new york times funny girl review

1. how is Lea Michele in FUNNY GIRL? | Broadway review roundup + word of mouth analysis
2. Even New York Times can’t help Lea Michele
3. my deranged 1am review of Lea Michele v Beanie Feldstein in Funny Girl on Broadway
4. What the HECK is going on with Funny Girl?
5. Staged Right – Episode 11: Fanny & Barbra and the Legacy of Funny Girl
6. lets talk about FUNNY GIRL… | breaking down the reviews of Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice
7. Staged Right – Episode 15: Beanie & Lea and the Legacy of Funny Girl: Part 2

how is Lea Michele in FUNNY GIRL? | Broadway review roundup + word of mouth analysis

so Ive been doing some reading and hear,me out its not people who need people,it turns out its people who starred on,hit television series and played,characters whose ambition to play a,certain role on Broadway so neatly,synchronized with their own that around,a decade later they became the only,viably marketable option to replace a,poorly reviewed star in a splashy,Broadway Revival of that same production,those are the luckiest people in the,world oh my God hey welcome back to my,stage of YouTube channel if you are,meeting me for the first time hello its,lovely to have you here in my home my,name is Mickey Joe and I am obsessed,with all things theater and yes let us,first address the elephant in the room,he is from The King and I and yes the,other thing you will have realized is,that I am in fact British I am a content,creator and an independent theater,critic based here in the UK I review,shows that I get to see on this side of,the Atlantic and I talk about news and,drama and gossip happening on both sides,of the Atlantic which is what has led to,me discussing the Broadway Revival of,funny girl in such depth Im now holding,an elephant I need to put this somewhere,excuse me,so whats funny about this girl is that,I had never planned to talk about this,show on YouTube I tend to talk about,things that are happening here in the UK,because I have more of a point of,reference from having seen the,Productions but when the reviews came,out for funny girl earlier this year oh,boy this was just about all that anyone,could talk about on stagey social media,on Twitter in particular and so my,boyfriend Aaron encouraged me to make a,video he said you should really talk,about this so I made this little video,where I talked through some of the,reviews and kind of analyzed some of the,other factors at play and some of the,context to do with this very much,anticipated Broadway Revival and some of,the other elephants in the room youre,back buddy,visual reference for what Im talking,about here this elephant has become a,big part of this video I really didnt,see this happening but I had just wanted,to explain a little bit as to why the,Revival was getting so thoroughly panned,and then the unthinkable happened and,Leah Michelle was rumored to replace the,star beanie Feld scene in a complete,U-turn of casting going against,everything that the producer had seemed,to want to uphold with the initial,casting for this revival to do something,authentic to do something very different,to Barbaras performance they then,seemed to be about to revert to the most,obvious the most marketable casting,Choice which is eventually what happened,so Ive made a few videos on my channel,talking through this Saga so far and all,the drama that has surrounded it with,beanie then leaving the show early Jane,Lynch leaving the show early and Leah,Michelle arriving to play Fanny Bryce on,Broadway amidst a fair amount of social,media controversy now fast forward to,the end of September she has arrived she,has been in the show for around a month,and people have been asking me to make,another video talking about how she is,doing both in terms of the critical,reception the production has recently,been re-reviewed by a few important New,York critics some of the same critics,who panned the production when they,first saw it in April of this year just,five months ago as well as in the public,perception in the world of social media,because those two things do not always,align what the critics say and what,audiences Say and What word of mouth,becomes are not always the same thing so,were going to do that today were going,to talk through the reviews that have,just