Rosie/Gaga lead Funny Girl to reopen the Palace!- Page 6

[candydog2]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 11:58am

Isn't Annaleigh Ashford a bit too pretty to be the girl who everyone says isn't pretty? Although I guess you could say that about Lauren Ambrose.

It would just be nice to give the role to someone who doesn't have traditional leading-lady looks, as that's exactly who the character is meant to be and sort of the whole point of the story, including Streisand's original casting in it.

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 12:52pm

This is one I’m not sure about colorblind casting. I don’t know how explicitly it comes up in the original libretto, and the script will certainly be revised, but isn’t the subtext/text of even the title that Fanny looks too Jewish to be “mainstream pretty?” Colorblind casting a story about Jewish vaudeville and mainstream American pop culture seems to be missing the point a bit.

That’s far from the biggest racial bias in 2020, but it’s still a thing enough that plucked eyebrows and nose jobs are show business cliches.

[broadwayindie]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 1:48pm

I'm just saying depending on how young they want to cast, Micaela Diamond would be perfect.. Also, Bonnie Milligan would be insane.

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 4:31pm

broadwayindie said: "I'm just saying depending on how young they want to cast, Micaela Diamond would be perfect.. Also, Bonnie Milligan would be insane."

Micaela Diamond is my ideal choice.

[Tag]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 5:41pm

Michaela Diamond does not sell a $12M musical.

[patrickj88]

Posted: 7/22/20 at 7:01pm

I have to agree. Micaela Diamond is a "young force" and would be great in the role of Fanny (if producers wanted someone on the young side).

But, as talented as she is...a "star name" would be needed for a musical of this magnitude unless you had major stars in the supporting

roles to offset the lead "name"

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 7/23/20 at 5:17am

candydog2 said: "Isn't Annaleigh Ashford a bit too pretty to be the girl who everyone says isn't pretty? Although I guess you could say that about Lauren Ambrose.

It would just be nice to give the role to someone who doesn't have traditional leading-lady looks, as that's exactly who the character is meant to be and sort of the whole point of the story, including Streisand's original casting in it."

I have never really considered Annaleigh as someone with "traditional" leading lady looks. Biased here, clearly, but she definitely has a very natural quirkiness about her that plays exactly into who Fanny was. Give her a brown wig and I would even say they look very similar.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/23/20 at 8:29am

I have to agree. Micaela Diamond is a "young force" and would be great in the role of Fanny (if producers wanted someone on the young side).

Michaela is 21, the exact same age Streisand was when she did FUNNY GIRL on Broadway (she turned 22 shortly after it opened).  

Also of note, Streisand was already a 2-time Grammy Award winner at the time (for her debut album THE BARBRA STREISAND ALBUM), and had already done countless national TV appearances like THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW (earning an Emmy Award nomination for her guest appearance), THE BOB HOPE SPECIAL, THE DINAH SHORE SHOW, etc, so she was quite known nationally and starting to get global exposure.  All of this, of course, merited having her name (along with Sydney Chaplin) above the title.  

 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 7/23/20 at 12:32pm

Annaleigh and Jessie have enough Broadway clout to sell the show with a well-known Arnstein and Rosie O'Donnell. Lindsay Mendez could, too, with her Tony and being a series regular on a CBS procedural. Most of the other names would be perfect for a nonprofit production at Lincoln Center or Roundabout. 

If they somehow got Gaga or even Idina, I'd love to see Micaela as a standby a la Donna Murphy in "Dolly".

[George in DC]

Posted: 7/24/20 at 7:34pm

It should be Christina Bianco, it wont be, but it should. She's done the role already ... brilliantly.