Lea Michele to Star as Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL Starting 9/6; Beanie Feldstein Departing 7/31- Page 35

[binau]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:26am

Yes it’s interesting hearing Beanie - I can see why the creatives might have thought it could work. She is singing mostly on pitch and has a pleasant enough sounding voice that maybe someone thought she’d get by with her personality/‘acting’/‘charisma’/‘humour . She isn’t a ‘non-singer’ with a horrible thin voice or anything like that in my opinion. Ultimately the others just raise the stakes so much higher with that little extra flair in their voices though and it makes all the difference to changing the sound from mediocre to thrilling. 

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 8:55am

What bothers me the most about Beanie is how sort of static every song feels.  Very monotone.  Very little connection to lyric.  Her voice is pretty thin and the lack of strong acting doesn't make up for it.  It feels like she's just singing words.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 9:26am

Georgeanddot2 said: "What bothers me the most about Beanie is how sort of static every song feels. Very monotone. Very little connection to lyric. Her voice is pretty thin and the lack of strong acting doesn't make up for it. It feels like she's just singing words."

That really was the problem with Beanie - she was just singing the songs and never interpreted the lyrics. There was not a single moment of truth in any lyric she was singing - she just sang the songs.  There’s a HUGE difference between singing a song and interpreting it.  Glenn Close and Elaine Stritch are great song interpreters though their singing voices have limitations.  Beanie’s vocal limitations would have been accepted IF she knew how to interpret the songs.  And… here… we… are… 

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 10:07am

This is an all too charming clip of Julie Benko as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.....in Spanish.  https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgCHdaLvO4V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 10:07am

My few thoughts about the DROMP video.

Beanie's voice kept drifting off into nothingness.  She seemed to have limited breath control.  As often as not, I couldn't hear or understand the lyrics she was singing.

Barbra was wonderful, of course.  Julie was excellent.  Each with their singing paid respect to the memory of the great Fanny Brice.

Lea Michele IS Fanny Brice!

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 10:07 AM

[OceansJenny]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 11:05am

Oh man, I hear the Vanessa Bayers in Beanie’s Fanny… that would have 1000% distracted me live. Why??

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 11:05 AM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 12:49pm

Hello.  I came upon this video by a British You Tuber who comments on the theatre.  She has some interesting remarks about the current Funny Girl brouhaha.   https://youtu.be/hMhgLZ8pk9c

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 12:49 PM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:12pm

I can't help but be reminded of what DAME so succinctly said after the first preview:

"I do not get the excuses.  This is broadway.  This is the olympics of theater.  No one should be defending themselves for being over critical,  having high expectations, or wanting the absolute best."

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:21pm

Pardon if this has been posted previously.  This video clip is comprised of different singers attempting the final note in DROMP.  I was surprised by Stephanie J. Block.  Eden Espinosa's interpretation was wild. https://youtu.be/Dex4dq-uaZc

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:25pm

Sally Durant Plummer said: "I can't help but be reminded of what DAME so succinctly said after the first preview:

"I do not get the excuses. This is broadway. This is the olympics of theater. No one should be defending themselves for being over critical, having high expectations, or wanting the absolute best.""

Having high expectations for a Broadway performance isn't anything like venomously ripping a performer continuously because one didn't like them. One can insist on high standards while not repeated going into attack mode (not saying you did, saying many have). There have been enough comments on these threads--by people who have been posting here for years, not people signing up just to push Beanie--who found her voice light but effective and her work as an actress effective. A hopeless amateur wasn't cast here. Thus the excessively harsh posts are not about high standards, and those criticizing those harsh posts and not an example of how woebegone modern audiences don't understand what Broadway should represent.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:34pm

joevitus said:"A hopeless amateur wasn't cast here."

No, but Feldstein is giving a hopelessly amateurish performance.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:37pm

can't y'all just agree to disagree or do you find pleasure in having the same conversation over and over and over again?

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 1:40pm

JasonC3 said: "can't y'all just agree to disagree or do you find pleasure in having the same conversation over and over and over again?"

It's a chat room.  People are chatting.  Sometimes conversations are repeated or overlap.  It's OK.  Really.

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 2:15pm

Sally Durant Plummer said: "joevitus said:"A hopeless amateur wasn't cast here."

No, but Feldstein is giving a hopelessly amateurish performance."

Analogous but not exact, I wonder how people with your take would have reviewed Marilyn Miller or Gertrude Lawrence. Or what any of you think of, as David10086 mentioned, Glenn Glose? You're obviously a Sondheim fan. I doubt you'll damn Alexis Smith's Phyllis on the basis of her demonstrably weak vocals. There's a LONG history of women with less than stellar voices being acclaimed on Broadway. Thus those who enjoyed Beanie don't represent a sign of sadly lowered expectations. On the contrary, they are in the tradition. 

