Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
#1Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 6:01pm
Okay, so I know she probably would not do this, especially as she is preparing two new albums, but does anyone else think that Gaga could play Fanny? She has experience in musical theatre, has a beautiful legit voice, has the unconventional beauty of a Fanny, and right she's at the perfect age for the role. Even if it's only a concert production, I would love to see this happen! Anyone else?
"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop
Updated On: 6/29/13 at 06:01 PM
lupone76
Featured Actor Joined: 12/9/11
#2Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 6:05pmI totally agree. I'd be first in line. She would be an amazing Fanny indeed.
#2Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:06pm
Would Lady Gaga want to do a musical where the leading lady walks out on a tour and spends the entire evening worrying about whether she's pleasing some jerk of a man?
Much as we may like the score, the attitude of FUNNY GIRL is strictly pre-feminist 1950s. It's rather the opposite of the beliefs Gaga says she stands for.
#3Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:32pmIt would cause me physical pain if there was a FUNNY GIRL revival not starring Jessie Mueller, but I admit if it couldn't be her, I'd be intrigued by this.
"Get mad, then get over it." - Colin Powell
#4Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:33pmWhere would it cause you physical pain?
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
ZiggyCringe
Leading Actor Joined: 5/16/05
#5Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:39pm
Why not? She went to NYU, she can act, why shouldn't she get a chance?
#6Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:39pm
In my HEART and my SOUL. 
"Get mad, then get over it." - Colin Powell
broadway guy
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/5/11
#7Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 7:45pmIt would be an inspired and scary choice but I would be down for it.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#9Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 8:22pmDoes she WANT to act? Not everyone does, as hard as that may be to believe. (See the conversation about Adam Lambert.)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#10Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 8:28pm
Didn't Barbra mention her as a possible Louise in her Gypsy movie? I'd assume she's been tested as an actress to some extent.
She's in Machete Kill this fall, so I guess we'll see if she's ok. I doubt the role with give her much to do, but we'll at least be able to tell if she can at least say lines convincingly - after all, for some pop stars, that can be an issue.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#11Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 8:31pm
What "musical theatre" experience does she have and what does going to NYU have to do with anything?
I know lots of people who went there who would stink as Fanny.
#12Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 11:10pmShe has done theater in high school and college, including Miss Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls." Plus, she has performed jazz in clubs and "Someone to Watch Over Me" on the "Today" show and elsewhere so she can sing legit. I think she would be very good BUT the book needs a reworking and the score needs paring down. You cannot just revive the show as is.
Do you know what happens when you let Veal Prince Orloff sit in an oven too long?
sparepart973
Broadway Star Joined: 4/7/12
#13Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 11:12pmYes. I always wanted Amy Winehouse to play Fanny.
#14Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 11:30pmIf it makes a difference, she shows off her legit voice more in her jazz work, and she's working on a full album with Tony Bennett.
"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop
#15Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/29/13 at 11:37pmI mentioned this in another thread, she'd be sensational. She can act, she can dance, she can certainly sing, plus as the op mentioned she has the unconventional beauty the part calls for. Perfect casting!
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#16Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 10:09am
Sure. Why not?
Now, My Dear Gaveston,
First of all, there's no reason one can's be an ardent feminist and want to play a woman in a role one sees as written as classically pre-feminist. Actors often are drawn to people whose sexual politics are very different than their own.
Then we should ask ourselves, is Fanny classicly pre-feminist? Is Funny Girl? Is a woman who falls deeply in love, assertively goes after it, has no issues being in a marriage where she is the major breadwinner, and demands both a career and a marriage qualifies as classically pre-feminist - one can make a strong argument that she does not.
Is the attitude of Funny Girl strictly pre-feminist? I disagree. Although certainly it describes characters and situations which at sometimes make us question the roles of men and women, struggling men married to powerful strong women, and how they and the people around them saw that dynamic.
Updated On: 6/30/13 at 10:09 AM
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#17Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 11:13am
Please no. I think she's talented and all, but I personally can't stand her. She's all about that "be yourself" speech and I get anything but that from her. She tries way too hard and that's very off-putting to me.
I would definitely prefer an actual actor playing this role.
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#18Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 12:02pm
Does Gaga have the humor to play the part? Does she have the built in instinct to be funny? Fanny not only needs to sing, but she needs to be funny. And the material is such that you can't "act" funny.
One of the gifts of many actors (Dorothy Loudon, Nathan Lane, etc) was that they knew how to be funny by instinct. It was real, there was no faking it with them.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#19Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 12:38pmShe's certainly a better option than Lea Michelle
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
``oscar wilde``
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#20Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 12:54pm
"She's certainly a better option than Lea Michelle"
I agree with that, but it's not a reason to mount a new production of the show.
Unfortunately, we've been caught up in the "get a star for Funny Girl even if she's not right for the role" routine. The material deserves someone who can fulfill all requirements for the role and we'll just have to wait until we can find someone who can sing and act and be funny.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#21Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 1:05pm
We don't have to wait, she's already here...
(ducks tomatoes)
"Get mad, then get over it." - Colin Powell
Updated On: 6/30/13 at 01:05 PM
#22Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 1:17pmLady Gaga has very little talent. I wouldn't cast her for anything.
#23Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 1:27pmI am definitely not a gaga fan butif she played this role, I'd be interested to see if she could come up with the goods, as I don't think she has come up with them yet.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#24Possibly Controversial Idea: Lady Gaga as Fanny Brice?
Posted: 6/30/13 at 1:44pm
I recall her name coming up a lot back before Lauren Ambrose was cast in the not-to-be revival.
Sounds like a great idea. She's very talented and certainly has the right look.