been written about Leah Michelle,and funny girl and were going to talk,about the social media response as well,so we have lots to talk about today sit,yourselves down buckle up and dont even,think about raining on my parade also,before we get into it if you enjoyed,todays video make sure youre,subscribed to my stage YouTube channel I,make content like this literally all the,time not just about the Broadway,scandals youve heard about but about,the ones you dont even know about and I,review all of the shows that Ive been,to see and I react to stuff its just a,fun stagey place if that sounds like the,kind of content that you might enjoy sub,subscribe to my channel share it with,your friends why not and make sure,youre following me on my other social,media platforms on Twitter on Instagram,on Tech talk I am at Mickey Joe theater,on all of those for so much theatrical,content now lets talk about funny girl,so the early weeks of Leah Michelles,run in funny girls were kind of treated,like a preview period and unfortunately,it did not line up very well with the,timing of the universe that she,contracted covid during this time and,understudied Julie benko who has been,getting great reviews who filled in for,Beanie feldstein during her occasional,absences and filled in for the Gap in,between beanie feldsteins abrupt early,departure and Leah Michelles planned,start date Julie went on instead as well,as the other understudy for the role of,Fanny Bryce her name is Effie ardima so,unfortunately with all of the buzz of,people coming to see Lea Michele in,funny girl and by people I mostly mean,Metropolitan New York homosexuals as,well as the smattering of Glee fans that,continue to exist stay strong people,stay strong she had missed some of those,performances because she had covid but,the Theater Gods work in mysterious,ways because this gave her just enough,time while she was recovering in her,home to make herself a tick tock account,and regardless of your thoughts of Leah,Michelle you have to respect the balls,that it took to take on the rumors that,had been coming against her this bizarre,internet rumor that Lea Michelle is not,able to read now she had recently,addressed it in an article by basically,saying she didnt want to address it,which is bizarre on the face of it,because all she has to do is read,something or say that she can read but,anytime shes asked about this she does,not deny the inability to read no what,she did instead after dueting a viral,meme about her own opening night,performance in funny girl sort of,parodying her Rachel Berry Persona with,a Super Bowl style arrangement of Dont,Rain In My Parade which is hilarious if,you havent seen it she Then followed up,with a second Tick Tock in which she was,pretending to call Jonathan Groff to ask,him to read her the comments from her,first tech talk making her now in on the,joke and instantly deflating its,coolness for anyone who wants to,continue making jokes about it and its,kind of crazy that this is all she had,to do the entire time to make us all,stop joking about Leah Michelle not,being able to read was for her to just,find a way to laugh at herself which I,do think is a really important quality,in a performer if you want to have a,likable Persona and say what you will,about Leah Michelle being talented a,likable Persona is something that she,has struggled to curate for years,whether its because of people equating,her real-life personality with her,Rachel Berry Diva attitude that her,character had on Glee or whether its,because of the various allegations of,racial microaggressions and Diva,behavior on the set of Glee whos to say,but Tick Tock over and done with jokes,put to bed she returned to funny girl,and her performance was the one that,launched a thousand bootleg Clips if you,have been on stagey social media in the,past few weeks chances are you will have,seen a video somewhere of Leah Michelle,tearfully belting out one of the big,numbers from funny girl the number of,people that sent me her first,performance of Dont Rain on My Parade,at the end of act one was insane and I,love you all for it and I enjoy that,Ive now developed this kind of online,presence where people know to send me,that because thats something Im going,to enjoy so thank you very much I did I,did enjoy that and without endo

