‘Funny Girl’ is as Deliciously Special as a Bagel on a Plate of Onion Rolls

By Matthew Stafford

Katerina McCrimmon delights her audience as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” which is playing now at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) through January 7. While most of us find it impossible not to think of Barbra Streisand in her blockbuster breakout role in the 1968 film adaptation of “Funny Girl,” the play in which Streisand also starred in the 1960’s has finally made its way back to the theatre. Funny Girl’s story was revised by Harvey Fierstein of Torch Song Trilogy fame and initially struggled on Broadway until Glee’s Lea Michelle took on the role of Fanny, and Broadway veteran Tovah Feldshuh stepped into the role of Fanny’s mother, Mrs. Brice. “Funny Girl” ended up breaking multiple box office records before ending its Broadway run this past September.

Set a century ago in New York, “Funny Girl” follows Fanny Brice from her humble beginnings as a Jewish girl with chutzpah on Henry Street on the Lower East Side all the way to becoming a beloved star of “The Ziegfeld Follies.” Along the way, she meets and later marries the handsome, debonair gambler and con man Nick Arnstein, played by the talented Stephen Mark Lukas. As Fanny is courted by Nick, her friend and mentor, Eddie Ryan, played fabulously by Izaiah Montaque Harris, tries to caution her to be careful of her heart. While the entire cast is a joy to watch on the stage, the remaining main part of the cast is brilliantly played by Barbara Tirrell as Mrs. Brice, who is both strong and tender as the supportive mother of our Funny Girl, Fanny. As Fanny’s star rises, her marriage deteriorates, and her husband continues with reckless and risky investments, which eventually leads to years behind bars for Nick, and a marriage that cannot be repaired. In the end, Fanny’s triumph is in her resilience and determination to continue on with the show, and on with her life.

From the beginning of the play, the music and the songs inspire audience members to often sing along
to the familiar tunes they fondly recall from the film as well as from the play. While highlights include “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty,” the play also packs in numerous songs
not utilized in the movie version, such as “Cornet Man,” “Who Taught Her Everything,” “I Want to Be
Seen With You Tonight,” “Henry Street,” “Who Are You Now?” and “The Music That Makes Me Dance.”
People in the audience broke into song along with the cast several times, and eventually, we were all on
our feet with a standing ovation by the end of the play as we sang along to “People” after the cast took
their bows.

Funny Girl continues playing nightly at TPAC now through January 7, with matinee performances on Saturday, January 6 and Sunday, January 7. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.tpac.org/event/2024-01-02-to-2024-01-07-funny-girl/.