Kelli O'Hara's presence as Fanny will make the show much less ethnic and a lot more accesible to tourists. Matt Morrison's following from Glee of course make him natural to be Nick Arnstein and Victoria Clark is perfect for Mrs. Brice.
I do NOT understand what people see in this girl. Her voice is nasally when she tries to "belt." Her version of "Don't Rain on My Parade" is like nails on a chalkboard. Awful."
I presume that's a bad joke about the best Broadway singer of the current generation? And up there as one of the greatest voices ever to come out of Broadway?
We'll forget about this in a month, when there's speculation about Bernadette Peters replacing Kristen Chenoweth in Promises, Promises. She looks young enough. Right? Then, she’ll move on to playing Fanny in this revival.
Hopefully throw it in the garbage and start over, or at least pull a lot from the film.
I personally can not tell if Lea Michele has one of the best Broadway voices of her generation because she is always auto-tuned on her television show.
"I presume that's a bad joke about the best Broadway singer of the current generation? And up there as one of the greatest voices ever to come out of Broadway?"
Michele is so far from being the right kind of funny for Fanny Brice, it's absurd. Fanny is supposed to be purposely funny, ALWAYS. Although she's often hilarious on Glee, her character's humor derives from the fact that all of her "punchlines" are UNINTENTIONALLY funny.
And count me in the "autotune works wonders" group re: her voice. Undoubtedly, Michele has a fine voice, but I think "the best voice of her generation"/"one of the best to ever come out of Broadway" is a huuuuuge stretch. Watching her sing live is like watching paint dry for me. Pretty, but so, so bland. To me, nothing about Michele is right for Fanny Brice. I actually think she'd be downright cringeworthy, but to each his own.
I am not going to speak much as to whether she could handle the demands of the role, but I will say, all joking aside, that sometimes the most obvious people for a role are ultimately the least interesting.
The actress playing Brice doesn't need to have a voice like Streisand, but more than anything (and Streisand had this in spades) she needs to be totally unique. A complete original. That is what made Brice special. She was unlike anyone.
BWWers...they're the snarkiest people...in the woooorld.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think Julia Murney is PERFECT for this part. Her performance of "People" at the Actor's Fund concert was astounding and I would love for her to get the chance to do it. I know it's probably not going to happen, but I think she would be fantastic.
Former poster Margo Channing and I used to concur that Sandra Bernhard (who was Jule Styne's choice for a revival briefly in the late 80s) would probably would have done something really wonderful and different with the material simply because she was/is so unique.
I'm in the camp that says there aren't any Broadway stars at the moment (Kritzer included) who are right for this.
A quote from the rave Kritzer got in The Times, if people are interested:
"Ms. Kritzer, handed prime fixings, is setting a table of joy, with her own flair.
They are a pair. It is no secret that Ms. Streisand was on a star trip, ad libbing, changing tempi. Ms. Kritzer plays a star with generosity of spirit, paying as much mind to ensemble and to characterization as to vocal finesse. Fanny Brice had a mouth and she had refinement. Yes, Ms. Kritzer is funny and elegant, sings a ballad meltingly, hits every high note, accurately, and holds it until you drop..."
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
.jpg?format=auto&width=365)
