Julie Benko as Fanny - Funny Girl- Page 3

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 12:24am

Jordan Catalano said: "Yes, there is chemistry with Jeremiah. I’ll go back and see her again when she’s on with Ramin.


With Julie, you get a real “Fanny”. She nails the book scenes, she completely nails the score and she just has that “it” thing that really brings the character to life. At times she even looks like the real Brice. She had tears in her eyes while singing “People” and then again singing “Music That Makes Me Dance” - you could see an actress whose dream was coming true. "


I’m glad you mentioned her slight resemblance to the real Fanny Brice - I was wondering if it was just me!

I haven’t seen Beanie yet, so I can’t compare them, but I thought the show basically “worked” tonight in a way that it doesn’t with Beanie, based on the reviews and reactions on this board, anyway.  (The second act is what it is, but I imagine it goes down easier when you know you’re never more than a few minutes away from some solid vocals?)  Julie’s “The Music That Makes Me Dance” was especially beautiful - I can’t imagine wanting to cut it, as some suggested in the previews thread.

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 12:37am

Phillytheatreguy10 said: "She's Beanie's cover. She'll play it like Beanie. Much like Simard covering LuPone is Simard playing LuPone playing Joanne. That's the gig.


That’s not “the gig” unless directed to do so, it’s not a carbon copy of the star performance. How many Elphaba or Glinda standbys have you seen be exactly the same?"

I beg to differ. That pretty much is the gig. She has been given all of the same blocking as well as all of the motivation/objectives of the scenes that the actors and Michael Mayer have created. Will she be different? Yes. She’s a different person. It’s inevitable. But as far as this version of Funny Girl is concerned she has been coached to do it the way it is done nightly. Understudies/stand-bys do not get to go out there and put there own stamp on a role. Its not how it works. 

 

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 12:44am

Bill Snibson said: "Understudies/stand-bys do not get to go out there and put there own stamp on a role. Its not how it works.”


Well, Bill. Julie (thankfully) didn’t get this memo because she did go out there and put her stamp on it. So I guess that is how that worked. 



"

 

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 1:00am

Jordan Catalano said: "Bill Snibson said: "Understudies/stand-bys do not get to go out there and put there own stamp on a role. Its not how it works.”


Well, Bill. Julie (thankfully) didn’t get this memo because she did go out there and put her stamp on it. So I guess that is how that worked.



"

"

Sure. I’m certain she killed it but I’m also pretty certain that she rolled off the chaise in “I am woman” on count 4. Thats my point. The Fanny track is just that a track. The actress has parameters and can’t veer too far from what has been set. 

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 1:33am

What an absurd idea that because an actor is doing the same blocking that they are not making a role one’s own. You can’t tell me every Elphaba for the past 19 years is giving the same performance Idina Menzel was, even though they are saying the same words, wearing the same costumes, and executing the same blocking.

of course any production is built around the actors who originated the role. Their stamp on it is unavoidable and if someone else had played the part, a production would of course look different. But any actor can and will bring themselves and their own interpretation to a part within those parameters. Understudies and replacements are not doing mere impressions of stars. 

 

[Ke3]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 1:37am

BroadwayGirl107 said: "What an absurd idea that because an actor is doing the same blocking that they are not making a role one’s own. You can’t tell me every Elphaba for the past 19 years is giving the same performance Idina Menzel was, even though they are saying the same words, wearing the same costumes, and executing the same blocking.

of course any production is built around the actors who originated the role. Their stamp on it is unavoidable and if someone else had played the part, a production would of course look different. But any actor can and will bring themselves and their own interpretation to a part within those parameters. Understudies and replacements are not doing mere impressions of stars.

"

I agree with what you're saying, but Wicked is a poor example. They are notoriously rigid with the way they want the show done. One of the biggest criticisms of the show is that nobody is allowed to really stretch the role or do anything different. 

[KitKatBoy24]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 2:15am

I’ll post a full review tomorrow, but let me say this - Julie was absolutely sensational. My heart was pounding during Parade. The producers made a terrible mistake not casting her. She seriously was giving a Tony worthy performance tonight. 

[Speed]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 2:45am

Bill Snibson said: "Phillytheatreguy10 said: "She's Beanie's cover. She'll play it like Beanie. Much like Simard covering LuPone is Simard playing LuPone playing Joanne. That's the gig.


That’s not “the gig” unless directed to do so, it’s not a carbon copy of the star performance. How many Elphaba or Glinda standbys have you seen be exactly the same?"

I beg to differ. That pretty much is the gig. She has been given all of the same blocking as well as all of the motivation/objectives of the scenes that the actors and Michael Mayer have created. Will she be different? Yes. She’s a different person. It’s inevitable. But as far as this version of Funny Girl is concerned she has been coached to do it the way it is done nightly. Understudies/stand-bys do not get to go out there and put there own stamp on a role. Its not how it works.”

This is untrue.  I have understudied a role on Broadway.  I was never given motivations or objectives by the stage manager or resident director.  Sure, I had to enter from the same side of the stage but otherwise, my performance was my own.  I looked much younger than the guy I was understudying so I played it from a different point of view.  Also- I had a much different body than the guy I was understudying so I was costumed differently.  I knew I wouldn’t look good in a tank top so we ended up bulking me up with a big military-style vest.

 

[binau]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 4:11am

My understanding is it really just depends on the specific role, production and management at the time. Sometimes carbon copies are expected and others not at all. Since some (eg Jordan) have already seen the show and confirmed it is not a carbon copy is there much more to say?

