Beanie Feldstein dropped by Good Morning America April 11 to chat about the prospect of Barbra Streisand herself dropping in on Funny Girl at the August Wilson, which stars Feldstein as vaudeville comedian Fanny Brice. Streisand was catapulted into international fame after playing Brice on Broadway in 1964 and reprising the performance for the 1968 film adaptation. If Babs gets to the musical's first Broadway revival in 58 years, Feldstein hopes she'll keep it quiet.
"If her plane touches down in the state of New York and anyone tells me, I will never forgive them. Do not tell me if she's even planning a trip. I can not know. I'm literally shaking right now at the idea of it," she shares. But for Feldstein, that feeling isn't just about Streisand. "I don't even want to know when anyone's there, honestly. It's just a show like any other show and we do it for everyone out there, but I do get nervous when I know [celebrities] are there." Watch the full Good Morning America segment above.
Feldstein also appeared on CBS Sunday Morning April 10 to discuss her work in the revival, her love for Streisand, and all things Funny Girl, which is set to open on Broadway April 24.
"I love being a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls. Anytime someone would push me to be someone I wasn't, I would just be like "why?""
Host Mo Rocca had previously interviewed Feldstein as a camper at Stagedoor Manor in 2010, where Feldstein had eagerly shared her love for Barbra Streisand and Funny Girl more than a decade before she was to assume the mantle of Fanny Brice in the first Broadway revival of the Jule Styne and Bob Merrill classic.
"My mom put Funny Girl on for me when I was two years old, and I watched it everyday until the age of five. I could recite every word for you, and my third birthday was Funny Girl themed."
Watch the CBS Sunday Morning appearance below.
Feldstein stars as Fanny Brice in the biomusical about the vaudeville comedian, with Karimloo as Nick Arnstein and Lynch as Mrs. Rosie Brice. Joining them are Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan, Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld, Ephie Aardema as Emma/Mrs. Nadler, Debra Cardona as Mrs. Meeker, Toni DiBuono as Mrs. Strakosh, Martin Moran as Tom Keeney, and Julie Benko as the standby for Fanny Brice.
Rounding out the ensemble are Amber Ardolino, Daniel Beeman, Colin Bradbury, Kurt Thomas Csolak, Leslie Donna Flesner, Afra Hines, Masumi Iwai, Aliah James, Jeremiah James, Danielle Kelsey, Stephen Mark Lukas, Alicia Hadiya Lundgren, John Thomas Manzari, Liz McCartney, Katie Mitchell, Justin Prescott, Mariah Reives, and Leslie Blake Walker.
Michael Mayer directs the first Broadway revival of the classic musical by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, with a revised book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the original book and story by Isabel Lennart. Fierstein and Mayer previously collaborated on a 2016 West End revival of the work, though this Broadway revival will be a new staging.
The production also features choreography by Ellenore Scott; tap choreography by Ayodele Casel; scenic design by David Zinn; costume design by Susan Hilferty; lighting design by Kevin Adams; sound design by Brian Ronan; hair and wig design by Campbell Young Associates; orchestrations by Chris Walker; dance, vocal, and incidental arrangements by Alan Williams; additional arrangements by David Dabbon and Carmel Dean; and music direction and supervision by Michael Rafter. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger; Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis, and David Babani produce.
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