Hello, Gorgeous!
When Funny Girl opened on Broadway March 26, 1964, it made a star out of its young leading lady, Barbra Streisand, who wowed audiences with her comedic prowess and vocal brilliance. Streisand would subsequently reprise the role on film, immortalizing her
most iconic role.
The biomusical tracks real-life singer and comic Fanny Brice from her humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, to fame and fortune onstage in the Ziegfeld Follies and as a radio and screen performer. The score, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill, introduced such standards as "I'm the Greatest Star," "People," "Don't Rain On My Parade," and "The Music That Makes Me Dance." Isobel Lennart penned the book.
The 21-year-old Streisand, already a Tony nominee for her performance in 1962's I Can Get It for You Wholesale, played vaudeville superstar Brice. She was joined on stage by a cast that included Sydney Chaplin as Nick Arnstein, Danny Meehan as Eddie Ryan, Jean Stapleton as Mrs. Strakosh, Roger De Koven as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., and Kay Medford as Mrs. Brice. Streisand's standby was Lainie Kazan, who famously played two performances and then departed the production, later finding success in such films as Beaches and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Directed by Garson Kanin, the musical officially opened March 26, following previews that began March 10 at the Winter Garden Theatre. Jerome Robbins supervised the production, which also featured musical staging by Carol Haney and associate direction by Lawrence Kasha.
New York Times reviewer Howard Taubman praised Streisand's career-making turn. "Since Fanny herself cannot be brought back," he wrote, "the next best thing is to get Barbra Streisand to sing and strut and go through comic routines à la Brice. Miss Streisand is well on her way to becoming a splendid entertainer in her own right, and in Funny Girl she goes as far as any performer can toward recalling the laughter and joy that were Fanny Brice."
The musical went on to earn eight Tony nominations, including one for Best Musical, but faced stiff competition from Jerry Herman's new musical Hello, Dolly!, which swept the 1964 awards. Streisand received a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical but lost to Carol Channing's performance as Dolly Levi. Streisand would, however, win the Academy Award for her performance in the 1968 film version of Funny Girl (she tied with Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter). In a twist of irony, Streisand brought Dolly Levi to the big screen the following year in the film adaptation of Hello, Dolly!
On December 25, 1965, Streisand departed the Broadway production of Funny Girl. It would mark the final Broadway performance of the actor and future director, who went on to conquer most every medium (and the first person to ever EGOT) in the entertainment industry. In her memoir, My Name Is Barbra, Streisand said her departure from live theatre was due to harassment by co-star Chaplin. His harsh treatment towards her left Streisand with lasting stage fright, making her fear that she would forget her lines: "I was having panic attacks. I was petrified to go onstage every night. I wanted to quit, for reasons of health, but I’m not a quitter."
After she departed, Streisand was replaced by Mimi Hines, who played Brice for the remainder of the show's run. Streisand did open the London production in April 1966, but only stayed a few months since she became pregnant (with son Jason Gould).
Funny Girl proved a big hit on Broadway with critics and audiences, running 17 previews and 1,348 performances before closing July 1, 1967, at the Broadway Theatre (the original production transferred from the Winter Garden to the Majestic and later to the Broadway).
Because the musical became synonymous with Streisand and her thrilling vocals, Funny Girl would not be revived on Broadway until well into the 21st century, although there were attempts to bring it back sooner than that. In September 2002, The Actors Fund staged a concert production of Funny Girl that featured a bevy of Broadway's leading ladies sharing the role of Fanny: Carolee Carmello, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, Ana Gasteyer, Whoopi Goldberg, Spencer Kayden, Jane Krakowski, Judy Kuhn, LaChanze, Ricki Lake, Andrea Martin, Idina Menzel, Julia Murney, Bebe Neuwirth, Alice Playten, and Lillias White—the latter receiving a standing ovation for her roof-raising "Don't Rain on My Parade." Seth Rudetsky served as musical director for the one-night-only fundraiser.
Emmy nominee Lauren Ambrose was announced to play Fanny Brice opposite Bobby Cannavale as Nick Arnstein in a Broadway revival that was scheduled to open at the Imperial in April 2012 following an engagement at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. However, the loss of four investors, who had each pledged at least $750,000 toward the revival, caused lead producer Bob Boyett to cancel the endeavor.
It would take another decade before Funny Girl would return to Broadway.
On April 24, 2022, Broadway's first-ever revival of Funny Girl officially opened at the August Wilson Theatre. Directed by Michael Mayer (based on a version he did in London), the production featured a revised book by Harvey Fierstein. The cast was led by Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice, Ramin Karimloo as Nick Arnstein, Emmy winner Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice, and Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan. Unfortunately, the revival received mixed reviews, with some believing Feldstein lacked the necessary vocal power for the belt-heavy role. Feldstein continued in the part through July 31, 2022, and for a time was succeeded by standby Julie Benko.
In September 2022, the revival got a new pair of stars when Lea Michele took over as Fanny Brice and Tovah Feldshuh as Mrs. Brice. Michele's acclaimed performance sent not only the songs but also the box office soaring and enabled the production to recoup its initial investment. Michele's engagement was a full-circle moment for the actor, whose interpretations of several of the show's biggest songs on TV's Glee (and at the 2010 Tony Awards) were seen by many as a public audition for the role at the time. A North American tour, currently starring Hannah Shankman and Melissa Manchester, continues.
Learn what other theatre milestones happened on March 24 by visiting the Playbill Vault.
Look back at the original Broadway production of Funny Girl in the gallery below.
