"Funny Girl" has owned a piece of my heart ever since I first heard a recording of Barbra singing "People." The movie version remains one of my all time favorite films. Yet until last night, I had never seen the stage version of the show. It is seldom produced, and for good reason. Ms. Streisand casts a long shadow, and it would take a lot of chutzpah for another actress to stand emotionally naked on a stage and belt out songs that have Barbra's DNA embedded in them. Fortunately, North Shore Music Theatre has found in Shoshana Bean a bagel among the onion rolls, and her Fanny Brice is thrilling and deeply moving.
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| Shoshana Bean as Fanny Brice "Funny Girl" North Shore Music Theatre Through June 19th Photo by Paul Lyden |
The play opens with Ms. Bean as Fanny Brice sitting in front of her dressing room mirror ready to go on as the star of the Ziegfeld Follies. It is a pivotal moment in her life, since she is awaiting the return of her beloved husband, Nicky Arnstein (a very fine Bradley Dean) after an absence of eighteen months. As she sits "reflecting" on her life and love, up pops a tableau of her mother and the other Henry Street mothers at a table in Mrs. Brice's Brooklyn saloon. We have been transported back to the beginning of Fanny's career. The mothers are playing penny ante poker - 3 cent limit! An important theme is dealt to us early, and the cards are laid on the table: Fanny's life will be one long gamble with ever-rising stakes. She is often all in; Nicky Arnstein is usually bluffing.
From the opening strains of "If A Girl Isn't Pretty," Susan Cella as Mrs. Brice establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with. As the busybody mother of married daughter, Sadie, Mrs. Strakosh is played with aplomb by Sandy Rosenberg. As the song morphs into an early frustrating audition for Mr. Tom Keeney's show, we get a first glimpse of Eddie Ryan, played with great charm and dancing and singing chops by the multi-talented Rick Faugno. Fanny convinces Eddie to stay up with her and teach her the dance routine so she can make a good impression at the call-back audition with Mr. Keeney. We can tell from Ms. Bean's rendition of "I'm The Greatest Star," that the role of Fanny has been perfectly cast. It is not that we will not compare her with Barbra, but that comparisons are not relevant. For Shoshana is telling her own version of the Fanny Brice story, and "it shines in every detail like a ring you're buying - retail"!
Nicky Arnstein - Fanny's first ruffled shirt - comes along and helps her to negotiate a very generous salary for her role in Keeney's show. She is smitten, but as a plain girl from Henry Street, has no illusions that Arnstein will ever be anything but a golden memory. When she intones for the first of many times the line "Nicky Arnstein, Nicky Arnstein - I'll Never See Him Again," we begin to anticipate her inevitable heartbreak. And each time she repeats this motif as her story unfolds, our hearts break with hers just a little more.
Eddie would like to date Fanny, but she makes it clear that they will only be friends. He ruefully accepts, and becomes her lifelong friend, coach, and canary in the coal mine, trying to warn her of impending dangers. Mr. Faugno's mastery of this role is a highlight of this production.
As is always the case at Bill Hanney's NSMT, the blocking for the in-the-round production is impeccable. Director and Choreographer James Brennan makes sure that each important moment is broadcast to all sections of the audience, with movements and turns that are wedded to the action of the story and not forced or artificial. Jule Styne's iconic music is given life by the band led by Music Director Mark Hartman. Lyrics by Bob Merrill still shimmer and sting: "When a girl's incidentals are no bigger than two lentils, to me it doesn't spell success!"
The scenic design by Stephen Dobay is brilliant, as are the costumes by Mark Nagle, Lighting by Jack Mehler and Sound by Charles Coes.
The ensemble is terrific, with fine dancing, singing and acting. They are: Brittney Morello as Emma, James Van Treuren as Flo Ziegfeld, Richard Vida as John and Purdie Baumann, Courtney Brady, J.D. Daw, Brandon Haagenson, Kimber Hampton, Brooke Lacy, Kathleen Lamagna, Con O'Shea-Creal, Ellen Peterson, Emily Jeanne Phillips, Robbie Smith and David Visini.
"Funny Girl" will run through June 19th. This is a show you do not want to miss. I suggest that you get your tickets ASAP. You would not want a sold out performance to "Rain On Your Parade"!
NSMT Website
Enjoy!
Al
From the opening strains of "If A Girl Isn't Pretty," Susan Cella as Mrs. Brice establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with. As the busybody mother of married daughter, Sadie, Mrs. Strakosh is played with aplomb by Sandy Rosenberg. As the song morphs into an early frustrating audition for Mr. Tom Keeney's show, we get a first glimpse of Eddie Ryan, played with great charm and dancing and singing chops by the multi-talented Rick Faugno. Fanny convinces Eddie to stay up with her and teach her the dance routine so she can make a good impression at the call-back audition with Mr. Keeney. We can tell from Ms. Bean's rendition of "I'm The Greatest Star," that the role of Fanny has been perfectly cast. It is not that we will not compare her with Barbra, but that comparisons are not relevant. For Shoshana is telling her own version of the Fanny Brice story, and "it shines in every detail like a ring you're buying - retail"!
Nicky Arnstein - Fanny's first ruffled shirt - comes along and helps her to negotiate a very generous salary for her role in Keeney's show. She is smitten, but as a plain girl from Henry Street, has no illusions that Arnstein will ever be anything but a golden memory. When she intones for the first of many times the line "Nicky Arnstein, Nicky Arnstein - I'll Never See Him Again," we begin to anticipate her inevitable heartbreak. And each time she repeats this motif as her story unfolds, our hearts break with hers just a little more.
Eddie would like to date Fanny, but she makes it clear that they will only be friends. He ruefully accepts, and becomes her lifelong friend, coach, and canary in the coal mine, trying to warn her of impending dangers. Mr. Faugno's mastery of this role is a highlight of this production.
 |
| Rick Faugno as Eddie Ryan Soshana Bean as Fanny Brice"Funny Girl" North Shore Music Theatre Through June 19th Photo by Paul Lyden |
The scenic design by Stephen Dobay is brilliant, as are the costumes by Mark Nagle, Lighting by Jack Mehler and Sound by Charles Coes.
The ensemble is terrific, with fine dancing, singing and acting. They are: Brittney Morello as Emma, James Van Treuren as Flo Ziegfeld, Richard Vida as John and Purdie Baumann, Courtney Brady, J.D. Daw, Brandon Haagenson, Kimber Hampton, Brooke Lacy, Kathleen Lamagna, Con O'Shea-Creal, Ellen Peterson, Emily Jeanne Phillips, Robbie Smith and David Visini.
"Funny Girl" will run through June 19th. This is a show you do not want to miss. I suggest that you get your tickets ASAP. You would not want a sold out performance to "Rain On Your Parade"!
NSMT Website
Enjoy!
Al
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