Idina Menzel a 'Go' for Funny Girl? — Page 3

SweetLips22 said: "Just watched Sutton Foster sing Greatest star--so much mugging that was unfunny. And Shoshanna Bean highlights??-disaster.

The thing with Streisand was that her distinct and unique sound was something that only her throat could produce[obvious]. Listening to Ms Foster her voice was similar to hundreds of other talented young women.

I wouldn't put money into Funny Girl with any mentioned here. To make this sell out for a year at least you need someone like Renee Zellweger."

I can't say that I agree with you re Funny Girl. On another subject, someone proposed her name if Mame ever gets revived, and I thought that made sense. She is warm (essential in Mame), can sing more than adequately, seems right for the comedy requirements. (Whether she can do the title number, unless they completely rethink all the high kicks, is a big question).

Re Funny Girl, however, Fanny has a lot more songs and they are not easy songs. I can't imagine that any of the Mame songs (other than If He Walked Into My Life) would be anywhere near as challenging as People, Don't Rain on My Parade, His is the Only Music that Makes Me Dance, Who Are You Now (assuming they use the show score, which is unlikely, of course). If RZ ever wanted to do Broadway(a big 'if', Mame seems to me a much better fit.

The other thing Menzel has going for her is that she is Jewish and has a true glamour about her. That glamour/mystique is one of the essential things Streisand had in the role that few of the women ever suggested for the part of Fanny Brice have in turn.

Jordan Catalano said: "I don’t think you can compare theatre audiences in 1967 to audiences now or even in 2003. Back then you could still get mezz seats for $6 and not $250. So going to the theatre wasn’t something some people had to save all year for."

You are correct. In 1967 you could see any show for $3.00 in the balcony arrear mezzanine...if the show had elevated prices, e.g., Fiddler, you would pay $3.60. I saw Barefoot in the Park from about the 10th row of the orchestra for less than $4, but it was on twofers. I also remember seeing Wait Until Dark with Lee Remick at a matinee (matinees were cheaper than evenings, about 60-70% of the price on average) in the orchestra for $2.65 (don't ask me why I remember, but I was always a numbers person), which was also a twofer price; full-price tickets were $5.25 at matinees. Best of all, front mezzanine seats were cheaper than orchestra tickets for most of the 60s...it did start to change at some point, but I don't remember when. For at least the first three or so years of Hello Dolly's original engagement, orchestra seats were $9.60, but the first row center of the front mezzanine, great seats in the St.James, was $7.50. Boy do I long for those days, in terms of prices average income.

BroadwayBaby6 said: "While people may criticize the choice of Michael Mayer for the revival, it is his London revival that got great reviews and went on tour (with Sheridan Smith who is not a great singer). "

I agree - the headline here isn't Menzel, it's that the Michael Mayer/ Harvey Fierstein version from Menier Chocolate Factory is the production that is transferring. (Not a previously almost-mounted Bartlett Sher version.) That means cut Jule Styne songs ("Temporary Arrangement" and "What Do Happy People Do" for Nick Arnstein) are back in the show along with the title tune from the movie.It is also set in Fierstein's revised Follies-esque ghosts-of-the-past framing device. Could be interesting.

BroadwayBaby6 said: "While people may criticize the choice of Michael Mayer for the revival, it is his London revival that got great reviews and went on tour (with Sheridan Smith who is not a great singer). The revised book by Harvey Fierstein will probably get revised some more by Fierstein for this production. I'm very excited about this."

It wasn't a very good revival but it had a star, who really couldn't sing the score traditionally (and was not Jewish in the slightest) but was so charming that it made the show feel better than it actually was.

rosscoe(au) said: "I like how some posts got deleted and no one said anything that could be classed as slander.

Maybe this boards needs a list of who people who we can and cannot say anything critical about"

My post containing my reaction to it was also deleted (with no explanation sent to me). Surprising that someone can't state their [non-slanderous and non-discriminatory] opinion on...a website meant to house opinions? I get that it's their site and they can do what they want, but reeeeeally?

N E WAY, I want this to come to fruition. Idina's sung a few selections live over the years and can do them all well. Cornet Man, Don't Rain on My Parade (which she crushes), the title song, are all settled right into her vocal comfort zone.

p.s. I love that someone just re-uploaded Cornet Man yesterday. My previous upload of it was pulled some years ago for copyright.

nealb1 said: "This is just like when the absurd rumors started that Lady Gaga was going to do "Funny Girl" on Broadway. It makes no sense, and no legit news site is reporting this story.

We'll have a good laugh about this in a year when this doesn't happen. Just like with LG."

Mmm, no... I think this one is legit.

Now, that real question - what theater will this take?

haterobics said: "I love Idina, but isn't she way too old for the part? She's about twice Barbra's age when she played the role, no?"

If you're going to play that game and bring up how old Streisand was when she took up the role then I can just as convincingly make the argument that Streisand was way to young to play Dolly Levi. Streisand was 27 years old and in the original Broadway production Dolly Levi was played by several actresses (Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller, and Etherl Merman) all who were considerably older than Streisand (42, 54, 50, 49, 52, and 62 years old respectively). The role was clearly written for an older woman but I see no complaints on that front. If anything Menzel playing Fanny is evening things out a little bit.

b741ma said: "haterobics said: "I love Idina, but isn't she way too old for the part? She's about twice Barbra's age when she played the role, no?"

If you're going to play that game and bring up how old Streisand was when she took up the role then I can just as convincingly make the argument that Streisand was way to young to play Dolly Levi. Streisand was 27 years old and in the original Broadway production Dolly Levi was played by several actresses (Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty Grable, Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller, and Etherl Merman) all who were considerably older than Streisand (42, 54, 50, 49, 52, and 62 years old respectively). The role was clearly written for an older woman but I see no complaints on that front. If anything Menzel playing Fanny is evening things out a little bit.

"

Are you for real? The fact that Streisand was too young of decades for the role is like universally accepted and considered very high on the list of reasons why she was miscast as Dolly

That means cut Jule Styne songs ("Temporary Arrangement" and "What Do Happy People Do" for Nick Arnstein) are back in the show along with the title tune from the movie.

Temporary Arrangement needs to stay cut. It was the one clunker in an otherwise solid revival.

The discussion of age is a bit silly. The strength of the actress in the role has always been given more weight than accuracy of age. The role of Fanny Brice spans her age from 17-36, but it's not as if those numbers are contingent to the show's success (I had to look it up just now because I've never had a reason to care about it before). I saw the revival and while watching the show live, the thought of comparing Fanny's actual age to Sheridan's actual age was the furthest thing from my mind. If the age were so extreme as to be a distraction (like Carol Channing or Cailey Fleming), then it would be a rather glaring casting error, but the idea that Idina would be a distraction simply due to her age seems ridiculous.