Broadway review “Funny Girl”: No rain on Beanie Feldstein’s parade, but expect some drizzle

Clearly missing an obvious comparison: reading the line “Hello beautiful” reads more like a conversation, it sings less than what has been stored in our brains for decades: the new Broadway funny Girl Revival isn’t so much a great show for a replacement as it is a peaceful offer for coexistence – the show that made Barbara Streisand a musical theater icon is unlikely to do the same for its latest star, but there isn’t either. reason to complain. Challenge yourself.

Opening tonight at the August Wilson Theater, Beanie Feldstein proves to be the perfect choice for it. funny Girl, Which isn’t to say it’s ideal, but it’s on par with the above average musical, which has always been dominated by some great songs and legendary performances that elevated the show, and its hit 1968 film adaptation. More than the sum of its parts.

Jules Stein / Bob Merrill’s songs are so memorable, now particularly “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, that their first glimpses into director Michael Meyer’s new staging are greeted with applause. Feldstein, as a Brice fan, sings the note a lot. Don’t underestimate the fact that this cute young actor battles the most horrific ghosts and survives with his dignity and our collective sense of relief.

With some revision and modernization of Harvey Fierstein’s book by Isobel Lenart – not so much revised, but later – funny Girl Revival is struggling to establish itself as a musical in Broadway history without the artist putting it first, and this, in my opinion, is a losing battle. But as a play that contains some compelling performances (including one that might be called a star twist, even if that’s not what audiences expect), some thrilling dance numbers that stand out from the rest and, yes, these two or credible performances. Three KO numbers that enhance their inclusion in any great American songbook, funny Girl The revival takes its place with the new, very popular, if only critically optimized a man of music along the road

Otherwise funny Girl Will follow a man of musicBox office success has yet to be determined. There is no star with more charisma than him, certainly not on the level of Hugh Jackman (and nothing beats the strong vocal voice of Jackman’s constellation, Sutton Foster). Feldstein, who made his Broadway debut in a supporting role in 2017 Hi Dolly!He will delight his fans with the captivating comedy film of 2019. smart bookingAnd yet he must appease all but the most stubborn Streisand Stalin. As a singer, he’s not the best. funny Girl Necessary so often, Feldstein’s vocal speech may be flute-like and sometimes slightly nasal, but his tones are clear and strong enough to give “people” his sharpness and “parade” to aspire to march. His “Nick Arnstein” represents a natural comic rhythm that can seem tense in the non-musical sections.

A lot has been done about Feldstein’s full dimension and how it fits funny GirlThe usual challenge for the showgirl is to meet the usual standards of beauty – challenges that Brice and Streisand gave at the time – but more important is the essential self-confidence, self-confidence and knowledge that Brice’s character needs. have (and his portrait). Show. Lo and behold, Feldstein is at his best (even when the show sometimes forces him to). Although she lacks the vocal talent that Streisand could have used to claim she is a star on the show, Feldstein is no less convincing in her self-esteem and determination than she is as a fan. Nobody would dare to rain on his parade.

Well, maybe a shower or two. Was it necessary for Feldstein to fall to the ground and take the stage for the cheapest laugh in a show that has the part of him? Not even the accuracy of Siegfeld’s possible comic period, in which a hair dryer plays with Jewish pasta during World War I, with bagels hanging from a belt, justifies this din (and Feldstein’s desperate exaggerated theft doesn’t help). The sound of a cauldron as a bride dressed hairdresser with a pregnant comic pillow collides with her fellow dancers sounds worse than the 70s. Sonny and Cher Shaw A sketch worthy of today’s Broadway scene.

It’s true that these routines are meant to reflect the era of fanatical vaudeville (and not surprisingly Streisand’s 1960s), but if it’s hard to stage hiring a great fireman to review the book, why stop suddenly? Some of Fierstein’s obvious changes are welcomed as much as possible: He seems to have stepped up the role of a fellow fan, Eddie (Jared Grimes, who plays the show’s real star in a popular dance routine) and a fan now. . She turns out to be a little more confident when she battles her spendthrift husband, Nick Arnstein (Ramin Karimlu, who does the best of her in a calming role).

But a little more self-confidence isn’t enough to bring about funny Girl Completely and convincingly in the 21st century. Fanny’s behavior of apologizing for her weakness, stealing money, challenging humanity in her husband’s womb is hard to digest, historically accurate or not, and Feldstein reveals – or doesn’t direct – to show nuance, a gradual awakening. About the independence of the fan, even if the nothing of him in the end is seen. And he imagines what a more subversive casting could have achieved if, say, a less sympathetic actor was hired for the role of Nick as a means of stirring up. funny GirlOutdated sexual politics and the hierarchy of beauty?

Sure, this could be ordering a lot of products that just want to entertain tourists with comfort food, but even there funny Girl He often gets depressed. False portrayal of Jane Lynch as the mother of a fan, Ms. Bryce, favors neither the show nor the actress. Her idiotic approach to Brooklyn goes back and forth (even towards Feldstein), outwardly and personally she doesn’t look like the woman who plays her daughter, and she curiously stops her labor during the musical’s most dramatic reveal. . Her co-stars play little. When Ms. Bryce tells a bad story in Fan’s second act, she might as well be talking about missing baggage.

As for the vaudeville show of the show, funny Girl He is greatly helped by the excellent grimes and solid cover ensemble (Eleanor Scott is the choreographer, and choreographer for The Iodel Cassell Theft show). Decorator David Zinn, whose latest work Team boy, boys in a group and this season fruit For example, there are some delays here, due to budget constraints or an idea that seemed better in theory than in practice: dirty brick street facades remain on both sides of the stage for most of the show, which might work as a metaphor: you can get the girl out of Brooklyn and so on. .ش. – But she invades a Siegfeld-style pizza that could move him funny Girl Somewhere much more fascinating.