Even New York Times can’t help Lea Michele

oh boy this is my second liam michelle,video and hopefully its my last but can,we talk about the new york times article,that just came,[Music],out me take a drink,hello darlings and welcome to take care,darling its me your modern day fairy,godmother and were talking about the,article that came out for lea michelle,before she goes on to be fannie brice,and funny girl now before i get into it,i do want to say this,i know that my last video on leah is the,most popular video on this channel,and thats not what i i dont want to be,a drama channel and this is the last,video,that i will be doing that i think is,dramatic or,is confrontational and stuff because i,want my stuff to be more uplifting im,not all im not about the cancel culture,i dont believe in it i feel like when,people are canceled theyre not,cancelled and if you say well this,person went to jail thats not canceling,someone thats called breaking the law,and going to jail i think people that,are cancelled come back im not about,canceling someone im about,accountability i wasnt planning on,doing this video at all i just read the,article and it did make me upset because,i feel a sense that leah,hasnt really taken accountability she,hasnt grown as a person and yet this,article feels like its damage control,so lets go ahead and read it together,and let me know what you,think of this article im definitely,going to be saying what i think leah,michelle is well aware that the pressure,is on shes landed her dream role in,funny girl now shes tasked with,rescuing the faltering broadway show and,proving that she is not the person she,once was and i thought oh shes going to,discuss the whole twitter debacle,finally were going to discuss it have,accountability and then move forward the,director michael mayer suggested that,she watch funny girl which he explained,was about a performer learning not to,let a man drag her down funny girl is,about,is based on fannie brice who broke the,beauty standard mold and through her own,gumption and self-motivation was able to,be,the greatest star but of course once you,get everything it doesnt mean you have,everything,and finding the beauty within yourself,thats how i didnt think it was about a,man but maybe thats just me let me know,what you think i gave it her kind of,comfort mayor said in a phone interview,last month you got this great career,youre the lead in the significant new,musical and youre young still michelle,watched the movie that night dazzled she,watched it again the next night,resolving to one day land the lead role,of fanny bryce a few weeks later she,gushed about funny girl and its star,barbra streisand at dinner with the,television producer ryan murphy who went,on to create a new series glee,with michelle in mind can you see how,already shes talking about,barbara streisand first off okay like be,fair carolyn barbra streisand is amazing,barbra streisand is funny girl it is,hard to not see barbara as fanny bryce,really complicated to redo funny girl,because when you have perfection how do,you outdo perfection doesnt mean you,cant put your own twist to it and your,own inter interpretation to it but if,youre trying to make a carbon copy that,is the first way to fail this is where,it gets meta oh sorry carolyn no no no,be nice this is where it gets meta,playing a glee club captain who,graduates to become a striving theater,actress michelles character lands uh,lands her dream role in the first,broadway revival of funny girl since its,debut in 1964. by the way in case youre,confused theyre talking about the show,glee of like that thats why theyre,like its so meta i would consider,myself a gleek i loved it i loved,theater and to see them,um do this show like i i really enjoyed,it what made the show so significant and,so oh my gosh this is amazing is the,fact that they their characters is a,representation of themselves so for,example chris colfer who plays kurt,hummel when he auditioned he was,originally auditioning for a different,character and because he is so unique,and so talented they said youre not,getting this role but were completely,writing a role for you as the seasons,went on they were putting a lot of their,real life,things into a character murphys plan to,transfer michelles fanny bryce from tv,screen to stage never materialized but,on tuesday a tale that feels too many,like life imitating art,culminates with michelles first,performance as bryce a 20th century,jewish performer at august wilson,theater like the two other actresses who,occupied the lead role this year first,beanie feldstein then her standby julie,banco by the way i want to insert some,julie banco clips here,[Music],but no one knows,[Music],[Music],she is the perfect,fanny bryce michelle must seek to avoid,the shadow of streisand star-making,performance in the original musical and,movie unlike the other actresses,michelle 36 must contend with another,shadow her past self two years ago she,faced a wave of criticism from former,colleagues who publicly accused her of,bullying behavior and a pre,prima donna attitude and she must step,into a show whose behind the scenes um,machinations cant read or no and cast,changes have been one of the juiciest,running stories on broadway this summer,prompting reams of coverage and gossip,okay so heres a quote i feel more ready,than i ever have before both personally,and professionally michelle said in an,interview three weeks before her debut,she spoke from a dressing room vacated,by the actress jane lynch,who ended her run as bryces mother,earlier than planned ensuring that the,former glee co-stars would never perform,together on stage now when that happened,jane lynch,left before leah came in and everyone,was like huh this is very telling which,it is and jane lynch came out to say oh,no im so proud of her this is what,shes always wanted now,how i take that let me know what you,think i take that as her saying i just,want to be you know diplomatic about,this i dont want any drama im just,moving forward the same way that beanie,said i decided to leave the show and,then beanie responded saying the shows,going a different way yeah they saw leah,and you out so i think everyone is just,trying to,leave in the most mature way so nothing,happens to their career im not buying,it the allegations prompted an intense,time of reflection about her conduct at,work michelle said which she believes,has equipped her to be a part of and,lead a broadway company for the first,time since leaving spring awakening in,2008. i really understand the importance,and value now of being a leader she said,it means not only going and doing a good,job when the camera is rolling but also,when its not and that wasnt always the,most important thing to me its like oh,now that i got in trouble,i now know what it means to be a leader,since i cant be a prima donna for,michelle who temporarily stepped away,from performing after the birth of her,son ever in 2020 im not gonna lie i,love that name uh the explosive internet,reaction to her funny girl casting was,not perhaps the return to broadway,narrative she had imagined i wonder why,i feel like a crazy person other people,from the cast of glee were saying no,this is what shes really like weve,seen nothing to show how shes grown as,a person now shes being awarded the,lead we all know as being gleek is her,dream shes awarded her dream what is,this before the news was announced,feldstein who had generally received,underwhelming reviews in the role said,on instagram in july that she would be,leaving the show two months earlier than,expected writing that the production had,decided to take the show in a different,direction,see what i mean okay the announcement,field speculation that feldsteins,departure had something to do with leah,michelle yes who was rumored to be,taking over the park this is what the,part the part rebuked of michelles,resurface online with some questioning,whether she should have been offered the,role at all to go back to june 2020,

