Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
#1Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:07am
I have just read that Glee Show Creator Ryan Murphy has plans to take Funny Girl to a Broadway theatre for REAL and Lea Michelle will play the title role.
What do you think? I personally would love this. She has nailed so many of the songs on Glee (and lets not forget the Tony's a few years ago) that I think this was inevitable.
#2Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:40amOnly if she does her own take on the role and not copy Streisand, then I have no problem with it. She definitely has the voice and stamina for the role and with good direction I think she could be worth watching. Oh and Murphy can't direct this.
#2Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:53amI'd like to see a Funny Girl revival, but so far it does seem like the billing would have to be "Lea Michele as Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl." If she can somehow push through that and make it her own, then sure, why not?
#3Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 9:02amI agree with the sbove. Last night she did "People" on Glee. Close your eyes and you'd almost think it's Barbra. What's the point? I'd love to see a different take on Fanny Brice. Actually I did, when Mimi Hines took over for Barbra in the original production. It was a fascinatingly different take on the role.
mamaleh
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/04
#4Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 9:09amHines was the "Funny Girl" my classmates and I saw on a school trip back in the day. I thought her feisty and chirpy, less smooth-sounding than Barbra on the OCR but very winning in a scrappier way.
#5Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 9:13amYou know, a lot of people (myself included) actually think Jessie Mueller should be Fanny Brice...
#6Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 10:09am
Mimi Hines singing "Don't rain on my parade" at the closing night of Funny Girl: http://youtu.be/Q2p4wli1bdI
Mimi Hines singing "People": http://youtu.be/oGFC3UFw8pE
Mimi Hines discussing Funny Girl and Barbra Streisand being sick: http://youtu.be/tFe9IX3Kr9k.
She kept that show open for 18 months after Barbra left.
EDIT: I'm skeptical that this is the actual closing night of Funny Girl. Kinda sucks that she didn't sing the whole song of "Don't rain...". Allegedly Barbra didn't sing the whole song on Matinees, so I guess Mimi just followed suit. I'm guessing this is a Matinee performance and not closing night. Kind of a jerk move for matinee audiences.
Updated On: 4/2/14 at 10:09 AM
#7Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 10:19amI was just about to ask how long the show remained open after Barbra left and Mimi took over. Thanks for the info ShakinBaconGirl.
#8Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 10:46amLEA MICHELE'S "People" was brilliant i thought...great job...had me loving this song again...:)
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#9Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 11:29amI wonder how her "out of town" reviews were?
#10Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 11:51amI would love to see the revival with Lea. I love her voice. Her "people" on last night's episode of Glee was beautiful.
Wynbish
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/27/12
#11Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 11:54amLea Michelle as Fanny? Lea Michelle IS a fanny.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#12Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 12:20pmOver my dead body. Lea Michele is the devil. Literally.
yankeefan7
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/14/12
#13Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 12:48pmActually the best rendition of songs like "Don't Rain On My Parade" I have heard outside of Streisand is Linda Eder.
#14Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:10pm
I nominate this guy to be the next Funny Girl:http://youtu.be/HoQzt05O_mc
What a voice!
#15Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:44pm
Linda Eder couldn't act funny in a gazillion years. Lea Michele today is not able to land a joke in a million years, watch her performances in "comedies" like GLEE and NEW YEAR'S EVE, post-season 1 Michele hasn't been able to deliver a joke in any of the work she's done. And if your defense is going to be about how those shows have less than stellar writing, well, guess what, most people think the book of FUNNY GIRL is pretty weak in the first place, so yes, you need someone who can actually be funny in the context of a not-so-well-written show. People love to bring up "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "People" as the pinnacles of a good Fanny; if that was all that was needed for a good Fanny Brice, then we'd see revivals of the show left and right. Watch Streisand in the film, her performance goes above and beyond those two songs; yes, she gives a spectacular vocal performance but more importantly, she's very funny, often while being dramatic at the same time. That's what a good Fanny needs, and that's why it'd be so hard to find someone who can sell the role.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Updated On: 4/3/14 at 08:44 PM
#16Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:50pm
You sound a bit angry. It's good to know FUNNY GIRL still has some passionate fans. 
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#17Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 8:51pm
I had to have a big meeting with a creative team I was working with on a production of Funny Girl. They were telling our Fanny to sing it just like Barbara. It was awful. They didn't understand why cloning a performance like that was a bad thing.
I can't see Lea Michelle dancing or doing the physical comedy well enough to pull off Fanny Brice.
bwaydreamer
Stand-by Joined: 3/29/11
#18Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 9:27pmLea Michelle is a terrible person who has a nice voice and no exceptional acting abilities. Everyone in the broadway community hates her and no one wants to work with her. Jessie Mueller or Leslie Kritzer have much more dynamic voices, better ranges, and MUCH better acting abilities.
yankeefan7
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/14/12
#19Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 9:57pm
"Linda Eder couldn't act funny in a gazillion years"
I never said she could act the part, just stated she has sung those type of songs better than anyone I have heard outside of Streisand in her prime IMO. I am not positive but I don't believe Ms. Eder has been on Broadway since she did "Jekyll & Hyde".
Updated On: 4/2/14 at 09:57 PM
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#20Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 10:08pm
Lea Michelle is a terrible person who has a nice voice and no exceptional acting abilities.
You actually put it nicely. More like despicable, horrendous, waste of a human being.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
Updated On: 4/2/14 at 10:08 PM
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#22Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 10:32pm
Blaxx,
But aside from all of that, do you like her?
BroadwayEd
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#23Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/2/14 at 10:55pmAside from that, she's ok.
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#24Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice
Posted: 4/3/14 at 7:27amI totally agree that Jessie Mueller would be the ideal choice to make "Funny Girl" her own. The Glee girl is only capable of mimic and copying others especially Streisand. We need a new take on this role.
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