Lea Michele to Star as Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL Starting 9/6; Beanie Feldstein Departing 7/31- Page 34

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 9:04pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "the audiences go wild for her vocals every night.”

Where is style? 
Where is skill? 
Where is forethought? 
Where's discretion of the heart? 
Where's passion in the art? 
Where's craft? 

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 9:13pm

One additional thing I think is weird is that the source in the The Daily Beast claimed to care about Beanie. They say “We should have cared for her more” or done better by her. But they’ve done a tremendous amount of damage by blabbing to the media about everything that’s happened backstage. They basically threw the girl under the bus, laying bare an extremely sensitive and humiliating situation for all the world to see, including very personal information that I’m sure Beanie would not have wanted to be made public. The situation is still ongoing. The production is still open. These people still have to go in to work. It seems completely unprofessional and tacky, and not at all sensitive to Beanie’s professional future or emotional well-being.

Updated On: 7/14/22 at 09:13 PM

[Penna2]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 9:22pm

Sally Durant Plummer said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "the audiences go wild for her vocals every night.”

Where is style?
Where is skill?
Where is forethought?
Where's discretion of the heart?
Where's passion in the art?
Where's craft?"

For anyone interested, there are boots of Beanie and Ramin singing You Are Woman and Who Are You Now on You Tube, along with him singing Temporary Arrangement. IMO the Who Are You Now was her best number in the show - her soprano worked with the song. He overwhelmed her at times, but I wouldn't expect him to "dumb down" and believe he brought her singing level up in this number.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 9:25pm

 PipingHotPiccolo said: "the audiences go wild for her vocals every night.”

Of alllll the bullsh*t you've spewed over your grand total of a month of being here (whew!) that is the biggest load yet. HILARIOUS lies are the best ones!!! 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 9:32pm

Actually, with the exception of "People" and whenever they got really nasal, I thought her vocals were good, and sometimes lovely, although I didn't like most of her phrasing. She sang the songs, but didn't interpret them. My bigger issue was with her characterization and line delivery in the book scenes. All the dialogue felt forced, and she never commanded the stage. It needed to be a natural fit, but it just never clicked for me, and I didn't believe for one second that she was Fanny Brice. 

Watching videos of Sheridan Smith in London, her voice really doesn't sound any better than Beanie's, but it works for me, because she's successfully channeling a believable character through her phrasing, facial expressions, and physical performance.

Updated On: 7/14/22 at 09:32 PM

[shocktheatre]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 9:48pm

Piping Hot Piccolo:

"I thought they were fine, but i'm not a theater geek who was demanding Barbra vocals. I'm willing to concede that WITH a vocal powerhouse, the show might work; without one, i though the problem was the horrible story/book, shoddy production, not Beanie.

but to answer your question: the audiences go wild for her vocals every night. i totally get that THIS crew demands more, and that audiences will eat almost anything up, etc. etc. But are we now going to add "no one even likes her vocals at all" to the list of falsehoods that have been heaped upon this poor woman?"

 
OMG I just WEEP for the poor woman Beanie. And God FORBID  "This Crew" or any "theater geek" or paying audience expect a musical on BROADWAY be cast with actors who can sing the score. Oh that is just too much to ask for $200+ per seat. And what is this "no one even likes her vocals at all"?

And have you attended EVERY performance to hear these audiences go WILD for her "vocals"?

Vocals? My air conditioner is more melodic and can project past a few feet.

Iit's kind of apparent that no one even likes her vocals at all, otherwise the poor woman wouldn't have been shoved out the door so soon. As for the non-loving crowd that doesn't worship the dulcet tones ("vocals" of the poor woman BF, we'll leave out the critics that documented her vocals for now. But alas, there's the producers who fired her, the tourists who are not buying tickets, and so on. 

Have they recorded a cast album with BF's vocals? I await. I am sure it will sell llke hotcakes! If not, they can leave them in gay bars in little freebie stacks in the corners. You know, where they leave old paperbacks. Oh the thrill of the BF vocals instead of an old Dean Koontz novel!

Has there been a rush for tickets to witness BF and her vocals in her last tortured weeks? No? Well, there's that.

