New Poll: Who Would You Like to See as 'Fanny Brice' in the Revival of FUNNY GIRL?

[Rob]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:09pm

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 12:25pm

Nicole Parker should be on this list.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 1:14pm

So should Stephanie Block.

[The Josh]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 1:32pm

I'd like to see Colleen Ballinger play Fanny.
But I'd rather see Colleen as Miranda as Fanny than Lea Michele.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 1:41pm

I'd rather See Rob play Fanny than Lea Michele.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 1:42pm

In what parallel universe is Laura Benanti "a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls"? Where are they going to find the brides that are supposed to be prettier than her for the bride number?

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 2:08pm

PAGING BART SHER:

While my # choice for Fanny would be Leslie Kritzer, I'd be perfectly happy with Laura Benanti as Fanny if PATTI LUPONE can be persuaded to play Fanny's mom!

And while you're at it, Mr. Sher, please bring in a book doctor to fix the clunky libretto!

[JRybka]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 2:24pm

Leslie is my number one choice but Shoshanna Bean is AMAZINGLY TALENTED! So it is like #1 and #1.5

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 3:42pm

The actress who is the most wrong for the part is in the lead. Read a script or just listen to the OBC people!

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 4:27pm

I agree with Madbrian, Nicole Parker should be on this list. Shes got my vote.

[gertiecummings]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 5:53pm

All those actresses (as much as I love them all) are WAY TOO PRETTY! Fanny Brice was not an attractive woman.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 6:34pm

None of the above. Farah Alvin.

[PennybankBill]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 9:58pm

People, the real question is who will fill the shoes of the great Sydney Chaplin as Nick Arnstein. Definitely not Lea Michele for Fanny though, whenever she sings a Streisand song on GLEE, it's like they're saying "Hey everybody! It's the new Barbra Streisand!"

[chewy5000]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 9:59pm

Does Nathan Lane count as "someone new"?

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 11:48pm

While I love all the women listed (not saying they're all right for the role), Nicole Parker deserves the role. She looks it. She's hysterical. She's a great, well rounded actress. She's somewhat of a name but not a huge star. And she has a loud, brassy, distinct, passionate voice.

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 7/15/11 at 11:49pm

While I love all the women listed (not saying they're all right for the role), Nicole Parker deserves the role. She looks it. She's hysterical. She's a great, well rounded actress. She's somewhat of a name but not a huge star. And she has a loud, brassy, distinct, passionate voice.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 12:13am

I would love to see Laura Benanti or Nicole Parker as Fanny. Lea? Meh.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 7:33am

My fear with Lea, Laura, Idina and most of the other musical theatre names mentioned is that many of them would go into the challenge of playing Fanny with a notion that they have to match or surpass Streisand's vocals with even more pyrotechnics of their own. I'm not sure that is ever going to happen or if it's even worth trying. An idiosyncratic actress who can sing might serve the show better and bring the piece back into the balance as a worthy 'Golden Age' show in its own right.

And there are many virtues to Funny Girl: a fantastic female star part, a good, sometimes great Jule Styne-Bob Merrill score, and a captivating underdog story about a performer who doesn't fit conventions but believes in her own abilities enough to rise to become the highest paid female star of her generation, playing against the feelings of inadequacy she fights in her twisting and turning relationship with Nicky Arnstein. And all of that played against the world of vaudeville and the Follies. Funny Girl was frantically written and rewritten on the road to Broadway. It became a hit with and eventually without Barbra, but it would be great if the new production with Bart Sher at the helm and some smart work and TLC on the material will be able to lift the profile and estimation of the show itself.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 9:59am

I'd like to see many others ( Lady Rizo, Nina Arianda, Nicole Parker and Anna Kendrick) on this list. (does "someone new" also mean "none of the above but someone not completely new"?)

I was much more excited about Lea as Fanny before her pandering, embarrassing and underwhelming "Don't Rain on my Parade" appearance on the tonys; which is not to say that she wouldn't be great under Sher's hopefully expert direction. It only means that it left a sour taste in my mouth.

I agree Laura Benanti is a beautiful woman but she's also a great actress and can probably pull off to a sufficient degree a "bagel on the plate of onion rolls." Isn't that exactly what young Louise is in Gypsy?

Moreover the role has been played, and I understand with no little success, by at least one outright "Hello, Gorgeous" gal before, the young Lainie Kazan.

Does anyone know if actress/director/performance artist and Mrs. Mike Mills (director of Beginners) Miranda July sings? The reason I ask is because she looks a lot like the real Fanny Brice?

[rougeduck]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 1:49pm

Natalie Weiss would be really good but with her luck she would probably get understudy. Out of these, Shoshanna would most certainly be the best.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 3:22pm

Ooh Wild Card Round! : Allison Brie (from Community and Mad Men)

The video will have us all questioning our sexuality. Unf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5cdzc3YdFI

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 5:02pm

Acting and expert makeup can make an attractive actress believable as Fanny.

(Sounds like some of you would never have cast Donna as Fosca.)

[The Josh]

Posted: 7/16/11 at 6:18pm

Allison Brie would be terrific!

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 7:13am

Marla Mindelle.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 9:54am

I find FUNNY GIRL less than a second-rate musical, with a libretto that is mind-numbingly dull. I don't want to see anyone doing it, ever again!