A return trip to the new Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” reveals both good news and bad news.
The good news is that Lea Michele (who utilized her time on the TV show “Glee” as an all-out, never-ending audition for “Funny Girl,” including the season where her character even starred in a fictional Broadway revival of “Funny Girl”) is vastly better as Fanny Brice than Beanie Feldstein, which should surprise absolutely no one.
Feldstein, who was an unexpected and intriguing casting choice, simply lacked the vocal chops to handle one of the most demanding roles in the musical theater canon. The show’s producers and creative team deserve the blame rather than Feldstein herself.
On the other hand, Michele’s performances of “I’m the Greatest Star” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade” are absolutely exhilarating, prompting frenzied excitement and mid-show standing ovations. Michele also throws herself into her character’s comedy bits, even though her efforts are more hard-working than inspired or genuinely funny.
Tovah Feldshuh (who replaces Jane Lynch as Fanny’s mother, Mrs. Brice) is also a terrific addition to the cast, bringing period style and an underlying grit.
The bad news is that “Funny Girl” (with its mopey old-fashioned soap opera plotting and all the second-rate songs that got cut from the film adaptation) does not hold up especially well as a musical (which is likely why it has never been revived on Broadway before), Michael Mayer’s production is way too skimpy in its production values (a larger pit orchestra and dance ensemble, I beg you!), and Harvey Fierstein’s revisions to the book do more harm than good.
A few years ago, when Michele indicated in an interview that she was finally ready to lead a “Funny Girl” revival, I wondered whether anyone would still care – and that was before word got out about her allegedly toxic behavior on the set of “Glee,” leading to a public backlash against her.
While Michele’s future professional prospects are probably still questionable, her performance as Fanny feels like the ultimate culmination of six seasons of “Glee,” making for one hell of a nostalgia trip for fans who watched “Glee” a decade ago, including myself. It’s just too bad the producers couldn’t convince Lynch (who played Sue Sylvester on “Glee”) to stick around or perhaps bring in Matthew Morrison to play Nick Arnstein.
August Wilson Theatre, 245 W. 52nd St., funnygirlonbroadway.com.
