Funny Girl

I thought he did a good job and was pretty convincing overall, but what's the deal with his accent? It was so exaggerated and bizarre and distracting.

Anyways, thanks for letting me know. I write a blog and have used the word "casted" hundreds of times. Oops! I guess you learn something new everyday!

How do you feel about "castingised"? Or what about "encasted"? "Encastenated"?

I love him. 

Ooh. I love 'encasted' or perhaps becasted (like bespectacled or bewitched), although even then my instincts would say 'becast.'

That's the difference - she drinks to forget whereas you drink to forget him.

Saw the show last night - was overall sort of disappointed I guess. The problem, in two words, is Barbra Streisand. When you have that to compare to, things are always going to have an impossibly high bar. I don't think I realised just how high though until I saw the show.

Let me say that overall, I enjoyed watching and wasn't bored. I enjoyed my night out. But I just keep thinking about the problems more than the positives. Firstly, Sheridan is a character actress, which I don't think suits Fanny. Fanny, fundamentally is supposed to be a star. That is not Sheridan. I don't mean that as a criticism of Sheridan's talents - but she either choose to play Fanny less 'star-like' or she is not capable of transmitting that sort of wattage. Also, the book doesn't really allow for it either. We are never really shown in this version why Fanny is supposed to such a star or why she becomes one. Whenever we see her doing her stuff 'on stage' for the Follies or such, it's always entirely comic and lacking very much in vocal marvel. But Sheridan portrays this with much too much personal vulnerability to what is around her, while Fanny, IMO, is supposed to fundamentally believe in herself over all else. She also plays it much too comically. Without a steely centre, which never really comes across, it's just too fluffy. She does a very good job of portraying the emotions of the later scenes, but without getting the truth of Fanny right first, I'm not sure how useful that is.

Her voice is largely adequate to the task, with the exception of People. She can belt but when she transitions between her chest or low voice to the higher sections, like 'are the luckiest people in the world' you lose all power entirely and her voice sounds entirely average there. And I feel that moment is especially important in what I talked about earlier - in having a moment when you truly believe in her talent in that world. But with the rest of the belters you can get a bit of a thrill from Sheridan as she reaches the end of the songs and lingers on those money notes. The 'in show' numbers are all right - Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat needs help immediately as you can't hear a clear word of any of it.

Staging is rather unimaginative - relying almost entirely on flat escalator type portion of the floor. (must be a name for those?) I thought makeup/hair was rather poor - Fanny isn't supposed to be a beautiful woman but I thought they could have done much better with Sheridan's transition from ingénue to star. It's really a rather unattractive wig and it stays that way throughout the show.
I thought Darius had a lovely voice, but he spent the entire first act in a fairly neutral cultured American accent and then spent the second in a NY accent. Very odd. I particularly enjoyed his and Sheridan's duet. It also became quite obvious from the staging in his solo number that he can't dance. I think they could have tried to hide that a little more skilfully.
I was also quite shocked, as I have only seen the film, as to how the show ends. What a disappointment that is! After a bit of research I've discovered that is the original stage ending but it takes away so much of the gravitas of this production. The plot already has modernity issues - it is rather laughable listening to discussions about how a woman 'MADE' a man do bad because her attempts to help emasculated him. Which I why I feel that the movie ending is so much more appropriate - Fanny in indomitable and we already know that, but what she truly wants in her heart she can't have. This is a tragedy and it should end as such - with My Man - not a reprise of Rain on My Parade.
Two and a half stars out of Five from me.

What is interesting to me, as someone who has just recently finished studying variety and vaudeville at the time when the real Fanny Brice was at the height of her fame, is how the musical tackles characterisation. All you have to do is watch one video of Fanny Brice performing, and compare that with Sheridan's performance, to understand where this production, and Smith's portrayal of Fanny, are coming from. 

Smith and Streisand's versions are not similar at all, and while the film presents one version of the character, I felt that this production feels much truer to life, in terms of the way Fanny Brice was perceived, and rose to fame. 

Yes, Brice was a singer, but she was nothing like the belting 'diva' which Streisand portrayed in the film... 


She was, however, very much known for her comedy, and famously her character of Baby Snooks...



Although she started out as a singer, it was her comedic ability that really got her noticed, and got her into Ziegfeld's Follies, where her comedic sketches relied mostly of self deprecatory humour. 

I really feel as if this production of Funny Girl in particular is effective as it distances itself from the film, and Smith is in no way trying to do what Barbra did, because her version of Fanny Brice does not call for it. 

That's not to say that it's better or worse, just different, which I guess can be jarring. 

I do really wish My Man was included in the stage version of Funny Girl though, as it's such a beautiful, powerful song, and a really strong ending to the show. 

Reviving this as 'Funny Girl (Streisand)' would have been pointless, even perverse. As a version of 'Funny Girl - Brice', however, it works.

Streisand was not a good Brice but she was a very good Streisand.

EDIT: I'm  also glad that they didn't change the show by adding in My Man, not only is it stylistically jarring but, for me, it's a much better song (and harder to sing).

Travelator.

We ARE enjoying it! 

We'd just enjoy it more with Barb..... I mean 'My Man' in it