theater criticism
Two hours and 50 minutes with one break. At the August Wilson Theater, 245 W. 52nd St.
Funny Girl viewers aren’t the happiest people in the world.
They’ve been waiting a long, long time for the first-ever Broadway revival of the 1964 musical, which opened Sunday night at the August Wilson Theater. Fifty-eight years! But the mediocrity that drooling Fanny Brice fans finally turn their eyes to isn’t particularly funny, or well-sung, or well-crafted, or well-directed. This sorely missing new production rains down on the old musical’s parade.
It’s clear from the start that the burden of anticipation and showbiz lore hasn’t done this “girl” any good.
The last woman to invent the role of Fanny in a Broadway production was, of course, Barbra Streisand. This talented naïve quickly became a superstar and starred in the 1968 film version. And, you know, sold more than 70 million albums.
Now Beanie Feldstein, who was a hit as Monica Lewinsky in last year’s “American Crime Story: Impeachment,” takes on the Brooklyn comic book legend, who sings classic hits like “People” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” . Let her steal our hearts and twist our laugh bones. No dice.
Ticket buyers walk in forgivingly, understanding that we don’t expect a Broadway artist to rival one of America’s greatest singers of all time. However, Feldstein hardly muddles through the beloved songs. The best played numbers (“Sadie, Sadie”) are only capable; the worst (“people”) are embarrassing disappointments. In the spoken scenes, the jokes are pushed harder than a wrecked Hummer on a freeway, and few of them deserve more than polite giggles. Feldstein sadly doesn’t give a Broadway-caliber performance.
Beanie Feldstein plays Fanny Brice in the first-ever Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Matthew Murphy
Barbra Streisand (center) originated the role of Fanny on Broadway in 1964 and later starred in the 1968 film version. Everett Collection
Fanny has nowhere to hide in Funny Girl, which is about as far from an ensemble piece as you can get without a one-woman show. There are only a handful of supporting characters who do next to nothing. Just Jared Grimes puts a smile on our faces as Eddie, a sidekick who lusts after Fanny, with his wonderful tap dance. But actually everything in the musical revolves around Fanny and therefore also around Beanie.
With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and a book by Isobel Lennart, the biographical show tells how Fanny went from being a talented, underrated Brooklyn dreamer with a nagging mother (Jane Lynch, appropriately) to starring in the Ziegfeld Follies and then to international fame. She also falls in love with Nick Arnstein (Ramin Karimloo), a discreet drinker and gambling addict.
Fanny (Beanie Feldstein) is speechless when she meets future love interest Nick Arnstein (Ramin Karimloo) for the first time. Matthew Murphy
Karimloo is a viable actor but a glorious singer. As he begins to sing a short repeat of “People,” we silently ask him to do the whole thing.
The dark side of the musical has always molded it into a less dramatic and less compelling A Star Is Born. The second act – the screenplay has been revised by Harvey Fierstein – is a depressing drudgery about a strained marriage and Nick’s descent into crime. Styne’s famous score and the far more entertaining film have convinced Broadway fans that “Funny Girl” is better than it actually is.
However, the revival could be a lot better than the disinterested stroll director Michael Mayer turned it into. Exuberance, romance, heartbreak, Brooklyn, Broadway and Monte Carlo are all liquefied into tasteless chills. There is hardly any variety. Showstoppers don’t stop the show. Fanny and Nick grow on paper, but they stay where it matters most – live on stage.
Eddie (Jared Grimes) and Mrs. Brice (Jane Lynch) are some of the few supporting characters in the musical. Matthew Murphy
The actors’ efforts – to Feldstein’s credit, she clearly works very hard – are further undone by David Zinn’s set design: a brick-lined Pringles tin that repeatedly opens and closes to reveal red velvet curtains, or a dressing room, or a stately house. It’s the coupon stuff. Showbiz glamor never comes to glitzy life, and we spend too much time staring at red bricks and dirty mirrors.
From top to bottom, this “Funny Girl” needed different people.