Lea Michele can belt - I’ll say that for her. And Funny Girl needs a star who can belt to make it work.
I don’t keep track of these things, but I’d wager that Funny Girl is one of Broadway’s toughest tickets currently. I know that I wanted to see it last fall and couldn’t get in, so I bought tickets for it once I’d set the dates for this current trip. And, I wanted to see Ms. Michele perform, so I bought tickets for a Wednesday evening performance, as Julie Benko, her alternate, performs on Thursdays.
Truth be told, I became fascinated with Ms. Michele while watching the TV series, “Glee.” From a scan of last night’s audience, I’d say that many were there because of “Glee” (where Ms. Michele’s character longed to play the lead in Funny Girl) as well.
And they cheered her on, making the energy coming from the audience palpable.
Michael Mayer’s production played like a romance novel written for women. Ramin Karimloo as Nick Arnstein had his shirt off early on, and his unkept promises to Fanny Brice (and her co-dependency), undoubtedly resonated. Tovah Feldshuh, a performer I’ve enjoyed many times, both in San Diego and New York, scored as Fanny’s mother.
All of these elements egged on the audience, and they roared as Ms. Michele delivered the goods.
Bill Eadie |
