Kelly Clarkson in "Funny Girl"- Page 2

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 1:35am

Something makes me question if her voice would hold up.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 5:17am

I would also like to see her as Annie Oakley but she has a new baby and will be going on tour to promote her new album. Her daughter River Rose is a real cutie.

[Broadwayhunk]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 2:47pm

Ouch, as they say cute is a subjective term.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 3:03pm

Do you think the baby is cute?

Updated On: 2/28/15 at 03:03 PM

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 3:04pm

Her voice does give out after touring/recording too long, but hopefully she'd have a music director to teach her how to sing "properly" and sustain a run.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 3:31pm

"Something makes me question if her voice would hold up"

I don't think it would. Even Barbra couldn't get through all of Don't rain on my parade 8 times a week. She cut out verses of it for the matinees. It's a tough role to sing and even harder to act. Not many people could pull it off, which is why it's never revived. The show is flawed and the part is nearly impossible to get right.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 4:15pm

It's like asking turkey breast to play pastrami at a buffet, just wrong.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 6:43pm

I agree with Augie on the ethnicity issue. I also don't find Clarkson's instrument all that interesting in and of itself. Don't get me wrong: I think she's a good musician and a fine songwriter, and I even voted for her when AI was a new "thing".

But I just don't hear the vocal quality of a Streisand or Mimi Hines in Clarkson. I'd be happy to hear her sing her own, well-crafted songs, but I don't really care to see a musical where she sings 75% of the songs.

And that doesn't even begin to address the acting issue. FUNNY GIRL was NOT Streisand's first show.

I would much rather see Lauren Ambrose; at least I'd know the singing would be decent AND the acting would be excellent.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 8:40pm

I'm a big fan of Kelly and even have some of her songs on my iPod, lol. But in what world would anyone ever consider her for the role of Fanny Brice? I can't think of anyone less appropriate.

[Showface]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 8:49pm

I would much rather have Jessie Mueller or Lady Gaga. They are they only two women who I think could get it right in a big revival without trying to mimic Streisand's performance.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 11:56pm

I wish Tracy Chimo could sing. She'd be great.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:18am

Count me in as one of those who is appalled at the idea of Kelly Clarkson in Funny Girl. I am not one of those who believes that only Jewish people can play Jews, but Kelly Clarkson just doesn't look the part; I find it strange to consider casting someone who looks like Nellie Forbush to play Fannie Brice. Also, given that acting isn't her strong point, could she really pull off the New York ethnic mannerisms?

Because most Jewish people are white, the issues are not the same as, God forbid, yellowface or blackface casting. Yet, nonetheless, there is a danger of disrespecting Jewish people by casting someone who just doesn't look like an Eastern European.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 1:40pm

"I am not one of those who believes that only Jewish people can play Jews, but Kelly Clarkson just doesn't look the part... there is a danger of disrespecting Jewish people by casting someone who just doesn't look like an Eastern European."

You know that this whole thread is just because she just made an offhanded comment in an interview because the role appeals to her and that no one with any actual power to cast people is considering casting her in anything, right?

You know that Fanny Brice was born in New York, not Eastern Europe and while her mother was a Hungarian Jew, her father was actually from the Alsace region of France, not Eastern Europe, right?

You know that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality or a regional affiliation like say, Eastern European or Israeli, right?

You know that by implying Eastern European Jews are supposed to "look a certain way", you reinforce every hateful, anti-Semitic stereotype people have of how Jews look or are supposed to look, right?

I assumed you already know all these things but just wanted to make sure. In Kelly's defense, I'm guessing she is unaware that a goyishe like her has no business even suggesting the role appeals to her.

Sorry for the interruption. Please resume being appalled.

Updated On: 3/1/15 at 01:40 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 1:57pm

I don't think it matters at all how Jewish you are. You may not look the part and therefore could be hard to believe in the role. It's not antisemetic to say someone doesn't look the part.

My cousin is blond, straight hair, blue eyes, tiny pug nose, etc. and is Jewish. We come in all different styles, yes, but it is fine to say she doesn't look the part.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 2:08pm

Case in point. Blythe Danner played a Jewish housewife in the film Brighton Beach Memoirs. I never saw anyone who looked less Jewish, in the stereotypical way. Blythe's not Jewish, but she was probably cast to prove the point that Jews don't have to look a certain way. I know that, but I still couldn't believe her character during the entire film.

Imagine Peter O'Toole prancing around snapping his fingers singing "If I Were a Rich Man."

Updated On: 3/1/15 at 02:08 PM

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 2:23pm

"It's not antisemetic to say someone doesn't look the part."

I didn't say her comment was anti-Semitic. I said it reinforces the anti-Semitic stereotypes of others about how Jews are supposed to look. Actors convincingly play parts they are not all the time, younger, older, different ethnicities, sometimes even different races or genders. Well applied makeup and a talented actor can make those issues go away. For the record, I don't get the sense that Kelly would be a capable actor so I wouldn't be interested in seeing her do the role even if she was considered which is extremely unlikely. But to listen to her talk with her Texas drawl and look at her without any stage makeup on and say she doesn't look Jewish enough seems rather silly. I cringe when people make comments like this because it reinforces a stereotype. As far as Blythe Danner is concerned, perhaps her not convincing you lied as much in her performance and inability to "suspend disbelief" as a great actor must be able to do, as in her appearance. I may be wrong but I'm not sure Peter O'Toole ever tried to play a traditional jewish role so I'm not sure one can judge how convincing he would be until he did. Do Daniel Craig or Eric Bana "look Jewish"? Most would say no but they were reasonably convincing in Munich. Ciarán Hinds played a Jew in that film as well as in The Debt. If you watched him doing an interview and listened to him speak in his natural Irish accent, would you think he'd be good in a Jewish role? Or would Helen Mirren for that matter who was also in the Debt. I have no problem saying Kelly might not be talented enough as an actor to pull it off but not just because she doesn't adhere to what someone thinks a Jew is supposed to look like.






