Funny Girl at Lincoln Center?- Page 3

[galindagirl2]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 7:56pm

Stephanie J. Block as Fanny Brice, please!

Posted: 4/6/07 at 8:52pm

i think Kritzer is gonna be more of a name after LEGALLY BLONDE.

even though the audience was thoroughly enjoying the show, you could feel everyone perk up a bit more everytime she came on stage.

i hope that she can work the tv promos along with Bell Bundy; she'll make an impression!

[cooperross]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:15pm

'Of course they could always bring back PIA ZADORA.'

Actually Pia was quite good in the role..but she's a bit long in the tooth now.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:27pm

If Gasteyer and Murney are too old for it than Block is too. She may be slightly younger than the former pair but reads much older than she is on stage regardless of the role she's playing, both in her presence and appearance.

I have no doubt Kritzer would knock this role out a second time but as others have said, all of fourty people would buy tickets to see her.

As started earlier, this just seems like a show not able to be done right with anyone big enough to pack houses (at least not now.)

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 10:27pm

Gasteyer actually played the role a few years back...in Pittsburgh, I think. She was good. Very good, actually. But she was a little old for it then, and I imagine she'd be even older for it now.

The problem really is the show itself. Since it was tailored to Stresiand's talents, it would require an actress that possessed every inch of Streisand's talents. And don't forget-we're talking Streisand in her PRIME. That itself is a huge burden. And any actress wouldn't be able to erase memory of Streisand's performance because they will either be accused of not being up to the material, or giving a carbon copy of Streisand's performance.

There's a truckload of actresses who could pull this off oerfectly and are of the right age (Leslie Krizter being the most notable one-as many have noted). But, the series at City Center requires a star and unfortunately, so would a revival. Gone are the days when people would line around the block to get tickets the morning every reviewer praised a newcomer starring a full-scaled production. And even if audiences would, producers would never take that risk. It's rather sad, because finding an actress to play the role brilliantly isn't the problem-it's finding one with a star big enough for audiences to pay and see.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:22pm

Wait! I've got it! We can do a REALITY show to cast Fanny! "Are you the Greatest Star?"

[jewishboy]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:38pm

OK, I know her name comes up for everything recently, but when I walked out of Thoroughly Modern Millie I couldn't help but think that Sutton Foster could make a great Fanny Brice. I know some people think her comedic style is too forced, but I think that she could do well with the material under excellent direction (that is the key for a re-mounting of Funny Girl with a young actress). Other than her there really is no one who is the perfect choice for Fanny. Some of the best Broadway comedic actresses can't sing and others just aren't Jewish and others who have the voice really haven't proven to be a comedic actress. I do think that in her prime Patti LuPone could have handled the role.
Updated On: 4/6/07 at 11:38 PM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:53pm

She's not Jewish. Not even remotely. It would be Alfred Molina in FIDDLER all over again...

Sutton's smarter than that.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:59pm

I like Kritzer, but her name is not gonna mean much more after LEGALLY BLONDE, she is a minor character and that is her strength, the funny side kick, not the lead.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:02am

Foster as Fanny Brice would be an absolute mess.

She's a wonderful talent full of charm and wit, but her "I'm The Greatest Star" at the benefit concert version of the show a few years back fell completely flat (not to mention the fact that she looks all wrong for it too.)

Updated On: 4/7/07 at 12:02 AM

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:02am

In keeping with the Lincoln Center "mission statement" the only person born to play Fanny Brice is Streisand. You can name all the up and coming stars and existing stars you want who can and would do the role justice, but no one fits the mission statement, except Streisand.

Funny Girl is just one of those shows that is unbelievably linked to its original star, primarily because of the popularity of the movie.

Perhaps if Merman had played Rose in the movie version of Gypsy, there wouldn't have been as many revivals and we wouldn't be hailing Lupone in the role.

[ahmelie]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:06am

I think that Funny Girl is too good material not to be revived just because Streisand was in it. I love Barbra to bits and pieces but it pisses me off a little that this show can be revived just because everyone's so attached to her in the role.

[baddadnpa]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:07am

It should be revived, but not by Lincoln Center if it doesn't fit into their "stars born to play" mold. I'd love to see the show on stage - never have.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:34am

Foster as the skinny, Jewish, ugly duckling "bagel on a plate of onion roles?" Riiiiiiiiight......

Updated On: 4/7/07 at 12:34 AM

[MimiLovesRoger]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:35am

I have 'Don't Rain On My Parade' stuck in my head now.

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:50am

@ NOTHING LIKE A DAME, Ana Gasteyer did a jazzy bossa-nova-ish version of DONT RAIN ON MY PARADE & it was fab!

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 1:01am

Gasteyer was indeed quite good in the role (as she has the proper talent and comedic presence to pull it off,) but I just can't get past that straining tone in her voice when she belts. It bothered me when she played Elphaba, it bothered me when she played Mrs Peachum, and it bothered me when she played Fanny at the Pittsburgh CLO.

Her voice just has this weird dynamic where it will be all soft and mid-range and then go into this LOUD boom that sounds like it's ready to blow out. I think if she developed some vibrato it would certainly help her sound more pleasent, but I just don't think her instrument has the proper color or fullness to it to do the score complete justice (though she scored in every other aspect of the part and delivered an enjoyable performance overall.)

It's hard to explain, but I feel like, when she goes for power, that she's just hitting the notes loudly without really DOING anything with them. Am I making any sense?

Updated On: 4/7/07 at 01:01 AM

[jewishboy]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 1:21am

I understand what you are all saying, but I find Sutton Foster to be pretty awkward looking. But, I will trust somethingwicked for I did not see the concert.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 8:19am

"I'm a scone on a plate full of corn muffins!"

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 11:07am

Sutton Foster playing Fanny Brice is like Carol Channing playing Lena Horne. Just because Sutton is female and Channing is "part black" does not mean either would be right for the role. Also, jewishboy, even if you find Sutton rather awkward looking (I don't, but whatever) she's a regular Rita Hayworth compared to Fanny Brice. Even Babs was a bit more glamorous than Madame Brice. Also, when you're casting the role, to quote Sondheim when asked how he felt about Mary Martin playing the role, "You need a Jewish girl. And if she isn't Jewish, she at least has to have the nose."

[friedrichVT]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 11:56am

Mayim Bialik from Blossom . She has the look, she's funny AND she can sing. This week on :"A very Special Fanny".

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 12:17pm

Or how about that chick who played "Young Barbra" in her 2000 concert? She's got to be in her 20s now...

[morganastyle]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 1:54pm

Farah Alvin should get it. She has the most amazing voice. She would be a star!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 4:07pm

wickedfan-
Thanks for that visual. Now I see Carol dressed in that terrible costume from "The Wiz" doing a medley of "If You Believe" and "Can't Help Lovin' That Man o' Mine"

I liked Gasteyer as Columbia, and would like to see her Fanny, but she usually doesn't do much for me as a singer. Honestly though, there isn't much of anyone around now that could do it...

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 4/7/07 at 5:34pm

I actually thought that Fanny BELIEVED herself to be more unattractive than she actually was, partly because her family made her feel that way. She may not have fit the stereotypical bathing beauty mold of the day, but she was by no means ugly. The number, "Your Love Makes Me Beautiful" speaks to her insecurities about her looks. Ziegfeld wanted her to play it straight, but she didn't believe she could, so she camped it up.

Here's a link to an early photo of her. She looks pretty cute, I think.

lc
Fanny Brice Photo