Beanie Feldstein announced that she received a letter from Barbra Streisand after landing her role in the first-ever Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
Streisand, 79, originally played legendary comedian Fanny Brice in both the 1964 Broadway production and the subsequent 1968 film. The role earned her her first Oscar ever.
Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Beanie, 28, described receiving a letter from Barbra herself the night before her first-ever preview of the show.
‘It was a really beautiful, touching thing’: Beanie Feldstein announced that she received a letter from Barbra Streisand after landing her role in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl
The impeachment actress says the letter will stay on her desk “forever” while she gets ready.
“I was in my dressing room the night before the first premiere and got a mail that just said ‘For Beanie.’ I opened it and it was from Barbra Streisand,” Beanie explained.
“I’ve never met her before and it was a really beautiful, touching thing that I will always keep by my side at my table as I get ready.”
Beanie obviously couldn’t get over the fact that she’d received a letter from Barbra, and gushed again, “It’s from Barbra Streisand, Steve!”
Iconic: Streisand, 79, originally played legendary comedienne Fanny Brice in both the 1964 Broadway production and the subsequent 1968 film. The role earned her her first-ever Oscar
“It’s from Barbra Streisand, Steve!” Feldstein still couldn’t get over receiving a letter from the showbiz icon
Asked for her handwriting, Beanie gushed, “Beautiful, gorgeous, I mean it’s Barbra Streisand! It’s exactly what you would think!’
Funny Girl presents a fictionalized account of Fanny’s rise to fame in the 1910s and her marriage to Frances’ father, con-gambler Nicky Arnstein. Production of Beanie had its first preview on March 26th and will officially open on April 24th.
For her debut Broadway show as a leading actress, Barbra worked with composer Jule Styne, lyricist Bob Merrill, author Isobel Lennart and director Garson Kanin.
Already a showstopper on the Broadway show I Can Get It For You Wholesale and had edited a couple of albums, it was Funny Girl that made her a superstar.
The score produced one of their most enduring hits – People – which became the title track of their album that blew The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night from number one.
Legendary Role: Beanie’s production had its first preview on March 26th and will officially open on April 24th
When the show opened on Broadway it was a smash hit and received an enthusiastic response for its performance, which it took to London.
Barbra starred alongside Charlie Chaplin’s son Sydney – with whom she had an affair during her marriage to first husband Elliott Gould.
Her castmates at the Winter Garden Theater for the original Broadway performance also included Kay Medford, who played Fanny’s mother.
The New York Times said the show “occasionally bristles with a heavy dose of gooey sentimentality,” but gushed of the leading lady, “Since Fanny herself can’t be brought back, the next best thing is to get Barbra Streisand to sing and strut and going through weird routines a la Brice.’
Coming Soon: Although the film led to a critically ravaged 1975 sequel called Funny Lady, the show has never before been revived on the Great White Way
Barbra and Kay reprized their roles for the film, which brought together old Hollywood stars like director William Wyler and cinematographer Harry Stradling.
Her leading actor in the film was Omar Sharif, with whom she also had an affair — and with whom she caused a scandal when a still of one of their staged kisses went public for the film in 1967, the year of the Six Day War between Egypt and Israel .
The film was Best Picture of 1968, and Roger Ebert wrote, “The problem with Funny Girl is almost everything but Barbra Streisand. She’s gorgeous.”
Although the film led to a critically ravaged 1975 sequel called Funny Lady, the show has never before been revived on the Great White Way.
A Broadway revival was attempted in 2011 starring Lauren Ambrose as Fanny but was ultimately scrapped due to problems raising money.
However, in 2015 and 2016 a London production starring Sheridan Smith in the title role managed to become a smash hit.
The show went from a limited engagement at the Menier Chocolate Factory to an extended run at the Savoy Theatre, which was then extended by popular demand.
Beanie’s new revival will see her opposite Ramin Karimloo, who starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ill-fated Phantom Of The Opera sequel Love Never Dies.
Ramin, who has also starred in Les Miserables and The Phantom Of The Opera himself in the West End, will play Nicky.
Based on a true story, Funny Girl presents a fictionalized account of Fanny’s rise to fame in the 1910s and her marriage to Frances’ con man father, Nicky Arnstein