Will Funny Girl EVER have a Broadway revival?

[MannLove]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 5:39pm

We in Los Angeles were awaiting, maybe not too anxiously, the Lauren Ambrose pre-Broadway revival several years ago. It fizzled. Any idea if this show will ever see Broadway again? And who would fill Streisand's role?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 5:48pm

Rosie O'Donnell has confirmed she is playing Fanny Brice's mother in an upcoming B'way revival. No word yet on when it will open, but we'll see more news of the revival surfacing after B'way reopens. Fanny has not been revealed yet.

[nmartin]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 5:51pm

Fix the book.

Then, we'll talk.

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 6:20pm

Yes. We will the Rosie ODonnell revival with Lady Gaga. Though I’ll be honest I had really hoped for the Lea Michele revival

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 6:29pm

I think it will eventually, it just might bomb. The show really lives or dies by its leading lady and the requirements of the role are pretty specific. Finding someone who is genuinely right for the role who can also sell tickets has been a challenge for decades.

I will say I don’t think the book is as bad as people give it credit for. It’s no Gypsy, but it’s solid. I think the biggest issue is that every number without Fanny is a stinker. But you can’t cut them because then no one will have anything else to do and Fanny will never have time to change costumes or catch her breath.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 8:10pm

Rosie ain’t confirmed nothing

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 8:28pm

A revival will depend solely on a star who can create a sell out sensation, so the book being “fixed” honestly shouldn’t even be an issue.

[ggersten]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 10:47pm

Has any revival/revisal “fixed” a book to a commercial success?

[Tag]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 10:54pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "Rosie ain’t confirmed nothing"

Yes, she has.  Multiple times.

Also this is the Idina led revival, for those wondering.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 11:35pm

Idina is about to turn 50....

[MannLove]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 12:06am

Idina doesn't look very Jewish either. Speaking from experience...yes, I saw the Streisand original three times at the Winter Garden in 1964...the two big production numbers, His Love Makes Me Beautiful, and Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat were excellent. Plus, Coronet Man and The Music That Makes Me Dance, which were both dropped in the film, were also wonderful. Just listen to the score! For anyone with memories of the original, there is no one alive today who could create the magic of twenty-two year old Barbra.

[Joshua Rosenthal]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 1:07am

Theatrefanboy1 said: "Yes. We will the Rosie ODonnell revival with Lady Gaga. Though I’ll be honest I had really hoped for the Lea Michele revival "

While I think Lea Michele would make a good Fanny, after her true self was revealed by former cast members and crew, many ppl may not be rushing to see her. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 2:59am

I cannot fathom for anything why anyone would want one. Listen to the OBC or soundtrack and be satisfied. 

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 3:05am

ggersten said: "Has any revival/revisal “fixed” a book to a commercial success?"

Arguably, Hal Prince's Candide in 1974. And Annie Get Your Gun got a "PC" rewrite in 1998, and that production certainly a hit (although that book would need another rewrite to be palatable today). The Kiss Me Kate revival in 2019 had significant rewrites and was mostly received warmly, although it was a nonprofit run, so "commercial success" isn't really applicable here. And so many revivals get tweaked here and there, not enough to be considered total rewrites, but notably different texts from the originals--Company to varying degrees in each of its three revivals, is the example that comes to mind, but all three musical revivals in 2018--My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Once on this Island--changed their original texts in some way.

But I don't think that what Funny Girl needs is a completely new book, but rather a director who can bring truth to material that is often played broadly and surface-level, embracing the gender politics inherent in the story as the conflict driving the show rather than hoping to brush past them. That's why I was so curious to see Bartlett Sher's take on the material.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 3:16am

but all three musical revivals in 2018--My Fair Lady,Carousel, and Once on this Island--changed their original texts in some way.
 

Not to thread jack, but how did Once on this Island change its text? I don’t remember any changes to the material other than new orchestrations and vocal arrangements.

I really hope the Idina rumor that’s been circling around for at least a year doesn’t come to fruition. Her age isn’t even my biggest issue with the casting, although she’s definitely long-in-the-tooth for the role. My bigger issues are a) she looks like a supermodel and b) she’s not funny. Would they just call it Girl? Lady or Woman would be more appropriate.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 7:09am

ggersten said: but all three musical revivals in 2018--My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Once on this Island--changed their original texts in some way.

The My Fair Lady revival did not change a word of the original text. The only thing changed was the staging of the ending. The text was completely intact.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 9:44am

“Yes, she has. Multiple times.”

She blurted out words for a production that was never happening to begin with. There is no Rosie production

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 10:38am

MannLove, yes it's hard to believe that the Lauren Ambrose revival of "Funny Girl" was announced not quite 10 years ago.  Bobby Cannavale as Nicky Arnstein, too.  Right when rehearsals began, funding fell through and nothing came of it.  I live in LA and have various theatre subscriptions, including The Ahmanson where it was going to play before going to New York.

The Rosie & Lady Gaga rumors have been around for many years now.  The rumors started right before LG's "A Star Is Born" was released.  As if to suggest that because LG played one Barbra role, she's now to going play another.  So absurd.


Lea Michelle would be the worst choice to play Fanny Brice.  She doesn't want to be FB - she wants to be Barbra Streisand.  

As far as Idina, when those rumors started a few years back, it was just rumors.  No reputable news agency reported it.  Never going to happen.

That's the power of the internet in this day and age.  Someone posts something, then it becomes "the truth," and when it was never going to happen in first place, the truth gets dismissed because it was read online.  Ugh!

Updated On: 2/16/21 at 10:38 AM

[TaylorF221]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 11:00am

nealb1 said: As far as Idina, when those rumors started a few years back, it was just rumors. No reputable news agency reported it. Never going to happen.

The thing is this WAS happening and still might happen. This wasn't just a "rumor", Sonia Friedman holds the rights, and was transferring her London production with Idina to a Shubert theatre. The book is being rewritten again by Harvey (after he rewrote the London production) as a 'memory play' to account for her age. Just because no news source reported on it doesn't mean it isn't true. Sonia had created an LLC for it and was actively raising investment for the production. 

 

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 11:18am

TaylorF221, time will tell.  

Updated On: 2/16/21 at 11:18 AM

[TaylorF221]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 11:58pm

nealb1 said: "TaylorF221, time will tell."

Yes, time will tell if this revival will be a victim of the pandemic. However, it was never just a rumor and was actively being produced for what would have been this or next season, depending on which theatre became available.