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my deranged 1am review of Lea Michele v Beanie Feldstein in Funny Girl on Broadway

yo and thats what you missed on Glee oh,hello use this at the internet welcome,to my YouTube channel,I try right now like its not happening,screw it if youve never seen a YouTube,video of mine before in your life youll,have no idea what Im talking about but,if you have wow the systems just been,broken because Im losing my mind it is,12 38 a.m the night technically morning,after I just saw Liam Michelle a,Broadway and funny girl and life has,changed forever Im going crazy whenever,I catch a glimpse of myself in the,viewfinder I get genuinely scared like,one I look rough Ive had this crusty,ass makeup on since 11AM I went through,six and a half hours of babysitting I,went straight to Broadway and then I,cried this makeup off for two and a half,hours and all the powder in the world,cant fix that and what about it no one,is arguing with me Im just talking to,myself lets get into this so the reason,that Im making this video today is,obviously because the second I found out,that Leah Michelle was taking over as,funny Bryce in funny girl on Broadway,you bet your ass I booked a ticket why,and I book a ticket to opening night,because I have a writing class on,Tuesday nights and apparently Im a,diligent student so instead I got a,ticket to her second night which is,perhaps even more important everyone,expects a solid opening night but can,she continue with that streak thank you,for clicking on this video to find out I,am also in the unique ish position that,I saw beanie feldstein in the role on,Broadway in previews so were getting,pretty fresh off the bat and I can do a,direct comparison and contrast for all,you little Broadway themes at home I am,just gonna get something off my chest if,you dont know who I am I am very much a,self Professor Gleek big time Big Time,Rush like hardcore like I am the person,I am today because of Glee and,particularly because of Rachel Berry who,may have a cardboard cutout off in my,childhood bedroom Lea and I we go way,back and no in this video I will not be,covering the 2020 controversy thats not,what this is about this is purely a,performance review and Im just gonna,put you out of your misery and start,actually talking about it because oh my,God I,have literally lost my mind that is like,one of the most phenomenal performances,Ive ever seen oh so look I think its a,pretty well-known fact that Leah,Michelle can sing shes got a voice on,her and shes been practicing these,funny girl songs pretty much her entire,life there was a whole Glee plot where,she played Fanny Bryce in a Revival of,funny girl on Broadway well before there,actually was a Revival of funny girl on,Broadway and now its come to fruition,Im coming in with a mega fan background,expecting itll be incredible and she,surpassed even my expectations gospel so,yeah number one her voice amazing made,for the school this is like literally,bro she was born to sing and the real,[ __ ] was born to play theyre gonna be,parade brought the house down as I knew,it would as it has in the past and when,I say the dirt rid of my parade rolled,the house down I mean oh literally the,first few notes ugly swapping like not a,fun look like like dry heaving like,hyperventilating like was basically on,the floor so much so that the woman next,to me tapping on the shoulder and hugged,me because she just knew I needed,emotional support and she was right I,needed human touch but every single,number no perfect it was incredible I,have no notes I was a blubbering mess,throughout the entire performance ugh,[Music],oh God it was good,put yourself together pull yourself,together woman okay okay,Im deranged now lets move along to the,acting this is where a lot of people,online were saying that they think that,should fall down because Liam Michelle,just isnt funny and you know what I,have to say have you seen an episode of,Glee like Rachel Berry is really funny,not intentionally like she has no,self-awareness but to be able to play,her you need to have comedic timing and,then she was really funny and scream,Quinn so I dont really know why people,were doubting her but again saying that,oh my God her acting was really giving,Rachel Brosnahan in The Marvelous Mrs,maisel in the best way so everybody the,physical comedy the physical embodiment,of this character went crazy and like,yeah I was expecting her to kill it yeah,I was expecting it to be funny but she,was like hilariously funny,speaking of funny moments uh theres a,line of I dont know what word for when,I havent read the script maybe neither,is Leia where fatty rice says that she,barely knows how to read or barely reads,or doesnt like to read and the audience,went wild laughter roaring throughout,the theater but then you know what Leah,Michelle started laughing she was,literally sitting there,and everyone noticed she got a standing,ovation for that line the guy she was,opposite playing Mr armstein started,laughing Leah then improv and so got,anything to say to that and then he,started laughing harder it was so funny,it was a moment that went for like 10,minutes and like I dont care how anyone,feels about it like way to lean in so,those are the points I wanted to make,solely just about Leahs performance but,now everyone wants to know everyone,wants to hear everyone wants to talk,about it if were talking comparatively,about baby Alia foreign,Im so sorry look I I really like,babyfelds Jane I think she seems lovely,I love book smart saw that in cinemas,like three times love ladybug neighbors,sorority rising and she jumps on that,car thats comedy but yeah compared,compared to what I saw tonight she was,like a like a flaming trashy and that,makes me so sad when I went to see her,in March I was trying my very best to,enjoy the performance it finished my dad,and I were like yeah you know what that,was that was good yeah I was like you,know what they took it in a different,direction that was a bold choice of her,to not emulate Barbra Streisand by,singing the songs very well or acting,well I know I feel so mean and you know,I feel so bad for her in this whole,situation like the way it was handled,was horrendous so bad but she should,have never been caused in the first,place this is not her role this was,never her role this will never be her,role as she was set up to fail I would,love her to have her own vehicle I would,love her to have her own little league,star power moment originate role create,one yes Im very much team beanie would,love to see you drive in a career they,didnt funny girl she was not it what,really surprised me was how much funnier,Leah was than me I thought baby was,gonna bring it in the comedy Department,she has she has that on screen,experience but yeah theyre like the,accent was there on like a couple of,words and then really fell away its a,physical comedy that there was in that,production I could just like see it,being directed in front of me it did not,feel remotely authentic or natural for,her to do which was really funny because,I saw those same moments physically,orchestrated on stage tonight yet it,felt completely natural and likely it,was just following her instincts another,thing that was lacking in the marsh,production that I saw was the chemistry,between Fanny Bryce and Mr armstein I,did did not remotely root for them I did,not ship them I just thought he sucked,the song You Are woman I am man you huh,a woman,I am man has aged poorly theres no,doubt about it its creepy its weird,hes fully coming onto her but in the,production with beanie it felt so rapey,because I was like she doesnt want to,be there she is not remotely into him,and this is not a remotely organic,relationship ew Stand Back Sir wheres,tonight it was funny because she was,like oh no I couldnt possibly but like,I really want to you could see that push,and pull that very 50s very aged push,and pull but tonight I can see the,chemistry I was rooting for it I could,see why those crazy kids rest it all and,said lets start a relationship and take,it on the road pop