[bk]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 4:53am

"The producers made a terrible mistake." The producers include her family and this production would not have happened if it weren't for their investment, so, no they haven't made a mistake in the sense you mean.

[KFC1991]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 6:00am

I saw an interview with Estelle Parsons years ago. She said when she stepped into August: Osage, she just tried to copy the original actress. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 6:36am

KFC1991 said: "I saw an interview with Estelle Parsons years ago. She said when she stepped into August: Osage, she just tried to copy the original actress."

And she still ended up giving a wildly different interpretation of Violet.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 7:02am

Regardless if someone copies another actor’s performance verbatim, it will still be a totally different performance.  Even if they were imitating the actor.  Every actress who ever played Sally Bowles in the Sam Mendes revival gave completely different interpretations.  Julie Benko was directed by Michael Mayer and has the same outline as Beanie but she is not imitating Beanie in any way.  Physically, personality, vocal range and other factors infuse her performance innately- even if she tried to imitate Beanie, it would not look nor read the same as Beanie.  Even if she’s instructed to walk over to a table in 4 steps leading with her left foot.  

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 7:13am

As someone who has seen at least 15 actresses play Dolly, I can assure you that they all followed the same blocking but none of them gave copy-cat performances--and that included understudies.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 8:12am

I have three friends who've made careers covering roles. One did an extensive amount of road work (as he says, all the way to health insurance coverage.) They would argue mightily with the idea of a locked-in performance. Staging and individual scene blocking are of course rigidly observed. But as one friend said, to copy the existing performance would be impossible, and also throw everyone else on stage off, having to listen to one actor imitate another. Of course line readings follow the production's general textual interpretation. But within those parameters lies much room for individual stamp.

This season, I saw several covers, including Jennifer Blood on for Mare Winningham. Blood is superb, but in no way copies an actor probably 15 years her senior. Both women create a dimensional character, but Blood doesn't have the unique Winningham eccentricity, and works from a very different place, a younger, wiry, raw-boned edginess that people tell me is similar to the London performance. Both women break hearts with "Like a Rolling Stone," but both reach the devastating rawness -- that searing sense of unbidden self-examination -- in different ways. To me, seeing the show a few times, it was a master class in how actors can work within the same frame and find powerfully different takes. Both succeed..  

[David10086]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 9:07am

Lanie Kazan called Julie and gave her great advice:

 

"Have your mother call all the critics and tell them to show up for your performance this weekend and let them review YOU. It worked for me, kid ! Though Streisand still hates me to this day...." 

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 9:16am

Audio is floating on Twitter. Now THAT’S how you sing with passion and meaning. She sounds young in a way that fits the character, not like a high schooler. 

Updated On: 4/30/22 at 09:16 AM

[smallworld]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 9:21am

After hearing a snippet, it solidified my decision to choose Benko over the other option. I cannot wait for August.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 9:41am

I can't find any audio on Twitter. Without posting a direct link, will someone point me in the right direction?

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 10:02am

Now that’s how you do it folks ! 

[LUCKY2]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 10:10am

Laine Kazan.... called Julie....This happened?

Updated On: 4/30/22 at 10:10 AM

[singer234]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 10:13am

As uncomfortable as this may be for Beanie (not only is Julie a singer, she has an MFA from NYU grad acting), I think it’s amazing for the production’s future. People are now invested in a star being “created” with this role rather than finding someone somewhat famous who sorts of fits the description. I hope this production finds success because I think we will see many talented young Jewish actresses playing this role for the next 5 years.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 10:24am

LUCKY2 said: "Laine Kazan.... called Julie....This happened?"

Lainie Kazan and Shirley MacLaine called Julie.  They did a pre-show Zoom meeting with her.  

[KitKatBoy24]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 10:26am

The overall production last night was fantastic. It’s amazing what a different Fanny can do for that show. It was exhilarating. Julie was a damn star. Watching her do “Greatest Star” was like watching someone finally have their moment they’ve been waiting for their whole life. She was on fire. She was absolutely hilarious. I felt like she did her research and found ways of paying homage to the real Fanny Brice’s comedy styles, especially with facial expressions. And she did this without copying Barbra or Beanie. I was blown away. She truly had the comedy down throughout the whole show and she is such a master of her voice. She was touching so many different tones and colors of her voice that let her wow us in her ballads but also entertain us in the comedic songs. 
 

im just ranting now. She’s amazing. 
 

I stand by what I said - the producers have made a mistake. Sure, maybe Beanie’s family has money in the show. But at the end of the day it’s Sonia Friedman who is the executive producer and she has plenty of money to put up this show with anyone in the lead. Julie couldn’t been a huge discovery and honestly a big contender for the Tony. 

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 4/30/22 at 10:36am

Ke3 said: "BroadwayGirl107 said: "What an absurd idea that because an actor is doing the same blocking that they are not making a role one’s own. You can’t tell me every Elphaba for the past 19 years is giving the same performance Idina Menzel was, even though they are saying the same words, wearing the same costumes, and executing the same blocking.

of course any production is built around the actors who originated the role. Their stamp on it is unavoidable and if someone else had played the part, a production would of course look different. But any actor can and will bring themselves and their own interpretation to a part within those parameters. Understudies and replacements are not doing mere impressions of stars.

"

I agree with what you're saying, but Wicked is a poor example. They are notoriously rigid with the way they want the show done. One of the biggest criticisms of the show is that nobody is allowed to really stretch the role or do anything different."

I mean that’s kind of the point. They STILL aren’t giving the same performance, even when a show has rigid parameters.