How well do you know "Funny Girl," the beloved musical that chronicles the life of Fanny Brice? Test your knowledge with these interesting trivia facts about the show's Broadway origins, its iconic songs, and the stars who brought the characters to life. From Barbra Streisand's unforgettable performance in the original 1964 production to the recent revival featuring Lea Michele, explore fun insights into this classic musical's rich history on stage and screen. How many of these fun facts will you know?
Adaptations
- Barbra Streisand won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1968 film adaptation of 'Funny Girl'.
International Productions
- A full-scale West End revival of 'Funny Girl' opened in 2015 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, starring Sheridan Smith.
- A Paris production of 'Funny Girl' in 2019 received rave reviews and extended its run due to popular demand.
Musical Composition
- The original cast recording of Funny Girl was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.
- Funny Girl's score was almost composed by Stephen Sondheim, who declined because he felt Mary Martin was not right for the part of Fanny Brice.
- The original cast recording of 'Funny Girl' was such a success that it peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and achieved gold record status, underscoring the musical's impact and popularity.
- The song 'People' from Funny Girl, performed by Barbra Streisand, was almost cut from the show but was saved by audience reaction.
- Funny Girl first opened on Broadway in 1964, featuring a score by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill.
Notable Tours
- A concert version of 'Funny Girl' in 2002 featured stars like Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, and Idina Menzel, benefitting the Actors' Fund.
Production Facts
- The New York premiere of Funny Girl was delayed five times and the script revised extensively during out-of-town tryouts.
- A sequel to 'Funny Girl', titled 'Funny Lady', was released in 1975 and was the eighth-highest grossing film of that year.
- The movie 'Funny Girl' was the top-grossing film of the year 1968.
- The 1968 film adaptation of 'Funny Girl' was directed by William Wyler and paired Barbra Streisand with Omar Sharif.
- The album featuring Lea Michele topped the Billboard Cast Albums Chart.
- The Broadway revival in 2022 successfully recouped its $16.5M capitalization before announcing its closure after 599 performances.
- The entirety of the West End revival's run at the Menier Chocolate Factory sold out within a day, setting a record for the venue.
- Before settling on Barbra Streisand for the lead, Funny Girl considered several other actresses, including Carol Burnett and Eydie Gormé.
- Funny Girl went through several directors and script rewrites, with Jerome Robbins initially quitting the project, only to return later.
- The original Broadway production of Funny Girl was directed by Garson Kanin and had choreography by Carol Haney, supervised by Jerome Robbins.
- Lea Michele took over the role of Fanny Brice in the 2022 Broadway revival, leading to a new cast recording due to the positive response.
- A Broadway revival of Funny Girl opened in April 2022, with Beanie Feldstein initially playing the lead role of Fanny Brice.
- Barbra Streisand starred in the original Broadway production of Funny Girl, which was produced by Fanny Brice's son-in-law, Ray Stark.
- The plot of Funny Girl is based on the life and relationship of comedian Fanny Brice and gambler Nicky Arnstein.