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What the HECK is going on with Funny Girl?

this video is brought to you by,squarespace,a lot can change in 24 hours,on july 10 2022 actress beanie feldstein,posted this cryptic image to her,instagram saying that due to the,broadway revival of funny girl taking a,different direction shed be walking,away from the production a month before,her contract was set to end,a contract that had already been cut,down from a year to six months,in todays broadway and beyond a sudden,departure for a broadway star being felt,scene is departing funny girl earlier,than expected we reach out to the shows,producers for comment we havent heard,back but in a social media post they did,tease what they called an exciting cast,announcement later today,less than 24 hours after this post it,was revealed that feldsteins understudy,julie benko would perform the remainder,of feldscheins contract until glee,actress leah michelle took over the role,in september,and this is where things get messy,just 10 days before feldsteins,instagram post the website gawker leaked,reports that producers actually wanted,to replace her with michelle due to a,series of scathing reviews directed,towards feldstein,michelles casting coupled with,disturbing allegations of abuse directed,towards her rubbed people the wrong way,with many viewing it as the industry,rewarding toxic behavior,with each day that passed an already,stressful situation kept getting worse,after pouring over reports financial,documents old articles and conducting a,few interviews,believe me when i say that this story,goes much deeper than just one instagram,post,this is the culmination of a producing,team at odds with each other a leading,lady facing unprecedented backlash and a,clear demonstration of the ruthlessness,of the theater industry,this is an investigation of what led to,the 24 hours that morphed in under the,radar musical into one of the most,controversial broadway scandals in,recent memory,all to answer the question,where does the line blur between,economics,and ethics,[Music],now before we start our journey into,this deep dive i want to give a big,thank you to this videos sponsor,squarespace,unless youve been living under a rock,you know that squarespace does websites,like no one else making it easy for,artists and creators to share their,personality with the world,now its still a work in progress but,im finally getting the official weight,in the wings website up and running with,a sleek modern design that i can only,get from squarespace,whether youre a blogger a painter a,chef or maybe youre a gossip columnist,you can get your dream site up and,running in no time without the end,product looking cheap,so go to squarespace.com weight in the,wings and use code weight in the wings,to get 10 off your first purchase of a,website or a domain,so a lots happened this week,from fox to vulture to daily mail left,right center sideways downways every day,has been this chaotic orchestra of,sensational reports from an industry,that has been waiting for a controversy,this big since 2012s rebecca now that,being said theres still a lot happening,right now involving this that you,me and vulture wont know about for,another year at the least,but seeing how many rumors are flying,around im making sure to only include,documented information that i found the,goal of today is to cut through the,media noise and try to document this,story the best we can,and in order to do that,we need some,doing context,ive been reading books but put your,books away this is a scene from the 1938,movie everybody sing,on the left is someone you probably,recognize,film legend judy garland,but our story is actually about the,woman on the right,fanny bryce,[Music],over the course of her 40-plus year,career bryce flipped the script on what,it meant to be a leading lady and thanks,to her comedic versatility went on to,become one of the highest paid comedians,in the country,bryce knew that if she couldnt be the,prettiest girl on the stage,she was going to be the funniest,bryces unapologetic ambition and,defiance of the male-dominated industry,helped her smash through this glass,ceiling and in many ways paved the way,for other female jewish performers to be,themselves on stage,in 1964,13 years after bryces passing her life,story was turned into a broadway musical,while the musical itself received pretty,lackluster reviews the one standout was,the breakthrough performance by newcomer,barbara streisand,three years after this streisand again,stepped into the role of bryce in the,film version of the musical and it,propelled the actress to super stardom,given the streisand factor and a,particularly weak book,the prospect of the stage musical,getting a proper broadway revival seemed,really unlikely,that is until 2014 when it was revealed,in an entertainment weekly article that,glee creator ryan murphy purchased the,rights to the musical,if you owned a television in 2009,chances are you knew of glee,the story of a group of misfits,in a failing glee club was inescapable,resulting in nearly every school bus in,america blasting dont stop believing at,one point or another,an actress named leah michelle gave a,performance in the 2006 musical spring,awakening that essentially started her,ascension to fame,but she left the show in 2009 to join,glee,being a huge fan of streisand and,especially the movie funny girl show,creator ryan murphy introduced michelle,to the film early in season one by the,end of the shows run in 2015 leah,michelle and funny girl were basically,one in the same,considering that murphy owned the rights,and that michelle performed six songs,from the musical over the span of four,years,if ever there was a time for the show to,be revived on broadway this seemed to be,it,the following october lea michelle,appeared on watch what happens live and,affirmed her willingness to do the,project with murphy and herself having,met with a fabulous potential director,for the show but around the same time,ryan murphy admitted that since theyve,performed so many of the songs already,on glee,he felt like theyd basically done a,revival in some way,but lea michelles fight to star in a,broadway revival of funny girl persisted,two years after glees final episode in,2017 michelle performed nine songs from,the show during a concert in central,park,at which point she told ryan murphy the,only way shed want to go back to,broadway was if she was starring in a,revival of funny girl,the problem was,murphy no longer held the stage rights,a producer named sonya friedman was now,in possession and her 2015 west end,revival sold out its entire run in a,single day,the musical featured a revised book by,tony winner harvey fierstein and,direction by michael mayer,leah michelles original director for,spring awakening,the next year,talks began to swirl of the production,finally transferring to broadway,initial rumors pegged lady gaga and,rosie odonnell to play fanny bryce and,her mother respectively,by 2020 countless other leading ladies,were in the running to take on the role,of fanny but seemingly absent from that,conversation,was leah michelle,in my experience she has been the same,person in every scenario this is chris,peterson hes the founder of onstage,blog there are former cast members of,spring awakening uh who have come out,and said that she was not pleasant to,work with she came out and did this,whole thing about george floyd and about,you know being understanding towards one,another and um amber riley heather,morris like the people that were working,directly with her in the cast of glee,who basically said you were not,kind to anybody you said terrible things,rightfully so people including myself,are saying,what have you learned to be a productive,and professional and kind part of an,ensemble because we just thats not,thats not your reputation weve never,seen that happen before you know what,are you gonna do now,one year later in august of 2021 it was,announced that the funny girl revival,was officially moving to broadway with,an u

