Theater: “Funny Girl” starring Beanie Feldstein
Good things come to those who wait. But you still have to wait an awfully long time before the lame revival of “Funny Girl,” now in previews at the August Wilson Theater, finally gets cooking. It happens at the close of Act One just as you’re about to abandon all hope.
As Fanny Brice (Beanie Feldstein) decides not to take the train to Chicago for her next show and instead listen to her heart and follow her gambler boyfriend Nicky Arnstein (Ramin Kimerloo) to Monte Carlo, she throws down the gauntlet, and with fury in her voice, delivers the show’s only show-stopper: “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” It isn’t Barbra Streisand belting one out on a tugboat, as in the 1968 movie, but it’s pretty damned great.
When the curtain rises on Act Two, so do your hopes. For then the show delivers on its strongest asset: the choreography. Kudos to Tap-dancer Choreographer Ayodel Castel and Jared Grimes (who plays Bill Ryan, Brice’s BFF), and to Lead Choreographer Ellenore Scott for directing the show’s brighter moments, which include “Private Schwartz from Rockaway” and “Sadie Sadie Married Lady.”
Unfortunately, those few moments, coupled with a weak book and second-rate Jule Styne songs, do not a great evening make. You need someone with the presence and once-in-a-generation talent of Streisand to knit all the elements together. And regrettably Beanie Feldstein isn’t “the greatest star” by a long shot.
Her singing is inconsistent and at best serviceable. She acts somewhat better. However, her chemistry with Karimloo, who clearly has clearly been cast for his resemblance to Omar Sharif, is zero. As for the other cast members, Jane Lynch who plays Fanny’s mother is about as Jewish as Donald O’Connor.
Yes, people who need people are the luckiest people in the world. So keep your luck going and watch the rerun of “Funny Girl” on AMC instead of this pallid imitation. Oy vey.