Official! Lauren Ambrose to Star in FUNNY GIRL!- Page 7

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:37am

You're old enough to vote?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:39am

I don't hate Lea Michele.

I'm about as far from a Republican as you could possibly imagine.

I'm not on broadwayworld to trash actors.

I really can't imagine why you would assume any of these things, Owen, simply because I disagree with you that there is a real problem in casting someone other than Lea Michele as Fanny Brice because there is, in your opinion, a public demand for her in the role.

Can't we just all get along?

[Kad]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:39am

First off, henrik has been nothing but civil and thoughtful in this thread. Moreso than you.

Secondly, I don't like Lea Michele because of the way she has treated people I'm close to. I have nothing against her talent- and I do think she is talented. But, honestly? From how she has treated my friends, to other stories I've heard about her behavior, I honestly would rather see other people succeed over her. She is not a once-in-a-generation talent. There are scores of working actresses equally talented as she, if not moreso, who deserve recognition over her.

Thirdly. you're delusional if you think "LEA MICHELE in FUNNY GIRL" would sweep the nation in buzz. She is not a household name. She has not proven that she is anything more. She has not headlined any movie, released any album, done any concerts on her own. Her fame is tied into Glee. And Funny Girl doesn't need a household name to be successful, anyway. It's goddamn Funny Girl. If people haven't seen it, they know what it is. Since you seem convinced that I'm some old man who is hopelessly out of touch with the world- how old are you? I'm in my twenties, thanks.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:45am

She is not a once-in-a-generation talent. There are scores of working actresses equally talented as she, if not moreso, who deserve recognition over her.

This.
Unfortunately, not everyone opens a popular Broadway show at twenty, then lands a TV show at twenty-two, so it's easy to assume that she's (pardon the reference) the greatest star of her generation if you don't know any better.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:51am

Lea would definitely be a box office draw, at least for a while. She's not a megastar, though, by any means.

There are plenty of people, like me, who don't watch Glee. I just wouldn't want to see anyone, TV star or not, be "Barbra-light" in this show. She's too close to the original and not remotely good enough to compare. That much I got seeing her pitchy, whiny efforts singing "Don't Rain On My Parade" at the Tonys. It's like a little girl doing Karaoke Streisand. Not Broadway caliber. Of course, selling tickets is more important, so naturally, she should get the part, right?

Not by my book. I'm very glad they went another direction with the casting.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:55am

I love "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and hope it stays in the show. I'm particularly fond of the lyrics and the heartbreak in the song.

But I am tempted to agree with best12 that a powerhouse torch song song like My Man is better suited dramatically for that moment in the show. Perhaps Styne and Merrill knowingly chose to write something heartwrenching but not ultra robust to offset the reprise of "Don't Rain on My Parade" that shortly follows it.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 10:58am

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the cuts/book changes made for the film become part of the script for this revival, but I think they are in most other ways going to try to differentiate this revival as much as possible from the memories of Barbra and the movie.


I doubt Sher is all that worried that people will come leave the theatre complaining about the lack of film interpolations. If they do, he hasn't done his job well.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:03am

I agree, Michael. There is a very good reason the movie is well loved. It's very easy to see the show benefitting from several changes suggested by the movie.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:05am

I don't think they'll do a side-by-side musical number comparison, but audiences will be wondering where that "big number" is that Streisand sang at the end.

They were smart enough to add "Maybe This Time" into Cabarat after the film came out. They knew modern audiences (or should I say post-film audiences) would miss it.

And "Listen" has now been added to Dreamgirls.

Granted, neither example involved licensing a song from another composer.

EDIT: And Grease added movie songs, too.

Updated On: 8/4/11 at 11:05 AM

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:11am

Joey, you won't be hearing her sing My Man because it isn't in the score. It was interpolated into the movie.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:11am

"but audiences will be wondering where that 'big number' is that Streisand sang at the end."

Yes, but by then it'll be too late for them to get their money back, so no harm done!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:18am

Nick could use more material - and it would give Fanny/Ambrose some time offstage. I rather like "Sleep Now, Baby Bunting," which had been cut during the Boston run, but was used at the Actor's Fund concert about 10 years ago.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:20am

Bwahahahahahah!

The producers win!

I'm not saying the show will automatically suck with out it. But the song will be missed. Hopefully they can do something with the arrangement and interpretation of "Music" to help try to match the impact people have come to expect, having seen the movie.

Either that, or just license the damn song.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:23am

BTW-Apparently I now have to say that Fanny Brice is the most iconic FEMALE Jewish role.

No, that would probably be Anne Frank.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:25am

What he really meant to say was "Iconic Female Jewish Role in a Musical On a Thursday."

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:25am

Pardon my ignorance about music licensing, but isn't it possible that it is cheaper to license My Man than it was 50 years ago?

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:28am

I was wondering the same thing. I was also wondering if/when the song is public domain. Brice sang it 90 years ago. And it wasn't a new song then. I'm thinking the copyright is close to running out.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:36am

I found a reference that the lyrics to My Man are the property of Billie Holiday (her estate, I presume?).

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:41am

Actually, besty, I disagree. T

hey would be wiser to stick with "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and NOT interpolate "My Man."

It's a great song. It just is. Just listen to Judy sing it to see how great it is(and this is Judy in 1965, when she was not at her best):

http://youtu.be/mz0knx0auM0

As an eleven o'clock number for Lauren Ambrose, "Makes Me Dance" could stun people. If they use "My Man" the eleven o'clock number, it will just be another opportunity for people to leave thinking about Streisand.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:43am

Wiki says it was originally a French song called "Mon Homme" (I have a recording of that, but didn't realize it actually came first) in 1916. So it's 95 years old now.

The English lyrics came later (probably for Brice at the latest, and she sang it in 1921).

Billie Holliday did a modified version of the song later on, and her estate probably owns the copyright to that, but not the original song or the Brice version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_Homme

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:46am

We'll just disagree then, PJ.

I've heard Judy sing the song before, and I just listened to your clip again. It's just not as good as My Man, with nowhere near the impact.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:48am

I agree with joey and plus MY MAN does not really express the story at that moment: "but there's one thing that I got", at this point Fanny don't got Nick, "he's not much on looks" Arnstein's "looks" are discussed and praised many times.
An argument could be made that Fanny is using the song to express her emotions but you have a great (IMO) song that fits perfectly, use it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:51am

The song is a "concert song," not an exact interpretation of the plot at that point.

Fanny, in the movie, uses her own life and pours it into this, her signature song, at that point, but it's not a literal interpretation of the events in the story.

Actually, I think it would be a little weird to do that in a "concert song" unless the performer, composer, and everyone else involved are all psychic in the story.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:53am

Billie Holiday's estate does not own the copyright on her version. That's just an Internet mistake, where those lyrics sites sloppily say songs are "by" the singers who made them famous. ("Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland" etc.)

Billie Holiday did collaborate, however, on the lyrics to the songs "Strange Fruit" and "Lady Sings the Blues."

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/4/11 at 11:56am

Thanks for clarifying, PJ. I thought maybe Holliday might have added some original lyrics or something, since I knew she was a songwriter.

Still you can't add lyrics (and in this case she didn't) and suddenly own the rights to the original material. It doesn't work that way.