Staged Right – Episode 11: Fanny & Barbra and the Legacy of Funny Girl

there are certain roles of the musical,theater that become immortalized by the,people that first played them such,instances can only be described as a,unique moment where a role and performer,meet so perfectly in time creating an,excitement in the theater that can never,be repeated,one of the greatest examples of this of,course is barbra streisands performance,as fanny bryce in funny girl she opened,the show on broadway in 1964 and four,years later played the role again in the,movie version where she won the academy,award for best leading actress hello,gorgeous,the role has since become entwined with,the memory of barbara streisand to the,point that finding an actress to play,the role in her stead is not only,thought of as daunting but near,impossible,in this episode were going to be,talking about the making of funny girl,how the show launched barbra streisand,into stardom and were also going to be,delving into the real life fanny brice,herself,and how her story contrasts with the one,reflected in the musical if youre not,familiar with funny girl dont worry,because were going to be getting into,it along the way and yes we are,definitely going to be talking about the,upcoming revival which will mark the,first broadway production of the show,since its premiere in 1964. hello,gorgeous before we get started if youre,brand new to this channel make sure to,like this video hit that subscribe,button and make sure to check out some,of my other episodes,for funny girl the road to broadway was,a long one and it all started with this,guy ray stark a hollywood agent turned,producer who just happened to be married,to francis bryce the only daughter of,fanny brice in 1961 he sought to produce,a movie about the life of his late,mother-in-law after rejecting several,written treatments he ultimately settled,with writer isabelle leonard and her,screenplay titled my man after reading,this treatment it was broadway actress,mary martin that suggested it would play,better as a broadway musical starring,herself of course not accustomed to the,broadway theater scene rhys stark,enlisted david merrick as his,co-producer who had recently found,success with the original production of,gypsy from gypsy he would enlist jerome,robbins as the shows director and,choreographer along with julie stein and,steven sondheim to write the shows,score but sondheim soon withdrew upon,learning of mary martins attachment to,the project from his perspective it was,important that a jewish actress play the,part after a time mary martin would,eventually leave the project herself,reportedly dissatisfied with isabel,leonards script with bob merrill now,hired to pen the lyrics the search began,for the shows leading lady edie gourmet,was approached but would only do it if,her husband steve lawrence was,considered to play nicki yarnstein they,said no and bancroft was in serious,contention for a time but after sitting,down to hear the shows score she,declined saying that it was far beyond,her capabilities jerome robbins,eventually approached carol burnett to,play the part but she too turned it down,gently telling robbins you need a jewish,girl for this now as much as i love,carol burnett and understand why jerome,robbins may have considered her,something about her playing this role,doesnt intuitively make sense for being,jewish was incredibly important to fanny,brices stage persona,fania borac was a first generation,american but her parents like countless,others had been part of a wave of,immigrants traveling to the united,states at the turn of the 20th century,cities like manhattan had become,cultural melting pots of customs,languages and accents all converging,together and from a very young age fanny,developed a keen ear and the ability to,mimic everything she heard she began,performing in burlesque as a teenager,long before the advent of the striptease,before the 1930s burlesque was a more,innocent form of entertainment,satirizing topics of the day with,sketches and musical acts it was here,that she first honed her craft,deliberately creating a gawky stage,persona bugging eyes and gleefully,mugging to the audience not afraid to,act a fool and be applauded for it fanny,didnt seem all that bothered by not,being seen as a great beauty at least,not yet eventually she changed her,building from borac to bryce the brices,were family friends and the surname was,easier to pronounce not overtly ethnic,as she would later say,soon that wouldnt matter though in 1908,fannie was in need of a specialty number,and sought the help of a song plugger,working in tin pen alley so the young,irving berlin proceeded to play one of,his new songs sadie salome and told her,to sing it with a fake yiddish accent as,herman goldman wrote sadie salam sparks,something in fanny her sense of fun of,the risque was made for berlins song as,was her proclivity for eye-rolling,comment on outrageous situations at 17,fanny brice had found her niche and,throughout her career it was more often,not to see her play a broad dithering,woman with a thick yiddish accent,putting on airs while posturing above,her own class,such characterizations could be read as,stereotypical or even racist from,another performer but from fanny however,brought the performance it was always,from an authentic place in 1936 she,would explain in anything jewish i ever,did i wasnt standing apart making fun i,was the race and what happened to me is,what could happen to my people they,identified with me which made it all,right to get a laugh,this was becoming a tall order the role,of fanny bryce demanded an actress with,an incredible voice who could play broad,comedy as well as drama where would the,creative team find such a performer who,could authentically imbue the spirit of,such a beloved comedienne,if you were living in new york city,around this point in time you might have,heard the name barbara streisand making,the rounds in greenwich village when she,first started singing in small,nightclubs in 1960 no one had ever heard,anything like her the power and,expressiveness of her voice could easily,be compared with the likes of judy,garland and lena horne but her tone her,phrasing her intonation were so uniquely,hers and her street smart quirky and,nonchalant candidness made audiences,fall in love with her in 1961 director,arthur lawrence invited barbara to,audition for his new musical i can get,it for you wholesale which was met,incredulously by the shows producer our,friend david merrick who reportedly said,how many times have i told you i dont,want ugly girls in my shows regardless,barbara was cast in a featured role as,the oft-neglected secretary miss,marmelstein and on opening night her act,two number stopped the show cold for her,broadway debut she received glowing,notices a tony nomination and eventually,a recording contract with columbia,records in may of 1962 the new york,times innocently likened barbra,streisand to fanny bryce but by then the,creative team a funny girl may have,already had their eyes on her eventually,taking in one of her performances,downtown at the nightclub bonsoir,ray stark brought his wife fran along,who was well,not taken with barbara like in any way,especially at the prospect of playing,her mother she was reportedly put off by,barbaras quirky and ethnic manner later,saying mother was a comic but she was,never a nut in the summer of 1963,barbara began the intensive audition,process for funny girl while wanting to,ensure she could pull off this mammoth,role the creative team also had genuine,concerns about casting her at all never,a technically trained performer barbara,could come off as undisciplined and,mercurial with directors and producers,constantly needing to rein her in but,understanding how high the stakes were,barbara saw director alan miller to,coach her through the material she would,go on to attend seven callbacks and,after impressing the creative team in,her final audition ray stark announced,that barbara streisand would play fann

lets talk about FUNNY GIRL… | breaking down the reviews of Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice

