Lea Michele as Fanny - Funny Girl - Page 69

[Penna2]

Posted: 7/18/23 at 9:45pm

 

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 7/18/23 at 10:24pm

I thought you were done commenting 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/18/23 at 10:26pm

I’m still wondering how exactly this controversy arose over an extremely unknown actress who has evidently never disclosed her religious affiliation publicly. Did people just see that she self-identified as Cuban-American and assume? And is that not also kind of an issue? There are Jews of every nationality. Unless folks are implicitly arguing that Fanny must be played an Ashkenazi Jew, as Fanny Brice herself was. But that’s a very different argument than “Jewish actors should play Jewish roles.” 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/18/23 at 11:12pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "Jarethan said: "

The irony is that the same people who obsess about the casting of FB probably loved Nathan Lane play Max Bialystock, even though his ancestors came from Ireland and he was raised a Catholic. But that's okay. The same people are pushing for Alex Newell, born a biological male, to be cast as Effie, born a biological woman. One could argue that 'authentic' casting would rule out AN, but they don't care. The pure arbitrariness of some of these strong opinions is tiresome.

."

Infuriating how many people keep banging their head against a wall to make a pointless point. Not only is Max Bialystock, ya know, FICTIONAL, but The Producers did not promote itself as emphasizing the importance of Max Bialystock's heritage, did not emphasize the Judaism in the book in marketing/promotions, and was not produced in the context of a push for representation. I agree that representation is a nice idea but should not get in the way of solid casting, but IGNORING this context to make the same point again and again is just downright offensive by now in that it simpy discards the concerns raised by people (and not just Jews, another slur that keeps getting bandied about here)."

But also… Hamilton.. so …

I’m sure there are plenty of examples of people playing real life people who don’t really resemble them. (Heck Bradley cooper has a big fake nose to play Bernstein&hellip

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/19/23 at 11:36am

For people who are asking what the creative team was thinking, this is what the director said about Sheridan Smith, who was cast as FB on the West End. 

You don't have to be Jewish to play Fanny - The Jewish Chronicle (thejc.com)

"She is a wonderful singer, but she's a singing actress." This is true. And the fact that the award-winning star is not Jewish is irrelevant, he says. "I don't care about that. That's acting. That's an uninteresting question to me, right off the bat."

Updated On: 7/19/23 at 11:36 AM

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 7/24/23 at 5:20pm

We have friends that travelled to the city this weekend in their second attempt to see Lea in the show.  She was out again .  I’m a little dumbfounded by some of these absences.  Especially when they occur after a Julie Thursday and she makes posts from her “happy place” at the beach.  Not saying she wasn’t really sick or on vocal rest.  It just rubs me as a little insensitive  when people have spent money on tickets , travel , and lodging to see you in a show.   That’s all.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/24/23 at 8:43pm

So Lea Michele is still Lea Michele? Shocking!

(i too have been surprised by how little sniping she has gotten in these parts for missing so many shows- something I very much would NOT come after her for, but does everyone remember when Beanie took a pre-scheduled weekend off to go to a wedding or something?)

 

[George A.]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 2:39am

[bryan2]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 9:11am

So she went to the beach...what does laying in the sun have to do with her voice not being good enough to sing. I think that if the Funny Girl team didn't announce it every time she was under the weather , then there would be no controversy , but they think that it helps get people prepared for either refunding or just going to see Julie and that really is kind of a good thing. Would I have been disappointed ..yup...it happened to me with Song and Dance ,.Bernadette was out and I just got it refunded ...I was very mad for about a day they I was over it...it also happened to me with Glenn Close in Sunset, I was really angry because she was on vacation , came back on Thursday and was out the Saturday matinee. I had bough the ticket that morning at the box office and when I went to get the refund they said I had to go back to the original point of purchase ???? they said it was a group ticket and I had to go back to the group to get refunded...needless to say my arguments that I just bought it from this gentleman 2 hours prior went on deaf ears so we saw it with Karen Mason who was superb...so no regrets there ...so you never know you may end up loving another performer like I did with Karen who I am a huge fan now

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 9:29am

"So Lea Michele is still Lea Michele? Shocking!

(i too have been surprised by how little sniping she has gotten in these parts for missing so many shows- something I very much would NOT come after her for, but does everyone remember when Beanie took a pre-scheduled weekend off to go to a wedding or something?)"

Maybe because Lea saved this show and made it the Broadway show to see. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:11am

It's truly insane how much people waste their time being like "she's missed "x" amount of shows, she shouldn't have been hired! Have Julie Benko take over!". Like shut up. Don't they realize 1. actors are not machines and they are entitled to time off and 2. People miss shows all the time but I agree because the show says when she's out so much, people feel the need to attack her. It's ridiculous and they need to get a life. 

