Everything we know about the Funny Girl Broadway revival
The queer icon in the making Beanie Feldstein will star in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, taking over the part that once propelled Barbra Streisand's career and launched her as "the symbol of gay men's love of American musicals." While Lea Michele is still crying in her bathroom, the production just announced new names joining the cast - Ramin Karimloo (Anastasia), Jared Grimes (A Soldier's Play), and lesbian legend Jane Lynch (Annie).
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Funny Girl will begin previews on March 26, 2022, at the August Wilson Theatre, but the tickets presale already started this week - click here to buy it. Michael Mayer, who directed the revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014), American Idiot (2010), and won a Tony Award for his adaptation of Spring Awakening (2006), is in charge of the new production.
The show will feature a revised book by Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots), set design by David Zinn (SpongeBob SquarePants), choreography by Ellenore Scott (Head Over Hills), and tap choreography by Ayodele Casel (Carole King).
With all the expectations surrounding the project, Beanie Feldstein has everything to succeed as Fanny Brice and maybe give the part a Tony Award recognition that even a young Barbra couldn't give - the original production of Funny Girl was nominated to eight Tony Award categories, including Best Musical and Best Actress, but Hello, Dolly! and its main star, Carol Channing, swept the board. Funny enough, Beanie's first Broadway appearance was in the 2017 production of Hello, Dolly! (Is this what Alanis would call irony?).
Who was the real Funny Girl?
The Broadway musical tells the story of the New York comedian Fanny Brice, born in 1981, who became one of the biggest stars in comedy in the United States. In the 10s and 20s, Fanny was the headliner of The Ziegfeld Follies, a stage show on Broadway with musical numbers and comedy routines. She also hosted a hit radio show during the 30s and 40s, creating different characters constantly.
Ray Stark, the producer of the original Funny Girl, was married to Fanny Brice's daughter, Frances, and came up with the idea of telling her story. Initially, Judy Garland was supposed to play the main character, but it took over ten years for the project to be finalized, and the part ended up in Barbra's hands.
Barbra did not win a Tony, but the same part gave her the first Oscar of her career in 1968 when the movie adaptation of Funny Girl was released.
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