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 2:37pm

joevitus said: "Sally Durant Plummer said: "joevitus said:"A hopeless amateur wasn't cast here."

No, but Feldstein is giving a hopelessly amateurish performance."

Analogous but not exact, I wonder how people with your take would have reviewed Marilyn Miller or Gertrude Lawrence. Or what any of you think of, as David10086 mentioned, Glenn Glose? You're obviously a Sondheim fan. I doubt you'll damn Alexis Smith's Phyllis on the basis of her demonstrably weak vocals. There's a LONG history of women with less than stellar voices being acclaimed on Broadway. Thus those who enjoyed Beanie don't represent a sign of sadly lowered expectations. On the contrary, they are in the tradition."

 

I agree. This weird “Olympics of theater” thing is kinda weird. Singing really isn’t about who hits the highest notes with the best time and placement and breathe support. It’s not science. Singing is about storytelling through music. An okay voice—which Beanie has—can be enough if the actor really Carrie’s and tells the story and is able to access those emotions through their voice even if it’s technically imperfect. The story is what we pay for.

 

again, Beanie’s vocals alone weren’t the problem for me. I really think she could have made it work if she just threw caution to the wind and took full control of the stage, and stopped worrying about how she sounded. 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 2:48pm

Agree to disagree. Particularly for this show. I want someone who can SANG the role. She's suppose to be a star, right? Give me a star performance. That's the weight of this show.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 3:07pm

I'm sure Beanie would be great in a show that was tailored specifically to her strengths and weaknesses. Gertrude Lawrence starred in shows that were written for her and she introduced. She set the bar for those roles.

Similar to Alexis Smith in Follies, though I will note a story I'm sure you're familiar with:

"Losing My Mind" was originally to be Phyllis' song. Then it was redone as a duet between Phyllis and Sally. Alexis, who knew her strengths better than anyone, asked for Dorthy Collins, the trained recording artist, to have the ballad. In its place, Alexis asked for a dancing number that would allow her to sing a bit and strut a lot. The song was tailored to her, both she and Dorthy got a moment to shine, and critics and audiences were so taken with "The Story of Lucy and Jesse" (not the most challenging vocal number) that Alexis got the Tony.

With Funny Girl, the bar was set with Barbra Streisand. Not only on Broadway, but on film. The role was made for a genuine glorious star the world needs to see. Someone who can sing nearly the entire score and act a storm up, and make the audience weepy over the sentimentality-laden second act. The songs should be sung well, obviously. Because they were written for an actress who could sing the sh!t out of them. But they also require that magic of storytelling - the transcendence of artist and character becoming one with the music and bearing their soul with their voice. Beanie tries to hit the notes, but doesn't tell the story. She doesn't hold the character in her bones because the music isn't in her bones. And without a supernova in the role of Fanny, Funny Girl has absolutely no reason to exist. The other characters are beefed up, which is a detriment to the already flawed show. The show is Fanny. There's no escaping that, even if Ramin comes in to sing "Who Are You Now?'" and a reprise of "People" for no reason.

As a side note, I never saw Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard. Patti's vocals on the original cast recording - and the thrilling blend of acting and singing in her closing performance soundboard - make it so I could never want more from another Norma.

Now THIS Is Telling a Story Through Song

Updated On: 7/15/22 at 03:07 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 3:09pm

While they are getting rid of/ replacing things that don't work in the production, maybe they can get rid of the giant Pringle can/ lighthouse/ toilet paper roll that dominates the stage the entire show...?

[Alecohanian]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:08pm

Beanie has just announced that she will not be performing this weekend due to tonsillitis. She posted a video to her instagram. Wrenches continue to be thrown in her last few weeks of performances and i'm sure there will be much speculation regarding her absence. I feel badly for her. I was excited to see her end on a triumphant note. Hopefully all is not lost.  

[smidge2]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:08pm

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgDBnjLjciQ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:19pm

Have to chuckle at her "uhhhhh what have I missed" intro. And her kicker. "When it rains, it pours on your old pal Bean."

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:28pm

Time to pack up and go

[Penna2]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:38pm

One of my voice teachers said the best voices are in the chorus - the stars are the ones who can tell the story - if they have great voices, so much the better. 

I do admire Beanie's saying at this point you just have to laugh, re: her tonsillitis. The universe is definitely giving a loud message for her to move on. Ouch.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:43pm

And Julie's on it...

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 7/15/22 at 5:47pm

Julie Benko has been nothing but a class act through this whole mess. As kind and gracious as she is talented.