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

You're old enough to vote?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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

"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!

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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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