Funny Girl: Katerina McCrimmon and Stephen Mark Lukas – Photo: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade
Fanny Brice really was the greatest star, at least at the Ziegfeld Follies. The famously expressive singer-comedian headlined the premier Broadway theatrical revue for years in the 1910s, ’20s, and ’30s, then segued to radio stardom, motion pictures, and a hit-making recording career highlighted by signature songs “Second-Hand Rose” and “My Man.”
But Fanny appeared in only a few films of note, and folks don’t much listen to her music anymore. Her legacy as a performer has largely been supplanted by the popularity of Funny Girl, the musical that’s loosely based on her life and that the whole world associates with a different funny girl from New York City.
As someone who appreciates Fanny, especially her songs, I look to a new Funny Girl — like the touring production of Michael Mayer’s well-received, if rocky, recent Broadway run — to give me more than Barbra. I want to see a portrayal that also evokes Fanny’s talents and singular appeal, in service to Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s so singable score, and Isobel Lennart’s solid rags-to-riches love story.
Leading the tour, currently in its opening engagement at the Kennedy Center Opera House, Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice gave me what I wanted. Funny, quick, and blessed with powerhouse pipes, McCrimmon is a delight, capturing the verve and oddball confidence that were Brice’s bread and butter, while still creating her own unique Funny Girl.
In her “I’m the Greatest Star,” McCrimmon makes her voice heard, with impressive energy and sustained notes capping Fanny’s debut at Keeney’s vaudeville house. The performer also, on occasion, hits notes that sound like Streisand in a way that’s not displeasing.
Interestingly, to the ears of this former Glee watcher, McCrimmon’s voice never once reminded me of Lea Michele, who established herself as Fanny, replacing Beanie Feldstein in the show’s 2022-23 Broadway run that spawned this tour.
Based on the wigs and make-up, the casting department must have been glad to find someone who could look this much like Lea Michele, but McCrimmon’s Fanny feels like hers. She sings her own “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” And she flows beautifully singing “People,” though that’s the song where her performance, with seeming inevitability, most echoes Streisand’s classic version.
McCrimmon also creates a compelling romantic pair with dashing Stephen Mark Lukas as high roller Nicky Arnstein, Fanny’s lover-turned-husband. They have great timing with their dinner-night repartée — the revised script is by Harvey Fierstein — leading into “You Are Woman, I Am Man.”
Even in Nicky’s low moments, Lukas warmly embodies the charm of this debonair gambler in his top hat and tails, with manicured nails. Fanny can’t resist, and we can see why.
It’s not because he’s the greatest dancer, as Lukas demonstrates in the show’s somewhat discordant take on Nicky’s jazzy “Temporary Arrangement.” Although, the dancing in general is top-notch, with Ellenore Scott’s fun choreography crisply executed by an ensemble that makes all the dancing a pleasure.
Some numbers are saved by the dancing, like the strongly-tapped “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat.” Izaiah Montaque Harris, playing Fanny’s longtime friend and collaborator Eddie, serves up several exciting solos of Ayodele Casel’s tap choreography.
The tapping registers more clearly than the lyrics at times, with some performers’ vocals muffled in the sound mix. The issue is most noticeable with the esteemed ladies portraying Fanny’s folks from her neighborhood — Mrs. Strakosh (Eileen T’Kaye, who’s fabulous), Mrs. Meeker (Cindy Chang), and Fanny’s saloon matron mother Mrs. Brice (Grammy winner Melissa Manchester).
Funny Girl: Melissa Manchester and Katerina McCrimmon – Photo: Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade
That wisecracking trio contributes more to summoning the show’s early 20th-century atmosphere than David Zinn’s set, which summons more of a “Really, that’s it?” The array of digitally printed flats and backdrops picturing locations of 1900s New York, from theaters to train stations, suggest there might eventually be a big scenic reveal. No such luck.
The production’s fortune lies instead in its beloved music, Fanny and Nicky’s troubled love story, which feels heartbreakingly genuine in this telling, and, of course, in the show’s great star, McCrimmon, who, with more than a little courage, takes on a second-hand role with first-rate finesse.
Funny Girl (★★★☆☆) runs through July 14 at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets are $49 to $189. Call 202-467-4600, or visitwww.kennedy-center.org.
The fall looks primed to be a strong season of concerts by -- and appealing to -- the LGBTQ community. Among the highlights in the category of the well-known, consider Andy Bell (Lincoln), Jane Lynch (Strathmore), Renee Rapp (Merriweather), DOECHII (Anthem), and of course All Things Go (Merriweather). In the category of merely appealing, not gay per se, consider The Queens (Capital One Arena), Deborah Cox (Bethesda Theater), and Judith Hill (The Hamilton).
That barely scratches the surface. There's a lot of new -- or perhaps new to you -- queer artists out there, just waiting for you get into them including Katie Pruitt (Union Station, Rams Head), Rio Romeo (Songbyrd), Aaron Lee Tasjan (Jammin Java), Dixon Dallas (Union Stage).
Metro Weekly magazine was barely a year and a half old when, in 1995, we were offered the chance to interview — and photograph — Broadway legend Carol Channing, then appearing at the Kennedy Center in Hello, Dolly! that fall. Two moments from that experience stand out, the first at the photo shoot with Annie Adjchavanich.
We'd set up a black velvet backdrop in the Hall of States and were waiting for Miss Channing to arrive. When she finally swept in, she looked radiant. Except… she refused to remove her enormous sunglasses. Indoors.
I begged her to take them off, but she firmly declined. "I don't have my eyelashes on," she said. "You are not seeing me without my eyelashes!" And that was that — sunglasses it would be. The result was a cover that was both thrilling (Carol Channing!) and oddly surreal (Carol Channing in giant sunglasses!).
Little by little, year after year, from one season to the next, there have been some subtle yet certain shifts in programming among local classical music organizations -- in both good and not-so-good ways, depending on whether you like, say, holiday sing-alongs come Christmastime. If you do, well, good for you, but boo hoo for the rest of us, because that's definitely on the uptick this season, as in previous years. Similarly, if Halloween is more your jam, you're also in luck, because there's also been a slight increase in the number of eerily inspired, scary-themed shows.
There's also more diversity all around, and in multiple senses of the term -- from slightly more female composers with works being performed around town, to more genre- and boundary-pushing works and programs overall, to seemingly more out, LGBTQ-identified people in this particular genre.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
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