Funny Girl Revival

FUNNY GIRL, which was recently announced to return to Broadway in April 2012 following an engagement at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, has been postponed.

FUNNY GIRL, starring two-time Emmy Award nominee Lauren Ambrose as Fanny Brice and two-time Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Bobby Cannavale as Nick Arnstein, will open on Broadway in April, 2012 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street), following its engagement at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from January 15 through February 26, 2012, it was announced today by producer Bob Boyett. Additional casting, preview and opening dates will be announced shortly. It will be the first time FUNNY GIRL will be on Broadway since the 1964 original production.

Two-time Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Bobby Cannavale will star as Nick Arnstein opposite Lauren Ambrose, who will star as Fanny Brice, in the first Broadway revival of FUNNY GIRL since the 1964 original production. FUNNY GIRL, which features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, will be directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher.

FUNNY GIRL, the 1964 musical that helped raise Barbra Streisand to stardom, will receive a revival next spring starring 'Six Feet Under' star Lauren Ambrose in Streisand's original role of Fanny Brice.

BroadwayWorld announced yesterday that Lauren Ambrose has landed the coveted role of Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL in the first Broadway production of the musical since it originally opened in 1964. FUNNY GIRL, which features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, will be directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher. The news came as a surprise to many, as Ambrose - while a screen favortie and sometimes stage star - is not a regular in the big musical circuit. In fact, the announcement had many asking...can she sing? Ambrose, in fact, has powerhouse vocals and has been singing since childhood. She is the lead singer of jazz, swing and ragtime-style Leisure Class band, and in trained in opera at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Many may also recall Ambrose's famous belt-out of the 'Rainbow of Reasons' gag in a 2006 episode of Six Feet Under. The theater world certainly has a lot to look forward to when this soulful songstress reimagines Fanny onstage.

It's just been announced that Lauren Ambrose will star as Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL, in the first Broadway production of the musical since it originally opened in 1964. FUNNY GIRL, which features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, will be directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher.

As speculated about online and confirming BWW's previous reports that the actress was in negotiations, it's now official that Lauren Ambrose will indeed star as Fanny Brice in the new revival of FUNNY GIRL. The show will open in LA at the Ahmanson Theater on February 1, 2012, and is expected to transfer to Broadway thereafter. The new production will be directed by Bartlett Sher.

As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, Broadway producer Bob Boyett is endeavoring to revive FUNNY GIRL on Broadway with famed director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, Awake and Sing, The Light in the Piazza) at the helm. Rumors have been circulating that Broadway veteran and GLEE star Lea Michele had her eyes on the project, but according to E!Online, stage veteran Lauren Ambrose is the producers' current favorite to play the iconic role. Check out Ambrose appropriately singing 'My Man' last year at Joe's Pub below!