REVIEW: FUNNY GIRL MAKES ITS RETURN TO PROCTORS
Photos by Matthew Murphy
“It is possible to be transported, amazed and deeply troubled by this neglected musical.”
For many years, according to many people, the greatest show that had never been revived on Broadway was Funny Girl . After its legendary opening in 1964 which launched the meteoric rise of its lead, Barbra Streisand, the musical waited until 2022 to return to the main stem. That revival, 60 years after it debuted, is the production that is making its tour stop at Proctors through Sunday, 4/6.
Many of the avid audience members Tuesday night remarked to me that they had never seen the musical on stage. This production skillfully directed by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) had its own troubles on Broadway until they replaced the original lead, Beanie Feldstein, with Glee star Lea Michelle. It is the backstage biography of Fanny Brice chronicling the comedian’s rise and troubled love life with her gambler husband, Nicky Arnstein. The musical has three songs that have become standards: “People,” “I’m the Greatest Star” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.”
Perhaps, we are familiar with these songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill because of Barbra and her Oscar winning performance in the 1968 film directed by William Wyler, which was nominated for Best Picture and was the top grossing film of 1968. There is no denying the power of these songs, especially after Hannah Shankman’s galvanic performance of them last night, so what gives? Why has this show been missing for 60 years?
This long musical has great songs, a fun backstage and Henry Street setting and a part for a leading lady who is equally adept at cracking wise and belting to the back of the house. The book is by Isobel Lennart and revised by Harvey Fierstein. However, the romance at the center of the story is impossible for me to root for. From their first meeting, the couple seems doomed. The dashing, unapologetic gambler hooks up with the plain young woman (as written) who has succeeded on the sheer dint of her outsize talent acquired through tireless hard work and audacious courage. It is a grossly uneven mismatch. It’s hard to care for bad choices for 2 1/2 hours. Big Broadway musicals should be able to deal with this dissonance, but Nicky’s behavior is never seriously addressed.
The touring show playing this week gives it all they’ve got. The overture conducted by Elaine Davidson inspired hopes for an evening with a Great American Musical. It is a beautiful, stylized procession of characters from Fanny’s life that opens the show, terrific choreography by Ellenore Scott. There are terrific dance numbers throughout the evening reinterpreting Ziegfeld’s Follies. The set has a theatre’s brick back wall and beautiful collage-like, theatre poster drops setting scenes, scenic design by David Zinn.
Hannah Shankman takes center stage as Fanny and she is eminently deserving of the spotlight. Her big moments fill the house with a voice that wraps you in its embrace. She is loose and game in all her comic moments and though she is rarely off-stage, she is fully and easily alive every moment, all night long.
Sean Seamus Thompson is tall and forceful, Izaiah Montaque Harris is winning as Fanny’s oldest friend with a very impressive tap number and Melissa Manchester will make you forget all about “Don’t Cry Out Loud” with her rousing performance as Mrs. Brice, the poker playing, Lower East Side saloon keeper.
Also with the company is Albany High’s Annabelle Duffy who is understudying Fanny and this production has whetted my appetite to hear what she does with these songs. Luckily, Annabelle will be giving a FREE concert Sunday night, 7pm at Cohoes Music Hall. First come, first served.
Funny Girl is a fascinating look into American theatre’s past, not just its performance history but its gender politics as well, with an excellent score. It is possible to be transported, amazed and deeply troubled by this neglected musical. See this while it’s here.
Funny Girl plays at Proctors through Sunday, 4/6. Tickets: www.atproctors.org or 518-346-6204.
An Evening with Annabelle Duffy plays Sunday, 4/6 at 7pm at Cohoes Music Hall. No tickets.