[mshalo18]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:54am

hearthemsing22 said: "It's truly insane how much people waste their time being like "she's missed "x" amount of shows, she shouldn't have been hired! Have Julie Benko take over!". Like shut up. Don't they realize 1. actors are not machines and they are entitled to time off and 2. People miss shows all the time but I agree because the show says when she's out so much, people feel the need to attack her. It's ridiculous and they need to get a life."

I will never understand why the social media manager of the FG Instagram account doesn't turn off comments on the "Lea will be out" posts. All it does is rally the Julie stans, and demand she be given the Fanny role full time. 

Granted, Lea does tend to call out when she has planned time off, but who knows why? Maybe she figures an extended vocal rest is in order. The problem is, it's frustrating as hell for people who have traveled from out of town for the sole purpose of seeing her. 

I'm at the point where I can't wait for the show to close just not to hear this anymore.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 11:25am

mshalo18 said: "hearthemsing22 said: "It's truly insane how much people waste their time being like "she's missed "x" amount of shows, she shouldn't have been hired! Have Julie Benko take over!". Like shut up. Don't they realize 1. actors are not machines and they are entitled to time off and 2. People miss shows all the time but I agree because the show says when she's out so much, people feel the need to attack her. It's ridiculous and they need to get a life."

I will never understand why the social media manager of the FG Instagram account doesn't turn off comments on the "Lea will be out" posts. All it does is rally the Julie stans, and demand she be given the Fanny role full time.

Granted, Lea does tend to call out when she has planned time off, but who knows why? Maybe she figures an extended vocal rest is in order. The problem is, it's frustrating as hell for people who have traveled from out of town for the sole purpose of seeing her.

I'm at the point where I can't wait for the show to close just not to hear this anymore."

But it's not just Lea and this show. People also did this for someone who was in Wicked. That show is one of the most difficult for the lead roles. The person underwent vocal rest, injuries, sickness. Yet people thought they had the right to be like "oh she's out so much what is this". Like shut up. Unless they are performers too and can say they haven't missed a show, they need to shut up and go touch grass or something. Things happen. Actors are human who have things come up. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 11:30am

I would love to have a count of how many performances Lea was in and how many she missed.  She couldn't do anything about Covid, her son's hospitalization and pre-arranged engagements, but it still seems like she missed a lot.  Would also love to see a count of the number of performances she performed, Beanie performed, and Julie performed.  It would just be a really interesting piece of theatre trivia.  

Overall, however, remembering that Carol Channing missed one performance in her entire career (if I remember correctly, it was because she broke down and took an over-the-counter pain medicine and was so affected by it that she could not go on.  

I have been very lucky in that department.  In 57 years of theatregoing, I have been disappointed by absences maybe 5 times.  Seriously.  It wasn't that long ago that people had to be really sick to miss a performance.  

I think it is particularly unfortunate re LM because I would suspect that, at this point, 80% of ticket sales are because of her.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 11:31am

I can't wait for the book and subsequent FX limited series on this show in a few years

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 11:43am

"Seriously.  It wasn't that long ago that people had to be really sick to miss a performance. "

Sports stars regularly miss games now due to "load management", fancy way of saying they are given time off to rest. I am willing to give her all the rest she needs because she literally saved this show.

I think it is particularly unfortunate re LM because I would suspect that, at this point, 80% of ticket sales are because of her.

Not trying to be snarky but I would say 95% of ticket sales are because of her.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 2:36pm

Zeppie2022 said: ""Seriously. It wasn't that long ago that people had to be really sick to miss a performance. "

Sports stars regularly miss games now due to "load management", fancy way of saying they are given time off to rest. I am willing to give her all the rest she needs because she literally saved this show.

I think it is particularly unfortunate re LM because I would suspect that, at this point, 80% of ticket sales are because of her.

Not trying to be snarky but I would say 95% of ticket sales are because of her."

I actually agree.  I thought that 95% sounded too hyperbolic…also people DO buy tickets for Thursday.  That said, Thursday performances would not be occurring if LM were not in it.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 9:39pm

Jarethan said: "I would love to have a count of how many performances Lea was in and how many she missed. She couldn't do anything about Covid, her son's hospitalization and pre-arranged engagements, but it still seems like she missed a lot. Would also love to see a count of the number of performances she performed, Beanie performed, and Julie performed. It would just be a really interesting piece of theatre trivia."

