This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she'd never be a star, but then something funny happened-she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway.
Featuring some of the most iconic songs in theatre history including "Don't Rain On My Parade," "I'm the Greatest Star," and "People," Michael Mayer's bold new production marks the first time Funny Girl has returned to Broadway since its debut 58 years ago.
“Funny Girl” wants to be an intimate relationship drama, not a historical vaudeville pageant. This revival, despite some big rewrites by Harvey Fierstein, is still stuck around the sort of romantic cliches and hoary old body-image issues that most Broadway musicals strenuously avoid these days. Brice feels she is too unattractive to be loved by someone as dashing as Arnstein and goes through a lot of emotional abuse because of it. Scene after scene, not to mention the show’s title, continually makes the strained and distasteful point that it’s a good thing Brice is funny because she’s certainly not pretty. There are several songs that underscore this, plus the gender-typing male power tune “You Are Woman, I Am Man.” It gets really hard to take after a while.
In this touring version directed by Michael Mayer, the lead role is taken by Katerina McCrimmon, a young woman with powerfully prestigious pipes that do justice to songs such as 'People' and 'Don't Rain on My Parade.' While she doesn't look or sound like the original, she's talented enough to allow one to focus on the show itself.
1964 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1966 | West End |
London Production West End |
1986 | Off-Off-Broadway |
Equity Library Theatre Revival Off-Off-Broadway |
2001 | Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
Paper Mill Production Milburn, NJ (Regional) |
2002 | Broadway |
Actors' Fund Concert Broadway |
2012 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2015 | West End |
Menier Chocolate Factory West End Revival Production West End |
2016 | West End |
Menier Chocolate Factory West End Transfer West End |
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
2023 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
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