Why No "Funny Girl"?- Page 2

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 11:38pm

Certain roles have the indelible stamp of their creator. It's impossible to play Stanley Kowalski without being compared to Brando (as John C Reilly just found out) or do Dolly without being compared to Channing or Brynner and The King or to do Joanne in Company and escape Elaine Stritch's shadow. It's not EVERY great role -- just the ones where actor and role have seemed to have merged and become one.

There have been several Effies who've been able to put their own stamp on the role after Holliday and the cast of Rent has proven to be eminently replaceable as will Menzel in Wicked (in that case, the show is the star anyway).

There are maybe a dozen roles where the original portrayer casts a HUGE shadow -- Streisand and Fanny Brice is one of those cases. It was written FOR Streisand and based completely on her unique talents. The Brice character is Streisand and Streisand is the Brice character and there's just no avoiding that for future interpreters of the role.

Updated On: 6/27/05 at 11:38 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 11:50pm

Well, now we're venturing into new territory. Just because Wicked has remained open after Menzel and Rent after the original cast, this does not mean the roles have been easily replaceable. I'm sure anyone who has seen Rent recently can tell how greatly it pales in comparison to the original cast. And many who have seen the original cast don't forget the stamp left on the role. I guess my examples or Dreamgirls,Rent, and Wicked were not great because these are shows that are themselves stars rather than the character being a star.

I can see why this is a valid point when it comes to Funny Girl, but I still do not see why a successful--or at least a decent--revival of this show is not doable. I think for anyone to go into a show thinking "No one can play this role except for Brando"...or Streisand, or Brynner is extremely narrow-minded. But perhaps that's the fault of the public.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 11:55pm

What about Sutton.... i know she is taller then Fanny Brice, but she is one hell of a comic

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/27/05 at 11:56pm

Sutton doesn't at all look Jewish. And though I suppose with bad make-up, they could make her unattractive, I wonder if she's "right" for it.
Updated On: 6/28/05 at 11:56 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 12:49am

Rent and Wicked have done a HECK of a lot more than just "remain open" after the original stars departed. Wicked has been 100% soldout every single week since Chenoweth and Menzel left it -- audiences clearly could care less who's is those roles. And Rent is in, what?, its 9th year now? One of the biggest hits in Broadway history. Only Rentheads and fans of the original cast have even noticed the numerous cast replacements over the years.

These aren't star vehicles. The show is the star. And even shows like Phantom and The Producers which have star roles have been able to run very successfully with cast changes. There's just something different about Funny Girl and King and I and Music Man and Streetcar where the original stars (all of whom repeated their roles on film) somehow DEFINED how those roles should be played. It's difficult for others to come along and completely be able to make those roles their own without in SOME way tipping their hat to the original portrayal. It's not that another actor can't be effective, just they have to work that much harder to break that original mold.

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 12:49 AM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 12:53am

That's pretty much what I was trying to say, Margo.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 12:55am

[TGIF]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 1:09am

Do you think capturing it on film had a major infulence on has made these performances so legendery? If Funny Girl and Cabaret weren't made into movies, would people (outside our little world) still be talking about and comparing people to Streisand and Grey?

[Jimmyojimmy]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 1:13am

Bway Baby, I can see where you are coming from, I love Sutton too, but she is way to pretty, and I cant see her being Jewish. I think (although she is gorgeous) Darcie Roberts was amazing in Funny Girl in Regional. I think Darcie is a phenomenal talent, and will be a big star soon. (If she doesnt hit it big with the roberts girls, a country band). And I dont really see Idina as fanny either. theres probably a young Jewish talent out there coming from the same backgroud as Brice that should get it.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 1:14am

I'm sure capturing these performances on film is a huge reason for making the performances so legendary. Had they not been captured on film, eventually people would not be able to compare to new takes on the roles. Not to mention the fact that capturing it on film allows everyone to see these performances, rather than just those who were able to make it to New York during the particular actor's run in a show.
Updated On: 6/28/05 at 01:14 AM

[kyle33nyc]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 1:29am

The real reason that these legendary stars can not be replaced in certain roles is that...

1) The stars were exceptional. Their talents are simply not matched by today's crop of sometimes excellent, but never legendary, performers.
2) The material was tailored to the talents. These days, shows must run and run and run just to break even. You design the production so that the performers are easily replaceable. The King & I and Funny Girl are quite a bit different than Rent and Wicked.

I think that many of these shows could "work" with certain young Broadway stars. But they would not return their investments in today's theater marketplace. And unless you know anyone who feels like throwing away a few million dollars, I wouldn't hold my breath for Idina as Fanny Brice, Adam Pascal as the King, or Eden Espinosa as... just about anything.

[Jimmyojimmy]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 1:34am

Poor Eden, she needs some better roles.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 1:52am

i know lets just get Babs to do it for a second time....

"Second hand pearls, i'm wearing second hand curls
i never get a single thing that's new"

[RustyJusty830]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 2:44am

Channing- I just want to tell you how absolutely brilliant you are and how much I respect the opinions you express in your posts.
With that in mind, I completely agree...The mold that stars such as Streisand and Preston have brought to fruition has been unsurpassed and will never escape the minds of folks who attend the theatre- Their performances are a part of history and no matter how talented an actress playing Fanny or Harold Hill may be, the memory of the originals still lingers in the production and looms over the crowded seats. I mean, Bernadette was great- but Merman IS Mamma, and always will be-- At least in the minds of the masses.

[Akbar-n-Jeff]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 5:24am

Broadway would never allow anyone freaky and strange enough to play Fanny.

The WHOLE POINT of FUNNY GIRL is that Fanny Brice was a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls.

Broadway is dominated by onion rolls.

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 05:24 AM

[stonewall2]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 6:57pm

Thank you! I have learned so much from the responses-just as I had hoped!
And Margo, you read my mind; I was considering whether it was worth risking life and limb to post a thread asking if "Wicked", the show, is the true "star". Yes, it has remained "SRO" and it seems that the "disappearing star" issues on the tour are not having much effect there either. All of this just makes me wax nostalgic about the "good old days of Broadway"!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 6:59pm

Julia Murney?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 7:17pm

I love Murney's voice and would love to hear what she'd do with that score. But, she comes off as SO mature (beyond whatever her real age is) and sophisticated and serious usually, I wonder if she'd project too old and not funny enough. She's also far from the kind of "name" that producers would prefer to have to headline a $10 million+ musical.

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 07:17 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 7:19pm

theatretrash...I had been thinking about that all along, and I don't know why it didn't come to me in this thread. I think she'd be incredible, and it'd be a onwderful opportunity for her. She's not really a name, but she'd be great.

[hypertruffle]

Posted: 6/28/05 at 7:29pm

My high school did a production of 'Funny Girl'. It was the first high school show I saw. I liked it, and based on the audience's reaction, they liked it too. Four years later (now), My band teacher, who was involved in the production showed me a clipping of a review of the show. It was practically a valentine.