FUNNY GIRL GETS A FACELIFT
REVIEW: FUNNY GIRL LONDON CAST RECORDING
BY RYAN M. LUÉVANO
Funny Girl, which first opened on Broadway on March 26th 1964 at the Winter Garden Theatre, is still known today by this original production starring Barbra Streisand. Due the show’s success, in large credit to Streisand’s performance, the musical has spawned a string of proliferations such as the 1968 William Wyler film, and the 1975 sequel Funny Lady with a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Since then, the Funny Girl recording has become a time capsule that conjures only memories of Streisand’s unshakable stamp as it’s the only cast recording in the last 50 years.
The Savoy Theatre, London, 2016. Photo Credit: Johan Persson.
Now for the first time ever we not only have a new cast recording, but also a revival of this classic musical with a revised book by Harvey Fierstein. Two-time Olivier winner Sheridan Smith stars in this London revival that started previews in November 2015 at the Menier Chocolate Factory and has since then transferred to the West End. The original cast recording of this production was released in the U.S. on August 12th, 2016 and offers much to think about in terms of style, taste and performance.
Aside from the restructuring of some of the show’s numbers, what you get in this recording is the addition of some new tracks to better follow the drama and reinforce the time period. The song “Temporary Arrangement” which was cut after one try-out in Boston in January 1964 is added in place of the “Find Yourself A Man” in act two. The song serves to accentuate Nick’s story regarding the decision he’s about to make and give him another opportunity to sing. However, the song’s dark tone and bright razzle-dazzle orchestrations are so far off from all the other songs Nick sings that the song is out of line with the overall score. “Find Yourself A Man” is certainly not a memorable or necessary song either, but at least the charming waltz atmosphere is more organic to Styne’s 1960’s score.
The Savoy Theatre, London, 2016. Photo Credit: Johan Persson.
What is also is added is a snippet of a Ziegfeld Follies pastiche number, “What Do Happy People Do?” The song is a bouncy two-beat twenties number that serves to ironically comment to Fanny’s relationship with Nick. The song can easily be summed up in the chorus that repeats, “I wonder/I wonder/What do happy people do.”
What’s most refreshing about this cast recording is the transformation of the melancholy song “Who Are You Now?” It’s been reconstructed from an introspective solo for Fanny into a haunting duet between Nick and Fanny about how they’ve affected one another. Director Michael Mayer and music supervisor Alan Williams have strengthened this song by making it a duet that, in the coda, recalls phrases from “People”, bringing their whole relationship full circle.
The Savoy Theatre, London, 2016. Photo Credit: Johan Persson.
The song “Henry Street” offers one the most unsavory changes that undermines the charming nature of the song. Alan Williams has added an extended dance section in this piece that not only converts the number into duple meter, but also blatantly recalls passages from the overture taking us out of “Henry Street” to some Funny Girl limbo. What’s more, when the vocals return the music maintains the duple meter that was established in the dance break—the effort to invigorate this number it has strayed too far off the path, taking all the delightfulness out “Henry Street” in favor of big city hustle and bustle.
Of course when it comes to Funny Girl it’s all about the hits—“People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade”. So how do these two iconic songs hold up in this recording? The answer is they get the job done but are overall uninspired. Starting with the song “People”, which retains the original orchestrations, Smith’s rendition follows the tempo and music too strictly thus becoming predictable throughout, especially compared with Streisand’s original performance. In “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, the orchestration that underscores the famous opening is more pronounced and interrupts Smith’s vocal line. Perhaps the orchestrators are trying to maximize the energy of the song’s rhythm with a more punctuated texture, but I prefer the understated texture of original and the Streisand’s voice as the primary instrument of perpetual motion. Additionally, in this recording Smith sings the song in the original key whereas Streisand actually recorded this song up a half step, which although an easier vocal placement may account for the extra lift that the original version commands.
Overall the London cast recording is admirable in how it strides to enliven the show, emphasize drama in key moments, and add a larger dance element to this classic show by way of extended dance sequences. So if you’re curious about the British refitting of this classic score along with listening to these songs performed by a new Fanny Brice, then by all means take a listen to this recording. However, the original Streisand version is still my preference.
Aside from Streisand’s innate talent, I believe fate also played a large role her success with originating the role of Fanny Brice. After all, it must be noted that all of this happened when Streisand was only 22 years old, just getting her start in the entertainment industry—a situation that directly parallels that of Fanny Brice at the beginning of the Funny Girl. Perhaps that’s why Streisand is and will always be the only ‘pip with pizzazz’—because even after all these years her original 1964 recording still remains untouchable.
