Interview: Hannah Shankman of FUNNY GIRL at Ohio Theatre

The road to success for Hannah Shankman has had plenty of roundabouts. Many a time she thought she was headed one way, and then she seemed to be veering in another, only to return to her original path.

That is certainly true for the performer’s journey with the show FUNNY GIRL. Shankman plays the lead role of Fanny Brice on the national tour, which runs March 25-30 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street in downtown Columbus).

“I auditioned for FUNNY GIRL when it was on Broadway. I didn’t get it,” Shankman said. “Then, when the national tour came around, I reached out to my agent. I got an audition, got pushed through to call backs, had a final …. And I have been on the road ever since.

“That happens a lot in this business. Something is never over until it’s over.”

And for the last year and a half, the tour has never been over for Shankman, who was an understudy for the Brice role before taking it over full time in Sept. 2024.

“Hannah is a marvelous Fanny Brice. She brings great intelligence, humor, and authenticity to the role, and she’s a terrific singer,” director and Tony Award winner Michael Mayer told BroadwayWorld. “I’ve had the pleasure of seeing her rousing theatergoers to their feet for a year now, and I’m delighted new audiences across America will also revel in her performance as she takes on the role full time.”

FUNNY GIRL is Shankman’s fourth national tour, having previously worked on THE BAND’S VISIT, LES MISERABLES and RENT. She has also been in Broadway productions of WICKED, LES MISERABLES, SIDESHOW, and HAIR.

Yet, she admits there’s something magical about playing Fanny Brice.

FUNNY GIRL, which was created by Jule Styne (score), Bob Merrill (lyrics) and Isobel Lennart (book), tells the story of Brice, a comedian and Broadway star, and her contemptuous relationship with Nicky Arnstein. When it opened on Broadway in 1964, FUNNY GIRL was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Sydney Chaplin) and Best Actress in a Musical (Barbra Streisand) but didn’t win any category.

When it was released as a movie four years later, FUNNY GIRL was nominated for eight Academy Awards and netted Streisand her first Oscar.

“It's just such an iconic role. I've always felt very connected to it,” said Shankman who played Brice eight years ago in a regional theater production at Arrow Rock Lyceum in Arrow Rock, Mo. “I saw the movie when I was younger, and Barbra Streisand’s performance really impacted me. When I heard it was coming back to Broadway, I was absolutely ecstatic.
“Fanny is this iconic, powerful Jewish woman and I, as a Jewish woman, identify a lot with her. There are so few roles (like Brice) in the musical theater canon.”

Shankman is the lynchpin in a extremely talented cast. Joining the soprano are Stephen Mark Lukas as Nick Arnstein and Melissa Manchester as Mrs. Brice. Lukas was an understudy for Arnstein when the show was on Broadway as well a member of THE BOOK OF MORMON cast on Broadway and has been television shows like Gossip Girl and FBI: Most Wanted.

Manchester is known more as a pop singer with 18 songs hitting the Billboard charts, including “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” Manchester was the first artist to have two Oscar-nominated songs in the same year with “Through The Eyes Of Love” from Ice Castles and “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from The Promise.

Rounding out the rest of the cast are Leah Platt (Emma), Joel Douglas (John), Cheryl Stern (Mrs. Strakosh), Christine Bunuan (Mrs. Meeker), Izaiah Montaque Harris (Eddie Ryan) and David Foley Jr. (Tom Keeney).

When asked why people should come to see this show, Shankman laughed ruefully.

“Oh my gosh, why shouldn't they?” she said. “The score’s iconic with songs like ‘Don't Rain on My Parade.’ The tap dancing is incredible. It's a beautiful love letter to the theater.”

One of Shankman’s strengths in FUNNY GIRL is making every change look seamless. The actress makes 22 costume changes throughout the show.

“I wouldn't be able to do that without my incredible star dresser Matt Henry,” she said.

Even with a dresser’s help, accidents can happen. During one performance, Shankman slipped into a wrong set of tights and had to be cut out of them before she could return to the stage.

Offstage, living out of a suitcase, even for a tour veteran like Shankman, takes a toll.

“You’re moving around a lot and dealing with the changing weather, venues and hotels,” said Shankman, who will be making her first visit to Columbus when the tour rolls into town.

“However, it’s so important to bring this show to audiences across the United States. Many people,  specifically children, don't get exposed to theater or don't have the ability to go to Broadway shows. This is our way of bringing Broadway to them.”

Shankman knows the importance of exposing theater to the younger members of the audience. Both of her parents were active in the dramatic arts when she was growing up.

Seeing her mother perform in a community theater production of PETER PAN was one of the defining moments for the actress.

“When I saw her on stage, I understood that acting was her job and I just immediately was like, ‘Ooh, I'll be an actor when I grew up,’” she said. “I never looked back, really.

“(Acting) is unlike any other profession. You go to the theater and you forget about all the things that are happening in your life. You get swept away in these stories. That can be a very cathartic feeling and it can also make you think about what you want your life to look like.”

At times, the profession has been an uphill climb. When she was looking at colleges, Shankman was rejected by every musical theater program she applied for. Eventually, she enrolled at the University of Michigan for art history but soon afterward, she transferred into the school’s straight acting program.

Shankman ended up leaving Michigan’s program early after she was booked on a national tour of RENT.

The one thing Shankman learned was to believe in herself.

“Acting is a relentless business,” she said. “The biggest thing I’ve had to overcome is shooting myself in the foot and doubting myself.

“As long as you're your own cheerleader, you can move forward. You learn the sky’s the limit. And you get a lot of second chances, hundreds of them.”

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