Funny Girl (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (868)
See it if Beanie can't cut the lead role. Movie was much better.
Don't see it if If you enjoy the movie with Streisand you will think this is not on par.
See it if you like revivals of good shows - here some familiar songs, good singing, great choreography, Jane Lynch, Jared Grimes and Ramin Karimloo.
Don't see it if you have high expectations - it feels a bit flat: the orchestra is okay and Beanie Feldstein can hold a long note, but her voice is not... Read more
See it if you've never seen a live production of this show, enjoy old fashioned musicals, you're a fan of any of the principals, curious about changes
Don't see it if you are expecting a Streisand version, don't like limited-style staging, want extraordinary singing by lead, an odd choice for Fanny
See it if you love a great revival of a wonderful show. Great staging, singing, acting and dance numbers. Cast is fantastic.
Don't see it if you don't like musicals or you just want to remember Barbra Streisand singing Fanny Brice as Barbra Streisand. Read more
See it if brings vaudeville to life; features Brice's charming, wise-cracking neighbors & J Styne's memorable tunes
Don't see it if meh old fashioned musical that does spectacle well, but not plot or message; weak 2nd act Read more
See it if you enjoy classic Broadway musical comedies with a red curtain (albeit it’s actually a scrim) and overture. Beanie is wonderful as Fanny.
Don't see it if you’re closed minded and refuse to acknowledge that a role could be played by more than one person. You’ll never be satisfied.
See it if you like lots of singing and dancing; some wonderful songs; Jarred Grimes is wonderful - wish he had a larger role.
Don't see it if Dated and sometimes silly; night I saw it there were 5 understudies - not happy about it; flat story, watch the movie instead; too long.
See it if See it for Lea Michelle and Tovah Feldshuh. Some great singing!
Don't see it if The second act was not as good as the first. Lots more energy and better storyline in the first act.
Critic Reviews (29)
"Over the years, many revivals have been attempted and defeated because the thing a revival is trying to revive is not to be found in the property itself. It’s in the personality of the necessary star: someone not nice but inevitable, not diligent but explosive, not well-rounded but weird. They don’t grow them that way much, anymore, nor write new material for them."
Read more
"There’s a reason 'Funny Girl' hasn’t been revived since its original run in the early 1960s: Despite several memorable songs (with first-rate tunes by Jule Styne and second-rate lyrics by Bob Merrill), there’s not much to the story ... Isobel Lennart’s book has been rewritten for this production by Harvey Fierstein, but it still feels episodic and superficial. "
Read more
"Some of Feldstein’s assets do make the trip over from film: She’s winningly fresh; she gives great “bumble;” she has beautiful eyes the size of hubcaps, which roll and twinkle and flirt. ... But in song after song, Feldstein’s voice lets her down. Piercing and unpleasant when it gets any higher than her chest, fading and pitchy when it descends even a few steps, it’s simply not a sound you expect to hear on Broadway."
Read more
"Feldstein gives a spirited, highly enjoyable performance, and her freshness drew squeals of appreciation from what seemed like a large contingent of very vocal young female fans on a recent press night. But she never quite makes the material soar, and this is a rickety vehicle that needs a supernova to put gas in its tank."
Read more
"Fierstein's version of the story spends so little time building dramatic tension in its central relationship, or on the stakes of Fanny's brash feints and mistakes, that it often feels like a friction-free CliffNotes of the original; all the razzle-dazzle, none of the pesky realities. More than that, it's hard to escape the feeling that Feldstein, for all her fourth-wall winks and bright enthusiasm, is fundamentally miscast."
Read more
"Those who come to the August Wilson expecting Michele to blow the roof off the place won't be disappointed... With her at the center, it feels impossible to rain on the parade."
Read more
"The problem with this uninspired revival of 'Funny Girl' — which opened at the August Wilson Theatre on Sunday, marking the show’s Broadway return after nearly 60 years — is not simply the singular ghost of she who shall not be named. (Alright: It’s Barbra Steisand.) Rather, the issue here is the production’s inability to live up to its star-making potential that would have made us once again forgive the simplistic, sentimental and sanitized original book credited to Isobel Lennart."
Read more
"Michele gives it what the revival previously lacked: charisma, astonishing vocals and assuredness — not to mention a killer fan base."
Read more