Michele, Benanti, O'Hara, and Parker in the running for FUNNY GIRL... — Page 3

What an impossible casting job to be done as there is no way to please everyone. And what an incredibly tough role to take on as a performer. Poor girl will have naysayers waiting for her to fail before she even has a chance to sign the contract. I do not envy the casting team or the woman who lands the role AT ALL. Have my own opinions of course of who I'd love to see in the role but will 100% support whoever gets cast and wish them well. An interesting choice that was brought up in another thread was that of Lady Gaga. I actually think that would be very interesting. If the show does it's out of town run in L.A. this coming January, how soon before do you think they'll start making announcements?

Gaga would be an inspired choice and I know she has expressed interest in doing something Broadway related. I doubt however that the execs would let her off for an extended period of time, it would have to be a limited run.

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I personally love the idea of Leslie Kritzer or Marla Mindelle playing Fanny. And though people might say that they're too old (or older for the role) I would love the idea of Laura Benanti or Julia Murney. I think Lea Michele could/should do it if she doesn't overact because that ish is annoying as hell. Also, she (Lea) already sang 'My Man' numerous times including this years Musicares and on the upcoming Glee: The Music, Volume 6 so we already know she's gunning for it.

A (the only one?) poster on The Post mentioned Krysta Rodriquez and I thought, "Duh." Did/does anyone else thinks she'd do a good job?

As much as I dislike Lady GaGa, she might not be a bad choice. I would be interested in hearing that kind of music sung by her.

I love the Marla Mindelle choice the best.

And as much as I adore Krysta Rodriguez, she'd never be able to sing the score.

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Okay, I also love the idea of Marla Mindelle too. She doesn't play I remotely Fanny-like character in Sister Act, but has definitely showed she has the chops for this type of role. Her voice is interesting and powerful, and has great comic skills. I am really really liking the idea of her in the role. I would also probably die if she was cast in the role.

This thread makes me sad... I think a revival shouldn't be put on until the only theater-goers remaining are people who only know Streisand by her name, but not her work (or at least familiar with only a small portion of her work).

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This is one of those shows where you wait patiently until the right person comes along for the revival. You don't plan the revival first and hope the right person comes along.

I feel the exact same way, best12bars. For me, Kritzer is that person- the obvious choice who, while not a name, is almost universally regarded within the community as the person whose gifts are made for this role (not to mention the fact that she did the role ten years ago to rave reviews in the major New York papers, so she's proven she can deliver the goods.) If names like Kelli O'Hara and Laura Benanti are making it onto the list of possibilities, I have a hard time having much faith in Bart Sher's vision of the show.

The main thing anyone is going to need to triumph over Streisand's shadow is a unique sense of comedy that can help define the role on their own terms. That can't be crafted or shaped in a rehearsal room. You have to be born with it, and none of the women in the article other than Kritzer and Parker have demonstrated anywhere near that sort of capability.

It's funny that the casting process for the revival seems to already be mirroring the original. Back then, the producers originally pursued a bevy of "name" actors before finally going with the lesser-known Streisand, choosing someone who could nail the demands of the role over someone with box-office bankability (although Streisand was hardly unknown at the time.) I feel like the same thing will win out here, hopefully with Kritzer. If anyone other than Sher was at the helm, I feel like she'd already have been cast.

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I think the problem with Lady Gaga at this point, aside from the fact that none of us know if she has comic chops or not, is that she is so known as her stage and public persona that I don't know if the collective audience could suspend their disbelief and watch her as Fanny Brice rather than Lady Gaga.

I agree with everything that has been said about Kritzer...she has a killer voice and she's an incredible comic actress, she deserves a vehicle like this.

I would love to see her in the part and think she'd blow it out of the park, however, there's no chance in hell that would happen. As others have said, her handlers would never let it happen at this point in her career.
I can't imagine Michele being considered seriously either.
I'm so intrigued about the possibility of Benanti in the part, I don't think she's right for it, but how I'd love to see her tackle the role in a concert production or something regional just to see what she'd even do with it.
I wonder if Nicole Parker could pull it off the way some people here think she can. I think she has a great voice but she was incredibly bland in PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE, her role suffered from bad writing but she didn't bring much to it in terms of star appeal which I feel is something major when it comes to FUNNY GIRL.
I'm curious about Kritzer. I wonder if there's any other names in the running that Riedel omitted.

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Can Nina Arianda belt?

If not, could we teach her to?

I'm just sayin...

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