Jessie Mueller as Fanny Brice: Why has this not happened!?

I am intrigued by your suggestion after recently seeing Jessie Mueller in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." But before there is the long awaited Broadway revival of "Funny Girl," I think someone should do an overhall of Isabel Lennart's original book, which was only serviceable for the stage version and disgraceful for the film version since she allowed Barbra to hog all of the scenes. None of the characters except for Fanny,Nick, and Florenz Ziegfeld are fully realized in the film version of the show. I also hope that all of the songs from the Broadway version of "Funny Girl," with the exception of "Rat Tat Tat" are included in the new script, leaving out "My Man" in favor of the closing number, "The Music That Makes Me Dance," which Jule Styne and Bob Merrill wrote for the original production.

I thought exactly the same thing when I saw ON A CLEAR DAY last year. Jessie's rendition of "Every Night at Seven" blew me away!

After seeing Edwin Drood a couple of weeks ago, I think she could handle comedy well. I would love to see her take on Fanny Brice.

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Updated On: 12/1/12 at 01:14 PM

Roundabout would be wise to do a Funny Girl revival. They've redeemed themselves with Anything Goes and Drood, as far as I'm concerned. Mueller would be sensational.

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If it didn't happen with Leslie Kritzer, it's not going to happen with Jessie Mueller.

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^This! I've NEVER understood the Kritzer appeal. I find her bland in everything, and ver voice really irritates me. I liked her in Sondheim on Sondheim enough, but everything else I've ever seen her in has been mediocre at best.

I think Mueller is FAR more talented.

It's nice to dream, but it would be a foolish project, sure to lose money.

If someone really wants to lose money, have a bit of class about it and produce a new show that was actually written for Mueller, how about that?

Also-maybe Jessie Mueller would rather not have a career of re-creating Streisand roles? (I mean this will be the second role Streisand played that she'll play if it ever comes to fruition.)

Sure, Mueller has a unique look and a strong voice, but I don't think she's anywhere near as ideal a fit for FUNNY GIRL as some other people here seem to think.

Fanny Brice requires someone with an incredibly unique and specific comedic sensibility. Say what you will about Leslie Kritzer, but she has that to a t, which is why she had such success when she played the part. I've found Mueller perfectly lovely in everything I've seen her in thus far, but she's not a particularly dynamic personality, which is the fundamental requirement for a character who proclaims herself to be "the greatest star." Lest we forget that the New York shows Mueller has popped in have been ensemble pieces like DROOD and INTO THE WOODS. Her part in ON A CLEAR DAY didn't require much in the acting department, so her chops carrying a piece on her back are largely unproven.

I'm curious to see more of what she can do in the coming years, but I see her finding more success as an ingenue than as a comedic character actor.

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Updated On: 12/1/12 at 02:56 PM

"The Music that Makes Me Dance" AND "Who Are You Now?" are replaced in the film by a new song, called "Funny Girl".

Which never compared to the songe it replaced.

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little_sally, the kind of unique personality I'm talking about is inate in the performer. Look at Nina Arianda. Yes, she had one hell of a role to show off what she could do when she broke through in VENUS IN FUR, but even in listening to her talk in interviews, you completely grasp the vivid personality that makes her unique, which she totally brings to all her performances. That's critical to this part, and I just don't see that in Mueller.

I'm sure this will be a controversal statement to make, but I think the fact that she's proven to be as versatile as she has been is almost a hinderance when you're talking about a role like this. Look at Streisand- no one else could do what she could do, and that's a huge part of the urgency she brought to the role. Like Fanny Brice, her gifts were very specific and very much unlike those of her peers. It's crucial to the story that Fanny not fit in with the more conventional girls she's surrounded by, and I'd say Mueller is much more conventional than most who would ever be considered for this role. Her weird type (which so oddly straddles the line between ingenue and character actor) is a big reason behind people's fascination with her, I think.

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Updated On: 12/1/12 at 03:07 PM

Love that there is some support for this idea from others besides me! I completely disagree with your assessment of Kritzer, somethingwicked, and I think there is something about her that always makes me feel like I'm watching Leslie Kritzer, and not watching a character or a show. I agree that I have never seen her get lost in a character, and for me, one of the most important attributes in a Fanny is authenticity. The show rests on her back, the audience needs someone with the charm to pull them through what can be a plot that drags a bit. To say that she only "pops" in ensemble pieces is a bit of a slight to Jessie Mueller. Look at the names she was competing against in those productions. Amy Adams, Donna Murphy, Chita Rivera, these are HUGE people to have to share a stage with, and she was a standout in both Into the Woods and Drood.

I also disagree that Mueller doesn't have innate charm as a performer and honestly, I don't see her as an ingenue at all. Betsy Wolfe, her co-star in Drood, IMO is much more of an exciting new ingenue type. Mueller, to me, has not gotten enough opportunity to show her comedic chops, and I think Drood is a HUGE step in the right direction on that front.

Anyway, obviously this is a far-off fantasy, and possibly more realistic for a production in her hometown or regionally somewhere, but I really do believe she'd be wonderful. Obviously if someone wants to write or build a show around her talents, I think that's a fabulous idea. Can't wait for it.

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Updated On: 12/1/12 at 03:23 PM

I do think she has an individual specificity, though. I would absolutely say she does. I guess we have yet to see that fully borne out onstage, but I would imagine she'll have plenty of opportunity in her future to prove that she can carry a show and, more than that, that she has something unique to bring to the table.

I'm just happy to see someone newer to the New York theatre scene have such early success, I hope this is just the beginning for her.

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Updated On: 12/1/12 at 03:28 PM