Perhaps there's a Starbucks near the theatre. They could leave out tickets there so unsuspecting victims can be awash in splendor at BF's vocals.

The only thing I agree with the Piccolo: the physical production of this Plan 9 FG is abysmal.

Hard to believe Mayer signed off on it. But he did. He signed off on a lot of things. 

Hopefully it will all be solved by the fabulous Lea Michele in her dream rolezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Updated On: 7/14/22 at 09:48 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 10:18pm

And have you attended EVERY performance to hear these audiences go WILD for her "vocals"?

They are a bored child on summer vacation who has never been to New York. Obviously. Because no one in the world thinks she can sing well, at all. Like, not even the goddamn producers of this entire show. 

Hilarious. 

[He replied]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 10:19pm

Sally Durant Plummer said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "the audiences go wild for her vocals every night.”

Where is style?
Where is skill?
Where is forethought?
Where's discretion of the heart?
Where's passion in the art?
Where's craft?"

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Exactly. Emphatically yes. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 10:42pm

ManOfLaMuncha said: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnW5oE1CSkg



too bad Jim's not still around!"

This is a gem. Thank you.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 10:50pm

Jim was amazing. It’s such a shame he’s gone. 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 10:57pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgXd-J7bQ0g

A video that compares Babs, Beanie, Julie, and Lea in snippets of DROMP.

You can hear how much weaker Beanie's vocals are compared to the other three.

[shocktheatre]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 11:18pm

At this point, I think we'd all be better off if John Cameron Mitchell warbled this at the Duplex on a rainy Tuesday night.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 11:24pm

https://youtu.be/EgXd-J7bQ0g   Barbra, Beanie, Julie and Lea Singing "Don't Rain On My Parade".

1.  Barbra was....Barbra!  2.  Beanie was....pleasant.  3.  Julie was on FIRE!  4.  Lea has a strong voice.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 11:26pm

Beanie’s vocals honestly didn’t bother me that much. I found them to be most problematic in “I’m The Greatest Star” and “People” but genuinely enjoyed her Don’t Rain in My Parade” even though it didn’t blow me away. I think if she had REALLY taken ownership of the stage in a huge way it could have worked. 

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 11:26 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 11:33pm

I went and watchrx the comparison video being talked about and while Julie Benko clearly has a more trained  voice, I found I still didn't like her inflections/phrasing as much as Barbra/Lea. Not sure if I'm just used to hearing this song a different way or if there's something about the music direction that just falls flat for me. But the versions from this revival just don't seem to have the same urgency/passion

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 11:36pm

shocktheatre said: "At this point, I think we'd all be better off if John Cameron Mitchell warbled this at the Duplex on a rainy Tuesday night."

I'd go if it was Molly Pope.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/14/22 at 11:43pm

chrishuyen said: "I went and watchrx the comparison video being talked about and while Julie Benko clearly has a more trained voice, I found I still didn't like her inflections/phrasing as much as Barbra/Lea. Not sure if I'm just used to hearing this song a different way or if there's something about the music direction that just falls flat for me. But the versions from this revival just don't seem to have the same urgency/passion"

 

I admit that—especially after hearing all the raves for Benko—I was also a little underwhelmed by Julie’s take.

 

Lea admittedly sounds really good, but she also has by far the best quality recording represented here. Barbara is head, shoulders, feet above the rest. Don’t think you can even really compare. 

 

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 12:04am

For what it's worth, having seen Julie live, I thought that she did a good-if-not-great "Don't Rain On My Parade", but where she really shined was in the ballads.  She's got a lighter voice than Barbra and Lea and doesn't have quite as powerful a belt.  I'm not a musician, but I was comparing different recordings of "Parade" recently and I believe Julie is indeed singing it a half-step above the others. Barbra's original recording on the cast album sounds to be in this same key, but presumably it was lowered at some point during her run and has remained there ever since.

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 12:04 AM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 12:35am

Yeah, if that audio of Feldstein’s “Don’t Rain On My Parade” is an accurate depiction of what is happening every night at the August Wilson, no one here should delude themselves in thinking that rendition is worth even a mediocre high school production of Funny Girl.

