‘Funny Girl,’ Now at Playhouse Square, Brings to Mind the Star Power of the Streisand Original

Some Broadway musicals become famous as the launching pads for certain performers, such as Carol Burnett when she starred in Once Upon a Mattress. But leading the pack in that category is the show Funny Girl, a promising but unspectacular show that happened to drop Barbra Streisand into the title role. The rest is history, as they say.

But what they don’t say is that, for any of who’ve been around for the entirety of Babs’ 60-year run of fabulousness, the signature songs in FG don’t sound right coming out of anyone else’s mouth. This is in part what tripped up the excellent actor Beanie Feldstein, who received quite a drubbing by critics and others when she opened the latest version on Broadway in 2022. You see, she didn’t act or sound like Streisand and that was the kiss of death until the role was taken over by the belter Lea Michele

In this touring version directed by Michael Mayer, the lead role is taken by Katerina McCrimmon, a young woman with powerfully prestigious pipes that do justice to songs such as “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” While she doesn’t look or sound like the original, she’s talented enough to allow one to focus on the show itself.

Even though McCrimmon is quite pretty and curvy, we suspend our disbelief as Fanny’s mom (an amusing Barbara Tirrell) and her elderly gal pals comment on Fanny’s lack of traditional beauty and her less than well-developed (ahem) assets—”They look like a couple of lentils.”

After an awkward first appearance on stage, Fanny soon gets the idea to make fun of herself. She is soon knocking them dead, either by herself or as the floundering fly in the ointment of large production numbers such as a lovely butterfly dance routine. McCrimmon does her best with these moments, but she ultimately doesn’t take enough risks to make her those bits actually take off comedically.

The material (score by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, book by Isobel Lennart) relates the story of Fanny Brice, the comedy star who carved her own unique niche in vaudeville, particularly in the Ziegfeld Follies in the mid-1930s. The structure of the play echoes the essence of vaudeville with a scenic design heavy on drops while lush costuming by Susan Hilferty provides the feel of time and place. There are also pauses now and then for “specialty acts” such as a couple tap dance numbers executed nicely by Izaiah Montaque Harris as Eddie Ryan, Fanny’s loyal friend.

Amidst all her succcess, the only upset in Fanny’s life seems to be her love affair with Nicky Arnstein, the smokin’ hot “producer” who is actually a convicted criminal with a bigger love for booze, gambling and con games. As Nicky, Stephen Mark Lucas doesn’t really convey the danger inherent in this character, mostly standing off to one side and glowering. He has a pleasant singing voice, but when he’s called upon to dance he looks a bit confused, like a “Dancing with the Stars” contestant who missed a couple rehearsals.

One of the reasons Funny Girl made such an impact when it opened in 1964 is that the story of Fanny is the story of Barbra—each a young woman who soared to the top of the entertainment world and stayed there far beyond what anyone might have imagined. It is also the story of all of us, those in the audience who bask in their substantial talents. And this touring show at Playhouse Square provides a glimpse of what that star power looked like about a century ago.

Funny Girl
Through March 10 at Playhouse Square, Connor Palace Theater, 1615 Euclid Ave., playhousesquare.org, 216-241-6000.

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