Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The amiable Beanie Feldstein leads a streamlined FUNNY GIRL but can’t erase the indelible memories of La Streisand

• By drediman
• April 29, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, I attended the hotly anticipated Broadway revival of Funny Girl at the August Wilson Theatre. Talks of a revival have been simmering for about a decade now with a number of speculative names thrown into the mix to take on Fanny Brice, the role that famously launched the career of a young Barbra Streisand in 1964. Now nearly 60 years on, Broadway is finally getting its first revival (could it only be the first?) of the beloved if problematic musical, led by charismatic up-and-coming stage and screen personality Beanie Feldstein. For those of you unfamiliar with the quintessentially New York musical, it charts the meteoric rise in show business of the aforementioned Fanny Brice, as well as her turbulent relationship with husband Nick Arnstein.

Without doubt, the musical’s main asset is Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s iconic score (including such recognizable show tune favorites as “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade”). With a few gripes about the vocal performances (more on this later), the show’s iconic songs sound wonderfully alive, particularly the bold, brassy sounds coming from the (downsized) 14-piece orchestra in the pit. Harvey Fierstein has been brought in to tweak the musical’s notoriously problematic book by Isobel Lennar. Although pleasingly streamlined on the whole, the show’s lumbering second act still unfortunately fizzles. Michael Mayer’s production – which owes some debt to Sondheim’s Follies in the way it handles the musical’s flashback – is merely serviceable, though it moves things along at a nice clip. Ellenore Scott’s lively choreography is generally on point, notably during the otherwise visually underwhelming Ziegfeld Follies sequences. I was especially impressed by the occasional dynamic tap dancing, which is credited to another choreographer, the wonderful Ayodele Casel. In terms of design work, the ungainly but efficient sets are by David Zinn, and the sumptuous costumes are by Susan Hilferty.

Now on to the performances, which is where things get interesting. As Fanny Brice, Ms. Feldstein has taken the daunting task of stepping into Ms. Streisand’s shoes. In short, Ms. Feldstein is merely amiable in the role when she should be a force of nature. Although she has a pleasant singing voice, she doesn’t have the nuance and power to put her own distinctive mark on the score. Suffice to say, she fails to erase the indelible memories of La Streisand in the role despite handling her many book scenes with infectious warmth and good nature. Among the cast, coming off best are Jane Lynch (comic gold; now she’s a force of nature) and Jared Grimes (a genuine actor and sensational tap dancer`) as, respectively, Fanny’s mother and devoted longtime friend Eddie. Unfortunately, dashing leading man Ramin Karimloo, who plays Nick Arnstein, tested positive for Covid and was out last night; his standby Jeremiah James filled in admirably.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

FUNNY GIRL
Broadway, Musical
August Wilson Theatre
2 hours, 50 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run