winning the Oscar for Fanny is that she was on the Oscar voting committee. She ended up Having a Tie with Hepburn and I'm pretty sure it has been stated that if Barbra didn't vote for herself then she would not have won.

Updated On: 7/6/13 at 10:42 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:43pm

That is quite an enormous statement. He put her over Garland, Sinatra, Rogers & Astaire, Day, Keel, Powell, Kelly...et al

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:45pm

I think her performance is somewhat on that level but that statement is a bit poppycock.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:47pm

Carlos knows a thing or two about papicock.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:51pm

^ Ha!

Betty Hutton's musical comedy skills on her worst day are on par with Barbra's on her best

Updated On: 7/6/13 at 10:51 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:52pm

LMAO @ Jordan

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:52pm

LMAO @ Jordan

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 10:59pm

Difference of Opinion.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 11:19pm

The Oscar controversy is derived from Streisand's membership into AMPAS. She was granted membership before having a film credit. So, if the Academy hasn't bent their rules to admit her, presumably, she would not have won.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 7/6/13 at 11:22pm

The Carlos joke...worth staying up late for.

[logan2]

Posted: 7/7/13 at 12:17am

Jesus Christ! I saw the subject line and thought there was a current Boston tryout for a new Funny Girl. Callously unfair, gossipguy215.

[AnthVoice2010]

Posted: 7/7/13 at 7:05am

The thing about the tie...

I remember reading that a tie can only happen if the two nominees are within 3-5 votes of each other - not one.

The idea being that the chance for human error in counting and processing had to be accounted for...

Thus - if anyone came within 3-5 votes, it could/would be considered a tie.

The thing the Academy has always maintained is this was an exact tie....

What also must be taken into account is Hollywood already disliked her ...the million dollar salary for "Hello Dolly"...Her insistence on doing her own makeup...her "butting in" on lighting and camera angles...her "directing" other actors in a scene...her inability to attend even one major Hollywood party without leaving after five minutes...


and yet...


they couldn't deny her..

[broadway guy]

Posted: 7/7/13 at 9:38am

However, she didn't receive an acting nomination for HELLO DOLLY. The Film got a best picture nomination though. She did get a BAFTA nomination.

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 7/7/13 at 9:54am

Working in Boston the next few months---I also got excited that this was current news! :)

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/7/13 at 12:36pm

"Streisand, in her film debut, delivers the greatest musical comedy performance ever filmed"..

Many seem to forget that Streisand didn't make her film debut until about 6-7 years into her career (about 4-5 years after Broadway's FUNNY GIRL). By the time she stepped in front of those motion picture cameras in June 1967, she already had been honing her craft on both stage and television so film was an easy transition just a grander scaled project. It wasn't like she went from a recording studio straight into making films.

Also, regarding FUNNY GIRL's bumpy out-of-town tryouts -- the book was originally a fuller and more traditional book show, which dragged the musical extensively whenever the action moved away from Streisand, which it did to showcase Kay Medford, etc. Once they got to New York to begin previews at the Winter Garden Theatre, Jerome Robbins was brought in to "doctor" the show. His first note: the show needs to be The Barbra Streisand Show and anything not involving her needs to be trimmed or cut. Jean Stapleton is quoted as saying that the entire cast knew this as well and stood back wisely as their parts were literally cut. They knew this was for the good of the show, etc. Many who saw the show pre-Broadway and later on Broadway have said it was an almost different musical.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/7/13 at 12:56pm

Jerome Robbins was a very, very wise man.