Updated On: 3/1/15 at 02:23 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 2:41pm

good points, Bob.

re Blythe Danner. It didn't look to me like they tried with makeup or wardrobe to make her look stereotypically Jewish. And to address your point, besides the appearance, I don't think she affected a shred of the attitude or speech traits for the role, either. Stood out like a sore thumb in my opinion.

[Claudia Draper]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 3:25pm

As long as BJS is on this planet.. This show will never return to Broadway!!

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 5:51pm

FTR, Mimi Hines (who took over for Streisand and ran the Broadway production for another 18 months or so) is, in her own words, "a goy from Canada".

If anything, Clarkson doesn't look "peculiar" enough to justify the book's premise; it's not that she doesn't seem sufficiently Jewish.
Updated On: 3/1/15 at 05:51 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 11:35pm

"I'm guessing she is unaware that a goyishe like her has no business even suggesting the role appeals to her."

Fisherman Bob, I've consistently applauded just about everything you've ever posted on this board.
Till now.

I'm sure you'll appreciate my pointing out your incorrect use of the word "goyishe". Goyishe is an adjective meaning gentile-like, not a noun. In that context, a gentile guy would be called "a goy" and a gentile girl would be called "a shiksa". Of course "a goyishe shiksa" would also be okay to say, though sort of redundant.

Yiddish lesson over.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 11:43pm

And goyim means several gentiles.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 12:18am

Lovely singer, wrong for Fanny. Nothing leads me to believe she is funny and it is, after all, the title of the show.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 12:26am

FishermanBob writes:
You know that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality or a regional affiliation like say, Eastern European or Israeli, right?

You know that by implying Eastern European Jews are supposed to "look a certain way", you reinforce every hateful, anti-Semitic stereotype people have of how Jews look or are supposed to look, right?
-----------------------

Bob, I respectfully disagree with your implication that European Jews don't make up a particular ethnic group. Yes, "Judaism" means the religion, which can include people whose ancestry is anything, but most Jews had ancestors who came largely from Eastern Europe, although, as you point out, there are many Jews whose families came from Hungary, me among them.

If you don't think that Jews make up an ethnic group, take a look at old family photos of people who were born Jewish. Many share similar features, including dark, frizzy or curly hair, lip shapes, etc.

Anti-Semites think they can identify Jews by their looks, but Jews often think the same thing -- we jokingly call it Jewdar. It's not so much that someone looks stereotypically Jewish, but more that the person looks like a Jewish individual with whom we're acquainted, or speaks with particular intonations that probably originated with Yiddish-speaking ancestors.

Getting back to the question of Kelly Clarkson and Fanny Brice, Kelly Clarkson does not look at all like Fanny Brice, or sound like her, either. A talented actor of any ethnicity could do the New York intonations, but I doubt Kelly Clarkson can master the correct speech pattern. The other actors you mentioned do look like they could be ethnically Jewish, and therefore looked fine for the parts -- heck, I have a black colleague whose looks are such that he could easily play Jews, Greeks, Italians, Arabs, or numerous other ethnic characters, because his ethnicity isn't obvious from his appearance.

I doubt you'd cast me as a Swedish character -- with my frizzy, dark hair and my being under five feet tall, I just don't look the part. Why is it any different to cast Kelly Clarkson as a Jewish character who looked very different from her?

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 12:49am

I'm not sure a large scale funny girl revival would work without a star (sutton) instead do it as a live tv version on nbc with Lady Gaga. It would be a smash!

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 3/2/15 at 1:25am

@someone in a Tree 2 - Appreciate the feedback and the correction. Thought it was questionable but was running late for a ballgame, didn't really have time to double check it properly and took a shot. Been a long time since Hebrew School... thanks again.

@AHLiebross - I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree. I've been Jewish many years... all my life in fact, and I have never used or ever heard a Jewish friend use the term Jewdar. Some Jews share physical characteristics, some don't. It's bad enough when anti-Semites try to stereotype Jews by their looks. If Jews do it to themselves, I think we're doomed. Your concern that she doesn't look like Fanny Brice is silly. Streisand isn't exactly a dead ringer either but the fact that you knew she is a Jewish actress from Brooklyn I'm sure made you less inclined to compare photos. A good actress can certainly die her hair darker and frizz it up for the part and work with a dialect coach to develop the right accent and mannerisms without it becoming cartoonish. That you and I agree that Clarkson probably doesn't have the acting talent to do it is entirely different than feeling her looks disqualify her. And besides, Brice died 64 years ago. You really think a 2015 audience is going to care if an actress is not a body double for her if the portrayal is convincing? Do Lupone, Lansbury, Peters, Daly or Merman really look exactly, or even vaguely like Mama Rose? Did they need to, to be accepted in the role? The hottest ticket in town right now is Hamilton. Have you heard or read one person who complained that Lin-Manuel Miranda looks nothing like Alexander Hamilton and as such they should really have hired a white guy to play him. You mention Sweden. I wonder if you've been there... I have. Many women there are tall blondes (which I certainly don't object to) but many are not. Again, it's the stereotype of what everyone says Swedish women look like and we see reinforced in Beer commercials. My impression is that you are not able to get past stereotypes you long ago accepted and as such take them at face value, assume they apply to entire classes of people and reject anyone who doesn't fit them. You're certainly entitled to your views but I couldn't disagree with them more fervently. And yes, even Jews have discovered hair products and conditioners to get rid of that frizzy look if that is not something they want.