How about no Lea Michele for Funny Girl Revival

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:49am

Am I only one who doesn't want to see her ruin funny girl? She is such an atypical choice for Fanny. I would rather see Sutton Foster (she might be a bit old though) or maybe Laura Osnes if she could handle the belting. Just not Lea.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 1:01am

No, you are not the only one. I'd say the general consensus is that she is a terrible choice.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 1:32am

You are the only one who started a thread about it today. The other 4-5 threads about this exact topic were started prior to today.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 5:38am

How about Jessie Mueller as Fanny Brice?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 6:53am

I'm not a big proponent of Lea Michelle as Fanny. I was ok - just - with the idea at first, but her grandstanding "auditioning" and uninspiring performance at the Tony's several years back soured me on it.

However, I don't see why she would in any sense be an "atypical" choice. If anything she's too predictable a choice.

And how would Sutton Foster or, of all people, Laura Osnes, possibly be a more "typical" choice?



Updated On: 7/3/14 at 06:53 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 7:06am

Because people seem to believe that words simply morph into whatever meaning they want a word to have.

I would not be purchasing a ticket to see her in this role. Just about anyone else, and yes, Mueller would be fabulous, I suspect.

However, its likely to happen, and we'll just have to see how the rest of the theater going - tv watching - Glee happy audience will buy tickets. Sadly (IMHO) it will sell tickets like gangbusters. (But I have a sordid wish that it fails miserable with her in it.)

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 8:32am

I think Lea Michele's parade has passed by. Glee's ratings have sunk sunk sunk. The movie they made at the height of popularity tanked at the box office. I don't think she is a safe choice to guarantee ticket sales. And a studio may have major concerns before agreeing to a production. Of course that doesn't mean it won't happen as a vanity project of Murphy and Michele.
Glee The Movie Box Office

[zepka102]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 8:36am

If it's going to happen, the sooner it does, the sooner it's all over.

[newintown]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 8:42am

How about no Funny Girl revival? It's not a particularly great show, and if you want a spectacular star-making vehicle for your favorite actress, how about calling for some terrific theatre writers to create a brand new vehicle for them? (You know, like Funny Girl was for Streisand?)

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 9:16am

Jeffrey Karasarides you're not the first person to have that idea, either. I think the general consensus in the theater community is that Mueller definitely the favorite, not Michele. But Ryan Murphy has the rights unfortunately.

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 11:19am

Funny Girl WAS a new vehicle, but it was not "created" for Barbra Streisand. I noted this in another similiar thread. Streisand won the role after several auditions, and was not the first choice or even the second or third; she was hired after Anne Bancroft, Edie Gorme, and Carol Burnette were approached, but for various reasons turned it down. She was also chosen by producer Ray Stark over the strong objections of his wife, Fanny Brice's daughter. "HER play my mother? I wouldn't hire her to play my mother's maid!" After all, at the time Streisand had made an impression in a supporting role in "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" and had a growing cult base as a cabaret singer, but otherwise was not an obvious choice for a starring role on Broadway. But she WAS chosen and the rest, as they say, is theatrical hustory.

Updated On: 7/3/14 at 11:19 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 11:38am

Funny Girl wasn't created for Streisand, but it was certainly extensively rewritten and tailored for her talents.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:00pm

I also remember someone on another FUNNY GIRL thread mentioning how Styne supposedly wrote the score in such a way that Anne Bancroft, Carol Burnette, and the slew of other actresses who were considered before Streisand couldn't possibly sing it, in order to have Streisand be the logical choice for the part.
Either way, Michele would be pretty terrible in the role. It'd be OVERDRAMATIC GIRL, or LOOK AT ME GIRL, but not FUNNY GIRL. Mueller would indeed be perfection.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:50pm

How about she plays Shprintze again in the Danny Burstein Fiddler revival?

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:51pm

What brought this thread on? It's just so random....

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:54pm

Kad, she should play Tevye's beard. Because God knows in a couple of years, being someone's beard is about all she'll be good for...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:55pm

FUNNY GIRL wasn't conceived for Streisand, but within the two years she campaigned to get the role, she went from an up and coming New York club singer to one of the biggest stars in the country.

