Which "American Idol" Winner Would Like to Be a Funny Girl on Broadway? | Playbill

News Which "American Idol" Winner Would Like to Be a Funny Girl on Broadway? Kelly Clarkson, the winner of the first season of the long-running Fox singing competition "American Idol," recently discussed her Broadway dreams with Entertainment Weekly.

Although the Grammy winner said she would prefer to create a role in a brand-new piece, the musical she would like to revive is the Barbra Streisand vehicle Funny Girl.

Clarkson explained, "[Streisand is] a hard act to follow! I just relate to that character, and I've loved it since I was a little girl. I've always kind of been that awkward girl that stood out--in not such a great way sometimes."

Clarkson perfomed the Fanny Brice signature "My Man" (added to the film of "Funny Girl") at her 2012 Radio City concert. Playbill.com was there. View the performance here.

People magazine previously reported that Clarkson started her singing career in high school musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun, Brigadoon and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Funny Girl, which is one of the few classic musicals from the postwar period that has never had a Broadway revival, was written by Isobel Lennart with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The musical opened on Broadway on March 26, 1964, and ran for over 1,300 performances. The production starred Streisand as Fanny Brice with Sydney Chaplin as Nicky Arnstein. Streisand reprised her role in London’s West End in 1966 before filming the role that would lead to an Academy Award. "Glee" star Lea Michele, who performed Funny Girl's "Don't Rain on My Parade" at the 2010 Tony Awards, has also said she is interested in starring in a Broadway revival of the classic musical comedy. On the May 22, 2014, broadcast of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live," the Drama Desk-nominated Spring Awakening star told host Andy Cohen, "Ryan [Murphy] has the rights [to the musical], and it's something that we'd both, I think, would really like to do. And, we've had some really exciting first meetings with a really fabulous director that we think would be really wonderful."

 
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