oh my god hey and hello gorgeous lets,pretend that didnt happen welcome back,to my stagey youtube channel if youre,seeing my face for the first time my,name is mickey jo and i am obsessed with,all things theater and today im going,to be talking to you about some theater,news from the other side of the atlantic,where the highly anticipated broadway,revival of funny girl has just opened,and its parade has been well and truly,rained on by the new york theater,critics this revival is the first time,that the show has been seen on broadway,since the original 1960s production,which catapulted its then star barbra,streisand to megastardom after she,starred in the broadway show and then,the subsequent film adaptation and the,sequel to the film adaptation that gives,you some sort of suggestion as to how,successful this property was with her,attached to and how synonymous she has,become with funny girl as a concept in,the intervening years it has been,revived regionally in the us but we have,never seen a full broadway revival that,is not to say that producers havent,tried there have in fact been many,attempts at broadway revivals some of,them even got to the stage of fully,casting a production that was then,subsequently pulled the reasons these,productions have never actually seen the,likes of broadway have always been,historically dubious but lets say,barbara works in mysterious ways and,over the years a slew of terrific,broadway actresses have been touted to,be potentially cast as fanny bryce and,this has ranged from fan casting and,homosexual pipe dreams to actual casting,announcements lauren ambrose who starred,in the most recent broadway revival of,my fair lady as eliza doolittle was set,to play fanny bryce in the previous,cancelled broadway revival leslie,kritzer was also up for that part having,played the role regionally before at the,paper mill playhouse generally any time,a quirky comedic actress with a great,voice appears on broadway people,instantly say funny girl it happened,when jessie mueller appeared on the,scene after her star turn in on a clear,day you can see forever it happened when,nina arianda won the tony award for,venus and fur and she didnt even sing,in that theres been talk of a dina,theres been talk of lady gaga theres,been talk of lea michelle extensively,twitter loves to talk about lea michelle,and i love to read it so after years of,speculation of all of these huge diva,vocalists stepping into barbra,streisands iconic high belting shoes it,came slightly out of left field when,beanie feldstein was announced to be,starring finally in the broadway return,of funny girl feldsteins casting is not,dissimilar to sheridan smiths in the,west end where its more of a focus on a,fantastic actress who has a great voice,but is very much not going to give you a,barbra streisand impression she is quite,discernably a different fit in the role,the only difference between the two is,that benny feldstein is also jewish and,able to give an authentic performance as,a jewish comedian whose cultural,heritage is referenced very specifically,at multiple points throughout the show,so feldstein had a lot of love behind,her going into this broadway opening,night she was a scene stealer when she,played minnie fay in the recent broadway,revival of hello dolly shes done some,really great work in recent films she is,currently filming i say currently on and,off filming the 10-year long film,production of merely we roll along i,dont have time today to talk about that,one so this casting announcement was met,generally with a lot of enthusiasm and,there has been a lot of desire for her,to be really well received in this role,and yet when the reviews came out,earlier this week it sent shock waves,throughout the theater community at just,how brutal some of them were and im,going to read you some excerpts from,some of the reviews now were going to,do a whole round up so youve really got,to read these to get a fuller picture of,what the response was because broadway,critics do not generally give star,ratings some of the international papers,like the guardian like timeout have,given star ratings as part of their,reviews they have not been favorable so,the new york times said feldstein is not,stupendous shes good shes funny enough,in places and immensely likable always,which is one of the kinder reviews that,she had you root for her to raise the,roof but she only bumps against it a,little her voice though solid and sweet,and clear is not well suited to the,music and its difficult because when,the critics are saying here her voice is,not well suited to the music what,theyre really saying without,necessarily realizing it is her voice is,not well suited to our understanding of,how we expect the music to be sung based,on barbra streisands performance its,just too inseparable for us to really,think of those songs being sung any,other way you dont think fanny bryce,when you hear doreno my parade or people,you think barbra streisand helen shaw,for vulture wrote some of feldsteins,assets do make the trip over from film,shes winningly fresh she gives great,bumble she has beautiful eyes the size,of hubcaps which roll and twinkle and,flirt which is a bizarre,frankenstein-esque line to put in a,review as far as im concerned but i,think theres a compliment in there,somewhere its just a little bit,vehicular but in song after song,feldsteins voice lets her down piercing,and unpleasant when it gets any higher,than her chest fading and pitching when,it descends even a few steps its simply,not a sound you expect to hear on,broadway and again this is a really,brutal takedown of her vocal suitability,for the role david rooney for the,hollywood reporter writes the show feels,patchy and episodic and it needs a,knockout roof raising lead to paper over,the cracks feldstein gives a spirited,highly enjoyable performance and her,freshness through squeals of,appreciation from what seemed like a,large contingent of very vocal young,female fans on a recent press night i,take issue with any time a critic ever,presumes to judge where the applause or,the laughter is coming from i think its,incredibly presumptuous and,self-absorbed for anyone to be sitting,in a theater,so consumed with their own opinion that,when you hear enjoyment happening in,that same room you convince yourself it,must be a young fan of that person who,is already invested in their success he,goes on to say she never quite makes the,material saw and this is a rickety,vehicle that needs a supernova to put,gas in its tank and this is a really,important point about the quality of,this show outside of its leading,performance you know where you have star,vehicles they fall into one of two,categories shows that can stand up for,themselves something like gypsy that has,a very strong score and book and other,great supporting roles aside from mumma,rose even though it is ostensibly a star,vehicle originally written for ethel,merman and shows like funny girl where,if you strip away fanny bryces,excellent songs you are left with,questionable material mark kennedy for,the associated press is slightly kinder,he says the show rests and falls on,feldstein who must possess as bryce both,a grand confidence and an insecurity,bryce is a beacon for all the misfits a,stand-in for the unconventional a bagel,on a plate full of onion rolls and,feldstein nails it plus she can deliver,a fuckachta with authenticity spoiler,alert i cant frank rizzo for variety,cant help himself when he writes the,problem with this uninspired revival of,funny girl is not simply the singular,ghost of she who shall not be named all,right its barbra streisand rather the,issue here is the productions inability,to live up to its star-making potential,that would have made us once again,forgive the simplistic sentimental and,sanitized original book credited to,isabelle lennart and honestly i dont,know if this was ever going to happen i,feel like feldstein was always fighting,a losing battle

