After a week of buzz and speculation (and a casting call notice), producers Sonia Friedman and Scott Landis have confirmed that they will bring a Funny Girl revival to Broadway, with Beanie Feldstein taking on the role of Fanny Brice. Performances will begin in spring 2022, with a theatre, exact dates, and further casting to come.
Tony winner Michael Mayer will direct the production, having helmed a London revival that began at the Menier Chocolate Factory and later transferred to the West End. While Menier is a producer of the Broadway bow—and while the New York revival will feature a revised book by Harvey Fierstein following his work in London—the production itself will not be a transfer of that staging. Joining the creative team are set designer David Zinn, choreographer Ellenore Scott, and tap choreographer Ayodele Casel.
Feldstein made her Broadway debut in the recent revival of Hello, Dolly!. On screen, she’s had standout roles in Booksmart and Lady Bird, and will soon be seen as Monica Lewinsky in the Ryan Murphy limited series Impeachment: American Crime Story. Some of her upcoming film roles speak to her theatre ties: the movie adaptations of The Humans and Merrily We Roll Along (which is to be filmed over a two-decade period).
The stage and screen favorite says she's played the famed comedian before, albeit on a smaller scale: "The first time I played Fanny Brice was at my third birthday party, in a head-to-toe leopard print outfit my mom made for me. So, it’s safe to say that stepping into this iconic role, on Broadway and not in my family’s backyard, is truly my lifelong dream come true."
This will mark the first Broadway revival of Funny Girl since the original 1964 production catapulted Barbra Streisand to stardom. The musical, featuring a score by composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill and an original book by Isobel Lennart, was slated to be revived in 2012 in a production directed by Bartlett Sher, though the plans fell through as investors backed out.