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 12:35 AM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 12:38am

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "3. Julie was on FIRE! 4. Lea has a strong voice."

oh come off it Lea Michele ate her up

[Penna2]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 12:42am

While I'm not positive, I believe this was Julie's first performance as Fanny. If not first, from that initial weekend. So, the rookie of the group and in light of the others - a knockout.

Beanie's version was fine, she just never owned the stage when she sang. Not a natural singer like we see with Streisand or Ramin, if we want to use someone from the show...forget the training. I'm sure they put her through the ropes in the months leading up to rehearsal. I kept wishing she would just let loose and not worry so much about where she was placing her notes.

Barbra was Barbra - her instrument is wonderful and she knows how to sell a song.

Lea's excerpt was from a concert I imagine, so not playing with the same restrictions as the others. I found her voice strong and her performance intense - not afraid at all to have anyone hear her sing, but a little too mimic-y of Barbra, IMO, but that's who she learned the song from. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 12:45am

the reactions to my post above are paradigmatic of the toxic delusion im talking about here. i didnt say her vocals were that impressive, i said they didnt bother me as much as they clearly offended many of you and pointed out that audiences have received her performance warmly. critics noted this as well; and those who are honest, tethered to reality, have admitted that even if they thought she was wholly incapable of singing this score, the audiences ate it up. 

now of course i expect the usual drivel from Sutton Ross (Beanie didnt audition and fakes injuries, I'm a teenager visiting NY who has only been on these boards one month, spewing lies) but to the semi-sane amongst you: im not suggesting you are WRONG for not liking her singing; I said from the start she sounds like Vanessa Bayer's impression of a high school theater wannabe. I get why the choice to cast her was never going to satisfy you. When I saw the show, her songs (especially DROMP) got huge applause and cheers. I've heard audio of the same. My friend saw it Tuesday (hated it) but said the audience was going nuts for her. Why you refuse to acknowledge these realities is beyond me but hey, its clear how many people are enjoying this takedown of someone WHO JUST DIDNT DESERVE THIS ROLE!!! so play on. 

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:14am

It is the job of the audience to expect excellence in the theatre. It is a pity we live in a time where critics reviews mean little while less-educated audiences accept dreck to avoid feeling bad about splurging on $150+ tickets. When the theatre community allows the bar to be lowed, it does not just lower the bar for that performer, it lowers the bar for all of every professional show.

Now, there have been bad musicals and bad performances since the beginning of time. Funny Girl is not going to ruin Broadway. What concerns me is the dogmatic attempt by people who should know better (blue check twitter celebrities, ect.) to convince everyone that it is unacceptable to criticize Beanie. Because audiences don't notice. Because it's her dream part. Because anyone who dislikes her is subconsciously biased against her appearance.

Beanie is not immune to criticism. Maybe we have come to a time where 50% of Broadway audiences will go and see an amateur performance on Broadway and think they got their moneys worth. Will think it's "good enough." But to the (unfortunately diminishing) number of people who appreciate the transcendence and beauty that only theatre can give, we must strive for more. Because we deserve more.

And that 50% of the audience deserves more too. Even if they don't know it.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:38am

joevitus said: "MTM was never fired from Breakfast at Tiffany's. The show closed. It's like claiming Angela Lansbury was fired from Prettybelle."

well everyone in those shows were fired in a way. they lost their jobs!

 

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 3:41am

That DROMP comparison vid is interesting. (1) Barbra is Barbra! (2) I thought Beanie was very decent (even if I don’t personally like the tone of her voice) but you could def tell that she was a bit tentative, and I think not having that musical theater training meant that she was too busy trying to get the tempo and breathing right rather than just let go with the song. (3) Julie can obviously sing and has a lovely tone but it’s such a safe performance, with no passion. It’s like the complete opposite of Beanie where this screamed “I’m a trained musical theater performer”. (4) Lea has gorgeous and powerful pipes and was really giving this performance some energy and personality. Sounded great. But as others have said this was probably sung in a concert setting so not a fair comparison.