Unofficial but, Lauren Ambrose is rumored to be Fanny Brice. — Page 6

Rebecca Luker has also played a Jew. That doesn't mean she could pass for the kind of Jew that Fanny Brice represents in the musical.

The Ahmanson has not been lucky with Broadway tryouts- Curtains and Drowsy Chaperone made it to Broadway and Flopped. Minsky's and Leap of Faith did not make it out of LA.

Casting a moderately talented B-List name is almost never a good idea unless you're casting as a replacement (i.e. Brooke Shields). If the producers wanted to cast a TV name, why didn't they go with Anna Gasteyer or Nicole Parker? Both are talented comics AND belters.

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Wickedfan, Sher is a great DRAMATIC director. He showed absolutely no talent for directing comedy in WOTV. I laughed once during the entire show.

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Broadwaybaby-My post was directed at Skip, not you. My post was very delayed.

For that matter, the comedy in Funny Girl is MUCH different than the comedy in WOTV. We'll see how he does with the comedy in Funny Girl.

Quick side note, though: Drowsy Chaperone did NOT flop. It was a very popular ticket for its first year and, indeed, recouped. I don't remember if Curtains recouped, but it did run a full year.

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>Curtains and Drowsy Chaperone made it to Broadway and Flopped.<

Drowsy recouped. Curtains did not, but came close and will probably have paid off in stock and amateur rights soon if not already.

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Wickedfan, Please don't get me wrong- Lauren Ambrose would probably make a good if not great Molly Brown or Sarah Brown for that matter, but she's completely wrong for Fanny.

Yes, Sher did cast Kelli O'Hara in SP, and she was magnificent. But he also cast Sherie Rene Scott as the lead in WOTV. I love Sherie- she's an absolutely wonderful actress but she was just wrong for that particular part, i.e. a WASPy actress in a latin role.

An actress has to match the role. Patti Lupone is my favorite musical theatre actress currently working the boards. I wouldn't cast her, however, as Desiree in ALNM- she would never be believable in that role even if she could sing the hell out of it. This is a clear case of miscasting, plain and simple.

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With regards to Sherie, I felt that she COULD have been, if not wonderful, at least her usual charming self if she didn't walk through the entire production.

Again, like you, I don't see Ambrose as Fanny. That doesn't mean I consider this a travesty or anything. At the very least, it will be interesting due to Ambrose's talents.

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Maybe she can. Maybe she will surprise us.

But a big part of Brice's legacy is that not only did she make a huge success on Broadway with a uniquely yiddish brand of comedy and persona, but she did so despite being the epitome of the lower-east side Jew that the upper echelon had particular disdain for in turn of the century New York. Brice's features were considered 'grotesque' in their ethnic prominence. She was the epiotme of what was considered unattractive and undesirable, and yet she became the toast of New York starring alongside the most beautiful women in the world in the Ziegfeld Follies. It was a huge personal satisfaction for the Jewish community and of course for Brice who, like Streisand, was almost zealous in her personal drive, and who like Streisand also remained incredibly insecure about her looks her entire life (Brice did actually have a rhinoplasty in 1923 to reduce the size of her nose, which caused a huge outrage in the jewish press). Fanny's very specific ethnic background and appearance remain a strong part of the character's journey in the musical

Its these aspects of the story that give me pause in the casting of Lauren Ambrose. I think in a perfect world it would be nice to find someone outside of the mold of Streisand who isn't such a far stretch from Brice's ethnic roots.

This is 2011, and, really, shouldn't we all be on the color-blind casting bandwagon by now? If I have to read another post dismissing a talented actress out of hand simply because she doesn't look Jewish enough, I'll be forced to rescind my annual donation to the ADL.

"...shoudn't we all be on the color-blind casting bandwagon by now?"

Fanny's ethnicity is core to the story, so it's a legitimate concern. It's one I think she can overcome, but it's a legitimate conversation to have.

To those who are focusing on SRS in WOTV, how about what Sher got out of Benanti? A performance no one expected. And how about Victoria Clark in Piazza? And didn't we all see a new take on Bloody Maryin South Pacific? I know this is different; it's a much more specific role. But given Sher's track record, and my admiration for Ambrose, I'm excited about the prospects.

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Acknowledging in advance that this point is somewhat irrelevant insofar as a discussion by us theatre fans of our personal preferences, opinions and predictions for what sort of Fanny Ms. Ambrose might make (wow, that was a long caveat):

I do put some stock in the almost certain fact that the keepers of the Styne, Merrill and Lennart estates have approval over whoever is chosen to play Fanny (just as they likely had approval over Sher as the director) and that they have a strong vested interest in ensuring that the choice is a good one. As she is not a proven musical theatre performer, I'd even be willing to bet that she had to audition for them in some fashion.

Now of course, they are as fallible as any director or casting director or any of us and it's entirely possible they could put their faith in the wrong choice. But if all of the authors estates, and Bart Sher, and the casting director and the producers all believe she is "the one", I'd like to believe at the very least that Ms. Ambrose couldn't possibly be as catastrophic a choice as some on this board have made her out to be. At worst -- speaking just for myself -- she's an intriguing choice and worthy of a "wait and see" attitude.

No one is Babs and no one will be. But I for one am not really interested in seeing someone go that route. I'm much more interested to see if it's in fact possible for anyone to crawl out from under that shadow and make that part their own.

And with that, I lean back and wonder what a BWW message board would have looked like in 1974 when Angela Lansbury was announced as Mama Rose in the revival of "Gypsy".

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The Press Release on Playbill.com mentions this:

"Funny Girl will begin rehearsals in New York this November. It will officially open Feb. 1, 2012, for a run through Feb. 26, 2012"

Is that, true...is that short of a run????