I had the immense pleasure of revisiting this production of FUNNY GIRL last night. I saw the show with Beanie back in May, and I absolutely loathed it. That being said, Lea Michele has done what I initially thought would be an impossible and herculean task - she has made this production a must see theatrical event for the ages.
Michele's Fanny is a riveting revelation. She grabs the audience at "Hello, Gorgeous", and she doesn't let go until her final bow. Her performance is simply astounding. I could go on and on here and just heap one laudatory adjective on top of another trying to describe her performance, but it just has to be seen to be believed.
The ugly and confining set, the tacky and garish lighting and costumes... they al just fade away with Michele steering the production. The rest of the cast is *SO* much better than they were in May. Tovah Feldshuh took a character that barely registered with me when I saw it Jane Lynch and had turned her into a loving and comical mother. Ramin Karimloo... again, another performance that just didn't land with me when I saw the show the first time, but now that he has someone decent to play off of in Michele, he is incredible.
The chemistry between Lea and Ramin is absolutely electric. It's what was missing the first time I saw this. FUNNY GIRL is a show that lives or dies by having a star leading lady that can 1) really sing the hell out of the score 2) be funny, heartbreaking, and real all at the same time and 3) act as the "glue" that ties the the rest of the cast together and gives them something to work with. With Lea Michele, you get all three of these things and more.
If you saw this before and didn't like it, GO BACK. This feels like a brand new production in the best ways possible. She really is "the greatest star", and this will be performance that goes down in history.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
performances a week barring an unforeseen absence.
I started thinking if Funny Girl had one. Would it be the soloist for His Love Makes Me Beautiful? Or am a missing another character?.jpg?format=auto&width=300)
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