Funny Girl

Summary of the musical Funny Girl:

Funny Girl tells the story of the actress Fanny Brice. From her youth in New York, where the teenager falls in love with the stage and makes her way into vaudeville. Despite the discouragement of her friends and neighbors, who tell her that she is not beautiful enough for the stage, Fanny is wiser. She meets Nick Arnstein, a charismatic gamer, and immediately falls in love. And with her big breakthrough in the Ziegfeld Follies on the horizon, the stardom she's always wanted is just around the corner. His only problem… the elusive Nick, always leaves town to do “business”.
After a romantic reunion in Baltimore, Nick and Fanny finally confess their feelings and Fanny abandons the Follies to follow Nick across the ocean. When Nick wins at the casino, the newly rich couple happily marry.
However, no honeymoon lasts forever, and Fanny must choose between her brilliant career in the entertainment world, or her husband who is finding it increasingly difficult to accept his success.

Watch the trailer for the 1968 film starring Barbra Streisand:
General information
  • Style : Classical, Comedy, Tragedy, Romance
  • Theme : Tap, Comedy, Destiny, Showbiz, Love, Money, United States, Family
  • year of creation : 1963
Music
  • Composer : Jule Styne
  • Lyricist :Bob Merrill
  • Librettist : Isobel Lennart
  • famous songs : "If a Girl Isn't Pretty", "I'm the Greatest Star", "Cornet Man", "His Love Makes Me Beautiful", "I Want to Be Seen With You Tonight", "Henry Street", " People","You Are Woman", "Don't Rain on My Parade", "Sadie, Sadie", "Who Taught Her Everything?", "Temporary Arrangement", "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat", "Who Are You Now?", "The Music That Makes Me Dance", "Funny Girl"?
  • Famous performers : Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Sheridan Smith, Robert Westenberg, Lillian Roth, Darius Campbell, Natasha J Barnes, Christina Bianco, Beanie Feldstein, Lea Michele, Ramin Karimloo.
kinships
  • Inspired by another work : The musical is inspired by the emptiness of actress and singer Fanny Brice.
  • Exists in film : The 1968 film by William Wyler stars Barbra Streisand in the lead role and Omar Sharif as Arnstein. The London production with Sheridan Smith was filmed and is available online on Digital Theatre+.
Awards
  • Appointments and Awards : The musical was nominated for 8 Tony Awards but won none, nominated the same year as Hello, Dolly! (which won 10 Tony Awards!).
  • Number of years on display : 3
  • Number of performances : 1348
  • anecdotes : After a 50-year absence, the revival of the show opened in July 2022 with Beanie Feldstein in the title role. A lot of "drama" rocked this production. Critics and producers pushed the young actress to leave the show after a few months in order to replace her with Lea Michele... The star of Glee played in the series a character who dreamed of playing Fanny Brice on Broadway: it is done !
Currently on stage
  • New York :

    The revival of the show opened in the summer of 2022. The show is still playing at the August Wilson Theater and you can book your tickets here.