Id love to see these numbers. I do NOT begrudge Lea for taking time off--its a tough role, shes made those producers millions of dollars, letting her do her own thing sorta comes with the territory.

But I *do* remember the reaction when Beanie missed shows and the response is... different.

[pair-o-dice]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:09pm

Am I the only one who follows Julie Benko on social media?  Because every time she has a big concert or gig, Lea seems to take off and be "sick" out-of-the-blue the days leading up to it.  Like, Julie had a Birdland concert and live stream last night and Lea was suddenly under the weather this weekend.  

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:10pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "Jarethan said: "I would love to have a count of how many performances Lea was in and how many she missed. She couldn't do anything about Covid, her son's hospitalization and pre-arranged engagements, but it still seems like she missed a lot. Would also love to see a count of the number of performances she performed, Beanie performed, and Julie performed. It would just be a really interesting piece of theatre trivia."

Id love to see these numbers. I do NOT begrudge Lea for taking time off--its a tough role, shes made those producers millions of dollars, letting her do her own thing sorta comes with the territory.

But I *do* remember the reaction when Beanie missed shows and the response is... different."

The reaction was different because she took a lot of personal days off and when Julie came on for her, people realize how much better Julie is. That’s very different than how things are now. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:13pm

Yeah, no, the question being asked is whether Lea is taking as many "personal days" as Beanie did; sure seems like shes missing many more performances. Which is fine! But just further highlights the mob insanity that surrounded Beanie's run. She got ROASTED for taking pre-planned vacations.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:17pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "Jarethan said: "I would love to have a count of how many performances Lea was in and how many she missed. She couldn't do anything about Covid, her son's hospitalization and pre-arranged engagements, but it still seems like she missed a lot. Would also love to see a count of the number of performances she performed, Beanie performed, and Julie performed. It would just be a really interesting piece of theatre trivia."

Id love to see these numbers. I do NOT begrudge Lea for taking time off--its a tough role, shes made those producers millions of dollars, letting her do her own thing sorta comes with the territory.

But I *do* remember the reaction when Beanie missed shows and the response is... different."

The reaction was different.  But different things was feeding that reaction at the time.  People were rattled by her performance, the reviews, the box office, her appearance at a event the same day she missed a performance and posing for a pic with a defiant smirk (anyone have a link to that?), the allegations of nepotism.  It was a poo poo storm. 

Updated On: 7/25/23 at 10:17 PM

[alovingfan]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:21pm

pair-o-dice said: "Am I the only one who follows Julie Benko on social media? Because every time she has a big concert or gig, Lea seems to take off and be "sick" out-of-the-blue the days leading up to it. Like, Julie had a Birdland concert and live stream last night and Lea was suddenly under the weather this weekend."

My mind went there as well.  But I don't believe it.  

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 10:43pm

"But I *do* remember the reaction when Beanie missed shows and the response is... different."

Lea is a star and the show would not still be running without her stepping into the role and getting rave reviews. Millions of dollars in ticket sales and merchandising are due to Lea reviving the show. Due to that, people will be more forgiving of her taking time off. Seems to me most of it has been for fairly good reason, she missed shows due to getting COVID and health issue with her child. I do not follow Beanie and have no idea why she missed shows. My feeling is if her bosses were ok with it, then it is no problem (that is why there is understudy for that role)

Updated On: 7/25/23 at 10:43 PM

[sparklingtonic2]

Posted: 7/25/23 at 11:03pm

Bette's Turban said: "We have friends that travelled to the city this weekend in their second attempt to see Lea in the show. She was out again . I’m a little dumbfounded by some of these absences. Especially when they occur after a Julie Thursday and she makes posts from her “happy place” at the beach. Not saying she wasn’t really sick or on vocal rest. It just rubs me as a little insensitive when people have spent money on tickets , travel , and lodging to see you in a show. That’s all."

I understand feeling disappointed when a particular performer is out for the night -- especially if you traveled to NY particularly to see that person. I've been there and totally get it.

However, these folks work very hard, night after night, month after month. Particularly for someone doing an emotionally and vocally demanding role like Fanny, it's got to be exhausting. I think we need to be understanding that these performers have lives, and sometimes they need a break.

On a related note, these days in the UK, audiences are flocking to see "virtual avatars" in ABBA Voyage. In India, TV viewers are now watching AI-generated "newscasters." I don't mean to be negative, but there's probably going to be a day when human-written and acted shows are not the norm. So let's try to appreciate these people while we have the good fortune to see them at all.

And don't forget that understudies can be pretty good, too.

Updated On: 7/26/23 at 11:03 PM