The original Broadway production of Funny Girl opened at the Winter Garden Theatre March 26, 1964. The musical, starring a young Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, played 17 previews and 1,348 previews before closing July 1, 1967, earning eight Tony Award nominations including Best Musical.
Funny Girl tells the story of the famed vaudeville star, from Brooklyn to headlining the Ziegfeld Follies as well as her marriage to gambler Nick Arnstein. The musical features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart.
In addition to Streisand as Brice, the production starred Sydney Chaplin as Nick Arnstein, Kay Medford as Mrs. Brice, Danny Meehan as Eddie Ryan, Jean Stapleton as Mrs. Strakosh, Roger De Koven as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., and Joseph Macauley as Tom Keeney alongside Buzz Miller, George Reeer, Royce Wallace, Prudence Adams, Jose Ahumada, Joan Cory, Diane Coupe, Edie Cowan, Christine Dalsey, Shellie Farrell, Bud Fleming, Lydia S. Fredericks, Larry Fuller, Ellen Halpin, Blair Hammond, Victor R. Helou, Robert Henson, Robert Howard, Rosemary Jelincic, Marc Jordan, Lainie Kazan, Karen Kristin, John Lankston, Mary Louise, Joan Lowe, Jeanne McLaren, Diana Lee Nielsen, John Nola, Joyce O’Neil, Alan Peterson, Rose Randolf, Stephanie Reynolds, Sharon Vaughn, Alan E. Weeks, Rosemary Yellen, and Albert Zimmerman. Rounding out the company were Lainie Kazan and George Reeder as standbys.
Directed by Garson Kanin with musical staging by Carol Haney, Funny Girl featured scenic and lighting design by Robert Randolph and costume design by Irene Sharaff with stage management by Richard Evans, Tom Stone, Joseph Dooley, and Robert Howard. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.
It was adapted into a motion picture in 1968, with Streisand earning an Academy Award for her performance as Fanny Brice.