Staged Right – Episode 15: Beanie & Lea and the Legacy of Funny Girl: Part 2

but nothing beats my excitement for,Beanie feldsteins casting as Fanny,Bryce for some it may have seemed like,an unexpected choice but if youve seen,the range she demonstrates in movies,like ladybird book smart and fxs,impeachment American Crime Story you,know there is a lot to look forward to,here,ah well I certainly was optimistic here,to catch everyone up about a year ago I,made a video about Fanny Bryce Barbra,Streisand and the legacy of funny girl I,also alluded to the then newly announced,Revival starring beanie feldstein in,spite of the inevitable comparisons to,Barbra Streisand and her iconic,performance in funny girl I along with,many others were genuinely excited and,curious about what this casting would,bring the show opened in April of 2022,to largely negative reviews often citing,beanie feldsteins performance and she,along with the rest of the production,were largely snubbed come Tony season,box of his numbers started to fall and,talk soon turned to who would come in to,save the show from closing what followed,was one of the most dramatic and clumsy,PR gaffs in recent memory along with one,of the most talked about returns to the,Broadway stage this episode can be,considered a part two of my original,Funny Girl episode while there have,already been like a million videos,talking about the whole Beanie feldstein,and Leah Michelle discourse this video,is going to follow some of the key,moments in this revival delving into the,drama surrounding Barbaras time in,funny girl and trying to contextualize,how one of the most anticipated Broadway,revivals turn into one of the most,controversial ones you can view part 1,of this video along with my other,episodes and if you want to see more,content like this make sure to hit that,like button and subscribe to my Channel,today,after being shut down for a year and a,half the Broadway League began its,gradual reopening of the Theater,District in August of 2021. I think its,fair to say that many people were,desperate to get back to life,performances and the gravity of every,first rehearsal every first performance,and Curtain Call was heartfelt,[Music],in the middle of all this the,announcement came that funny girl would,be coming back to Broadway in early 2022,and would star beanie feldstein this,gave pause for a number of reasons I,talk about it in My Funny Girl episode,that well in mind it is thought to be a,classic Broadway musical the show had,never received a big commercial Revival,and in large part this was due to the,memory of its original Star Barbra,Streisand and its not hard to see why,the role was written to accommodate to,her Mammoth talents at that time and,its a performance that people still,fall in love with today with funny girl,letting Barbara take Center Stage our,focus is drawn away from the shows,dramaturgical shortcomings and more,inherent issues which well talk about,later on so with Barbra Streisand being,the mold for the role beanie feldsteins,casting was a record scratch Moment by,this point she was mostly known for her,spunky socially awkward character turns,and movies like ladybird and book smart,what she wasnt known for was her,singing even after making her Broadway,debut as Minnie Faye in the Revival of,Hello Dolly with Bette Midler and,certainly in body and stature she in no,way resembles Barbra Streisand but,speaking for myself this is what I found,exciting about this casting when I was,researching for the funny girl episode,it seemed more and more evident that,peoples Collective association with the,musical isnt actually Vinny Bryce,herself but Barbaras interpretation of,her the real Fanny Bryces career was,marked by subverting the idea of what,female stardom could look like in the,early 20th century Barbara would do that,in her own time of course but likely,benefited from the influence of women,like Fanny when Fanny first started her,career she had no interest in trying to,emulate glamor or being sexy her stage,Persona relied heavily on sight gags,wild facial expressions and Broad Jewish,character teachers so rather than seeing,Helen Morgan Poise gracefully atop a,piano or Marilyn Miller wistfully,singing about looking for Silver Linings,you got Fanny Bryce acting a fool,praying her songs with a thick Yiddish,accent this didnt start contrast with,her offstage Persona which while warm,and funny was also practical and Savvy,to the fickleness of Show Business,Barbara herself initially seemed at odds,with what stardom was afforded to women,in the 1960s remember that producer,David Merrick had refused even,considering Barbaras auditioning for,him based solely on her looks but her,talent and candidness would bewitch the,public funny girls book writer Isabelle,Leonard would later write how would you,like to write a libretto about a homely,little girl have what seemed to be a,homely little girl engaged for the part,and then the first time she has an,audience on opening night in Boston have,her turn beautiful in front of your eyes,and get more beautiful at every,performance so that by opening time in,New York shes obviously one of the,great beauties of all time Fanny on the,other hand may have had a harder time,swaying audiences in this direction she,had no problem holding their attention,with a heartbreaking ballad like my man,and you cannot tell me this woman is not,beautiful or glamorous in her own right,but audiences wanted more of the wacky,Fanny price and I suppose to her credit,thats what she gave them though she,would later Express disappointment in,being pigeonholed that way for me beanie,feldsteins casting announcement,signaled a desire to steer clear of a,Barbra Streisand imitation to go for a,completely different take on the role,that would evoke instead the spirit of,the real Fanny Bryce remember that we,were just coming back to life,performances around the time this,announcement was made and given the many,discussions that we were having about,representation in its many forms,throughout lockdown this casting seemed,like a correlated response to those,reflex elections dubinis credit she,understood that by taking this role,comparisons with Barbara were an,inevitability she would speak to this,later saying look as beanie I will to my,last knock on wood love Barbara forever,she is the reason we all know this piece,but for my task bringing it back in 2022,I cant be her my job is to be beanies,version of Fanny Bryce and not Barbaras,version of Fanny Bryce but I say that,with the most love and adoration,soon after this casting announcement was,made though another name soon became,part of the conversation I think most of,us know the basics about who Leah,Michelle is she made her Broadway debut,at eight years old appeared in the,original cast of Spring Awakening and,had a breakout turn in TVs Glee as,Rachel Berry this is producer Ian,Brennan in describing the character Leah,played so the character of Rachel is,kind of all ego and is like a fantastic,little Fireball of a Starlet whos,spectacularly talented and utterly tone,deaf to how she comes across to people,and thats kind of where her charm lies,it was for Show creator Ryan Murphy a,no-brainer to cast her of the many,things Leah and her character on Glee,shared was a deep love for Barbra,Streisand and an ambition to one day,play funny girl on Broadway and many,joked or half joked that her many,performances of songs from the show was,a broadcasted audition to play the role,of Fanny now Leah Michelle is,indisputably talented with all that,being said one of the worst kept secrets,in the industry was her reputation for,being difficult behind the scenes this,came to a head in 2020 when allegations,surfaced about abusive and bullying,Behavior toward cast members on the set,of Glee which quote canceled her and one,way or another she was put out of the,conversations when casting the Revival,of funny girl on social media beanies,casting an announcement was met with,that aforementioned enthusiasm and,curiosity but also a kind of rev