Broadway's Funny Girl Will Tour, But No Word Yet on Who's Starring

Broadway's current revival of Funny Girl will embark on a tour of North America, with a launch planned for Providence, Rhode Island's Providence Performing Arts Center September 9-16. Further stops are planned for 30 cities nationwide, including Atlanta, Georgia; and Detroit, Michigan.

Unannounced for now is who will lead the new tour. The Broadway production opened with Beanie Feldstein playing real-life vaudeville comedian and singer Fanny Brice and Julie Benko serving as standby. Glee star Lea Michele took over after Feldstein's early departure, sending the production's box office to record-breaking heights. Benko has continued to get acclaim playing the role weekly on Thursday evening performances, and filling in for Michele when she's out sick.

“We are immensely proud of this revival of Funny Girl,” said producers Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis, and David Babani in a joint statement. “It’s been 27 years since Funny Girl last toured the country, and we are excited to introduce this classic musical to a new generation of theatregoers.”

Funny Girl, which premiered on Broadway in 1964, features a score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill and a book by Isobel Lennart, newly adapted by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein for this revival. The original production propelled a young Barbra Streisand to international fame; she would reprise her stage performance in the 1968 film adaptation, winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the process. The biomusical tracks real-life singer and comic Fanny Brice from her humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, to fame and fortune onstage in the Ziegfeld Follies and as a radio and screen performer.

The production, which opened April 24, 2022, at the August Wilson Theatre, is directed by Michael Mayer with choreography by Ellenore Scott, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, music supervision and direction by Michael Rafter, scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kevin Adams, sound design by Brian Ronan, and hair design by Campbell Young Associates. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger. The production also includes orchestrations by Chris Walker; dance, vocal, and incidental music arrangements by Alan Williams; and additional arrangements by Carmel Dean and David Dabbon. Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger are casting the tour.