Isobel Lennart, who wrote the script for FUNNY GIRL came to the project with little theater experience. The production was notoriously plagued with Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse both jumping ship as director and Garson Kanin, who replaced them, being completely inept at putting the pieces together.

Ray Stark begged Jerome Robbins to return to the project, and the goal became to jettison the show to make it about "Barbra" -- and specifically, the story of Barbra's rise to fame that everyone had witnessed over the past two years. Like Brice, Streisand came from obscurity to stardom almost over night despite a personality and appearance that defied convention. Like Brice, Streisand was married to a gambler (Elliot Gould) who resented that her meteoric rise to fame upstaged him. And like Brice, Streisand had emerged a singular, one of a kind talent - incomparable to anyone else.

In other words. FUNNY GIRL, despite its origins as a vehicle for Anne Bancroft or Mary Martin, became singularly and purposefully knitted into and about the legend of Barbra Streisand's rise to stardom.

And its the reason why a revival is problematic, and why Bartlett Sher's concept to star Lauren Ambrose in a take that returned the focus to Fanny Brice likely wouldn't have worked.

I'm in complete agreement that if Lea Michelle were interested in starring in a Broadway show, she would be wise to find someone to write a vehicle especially for her and avoid the trap of FUNNY GIRL.

[showtuna]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:55pm

What about Aaron Tveit as Nick Arnstein? If they're trying to nab the teen crowd, he's a solid choice. He's not a teen icon or anything, but a good chunk of teen girls know who he is, especially after some of his work with Les Mis and Graceland. I also remember him being considered for Finn on Glee and doing several screen tests until they decided he was too attractive and went with Cory Monteith. So he's on Ryan Murphy's radar.

[Showface]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 12:57pm

Lea Michele should not do this. In order for a really good Fanny, she needs to be entirely different from Barbra Streisand's take on the role. It seems that when Lea Michele plays Fanny on Glee, she is trying to do an exact copy (a really bad copy) of what Barbra Streisand did.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 1:08pm

The show is a total trap. As I wrote above, the show IS about Streisand as much as it is about Fanny Brice. To work, in my opinion, you would have to find an artist whose own life story and rise to fame could be a third counter-part echo of those two stories.

In a way, Lea Michelle's quick rise to fame fits my theory, but what doesn't fit is that she hasn't risen to stardom on a personality that is completely unique and individually her own - indeed she seems to have fallen into this weird matrix of trying to 'become' Streisand. That's why casting her would, in my opinion, backfire.

The person who I think made the most sense - conceptually- for a 21st century revival of FUNNY GIRL is Lady Gaga.

Jessie Mueller has also had a rather meteoric rise (at least within the theater community) and I think the excitement surrounding her ascent would potentially work (on a more earth bound level) as an echo of Streisand and Brice's early careers.

But the big question is -- why wouldn't these woman want their own "Funny Girl" - ie. musical written and tailored specifically for them?



Updated On: 7/3/14 at 01:08 PM

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 1:27pm

"Jeffrey Karasarides you're not the first person to have that idea, either. I think the general consensus in the theater community is that Mueller definitely the favorite, not Michele. But Ryan Murphy has the rights unfortunately."

I know I'm not, but nonetheless, it still sounds like perfect casting!

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 1:35pm

I'd kill to see Gaga as Fanny. That could be something really special.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 5:10pm

Omg Lady Gaga would be perfect! I think the main problem with funny girl is the book and finding someone who has enough charisma and star quality. The score is perfect. Fun fact. Lady gaga played Adelaide in her high school production of Guys and Dolls. Jessie Mueller is also a good choice. I personally love funny girl but its mainly because of Barbra's voice.

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 5:31pm

"The show is a total trap. As I wrote above, the show IS about Streisand as much as it is about Fanny Brice."

This.

For some reason people seem to think they can "make the show work" without the Streisand sigma attached. I've seen three big regional productions at reputable theatres, with some major talent involved, and its never worked.

[StickIt]

Posted: 7/3/14 at 5:34pm

If we're going to put Jessie Mueller in a revival of a classic show, can it please be My Fair Lady or She Loves me? She played Amalia to great acclaim in Chicago and has expressed interest in playing Eliza in the past.