Funny Girl At The Shaw Festival
Funny Girl, the bio-musical of Fanny Brice haunted by memories of the performance that shot Barbra Streisand to super-stardom, is being born anew at the Shaw Festival thanks to a luminous Sara Farb.
With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and a book by Isobel Lennart, Funny Girl is, let’s face it, not the world’s greatest musical. It didn’t receive its first major revival until 2022, 55 years after it closed on Broadway!
The only reason to revive the play it seems is if you can find a star performer who has the vocal chops – and the chutzpah! – to brave comparison to the Divine Barbra.
Shaw has found that star in Farb who has made the role entirely her own. Farb, working I assume with musical director Paul Sportelli, seems to have made a note by note study of every song to mine the psychological truth that lies behind the lyrics.
Farb, of course, is a distinguished actor as well a singer whose diminutive stature belies the power of her voice. She has distinguished herself in a number of Shakespeare roles at the Stratford Festival, including a wonderful Juliet.
So it is that she can avoid the pitfall of skating over the surface of the songs to make them merely “pretty.”
I don’t consider myself musically knowledgeable enough to compare Farb’s voice to Streisand’s, but whereas Streisand’s performance seemed to be all about Streisand, Farb digs deep into the inner life of Fanny Brice.
Well, a simulacrum of Fanny Brice at least. One of the many criticisms leveled at Funny Girl is that the Fanny Brice depicted is merely Brice-like. Ray Stark, the producer of the Broadway original, was Brice’s son-in-law and Brice’s story, especially her relationship with the low-life Nicky Arnstein (Qasim Khan), is considerably sanitized.
The musical’s creators also made the (wise) decision not to use any of Brice’s actual material but to create new songs that evoked her style.
So don’t go to this Funny Girl expecting to see the “real” Fanny Brice. The book – which again let’s face it, is kinda weak – can best be described as “faction,” a blend of the real and the completely made up.
The musical numbers are a mixed bag. There are some real charmers among them but some stinkers as well, and a few that make you wonder “Why’s that there?”
Still, the story of a super talented, supremely self-confident woman who doesn’t seem to quite fit the preconceived notions of what constitutes “star material” has an undeniable appeal. The presence of so many young women in the typically geriatric audience at the Festival Theatre suggested to me that there are hopefuls waiting in the wings.
Farb of course is the main reason to see this Funny Girl. The challenge is to build a show around her that does her justice. Director Eda Holmes, choreographer Parker Esse, and the aforementioned Sportelli do a pretty good job.
Kudos to Esse for giving Matt Alfano, who seems to have been condemned to being a perennial ensemble member, a chance to shine as Eddie Ryan, Fanny’s good buddy and champion. Esse has given him an all too brief tap number that involves some lovely legerdemain with a suitcase and a more extended outing at the choreographer of the razzle-dazzle “Rat-a-Tat-Tat” dance number in the second act.
For her part, director Holmes seems to have brought out a fascinating subtext in Eddie’s friendship with Fanny, adding much needed depth to the story line.
Shaw stalwart Damien Atkins is most impressive as Florenz Ziegfeld, as he progresses from Fanny’s tyrannical boss to her ardent fan. He seems to have lowered his voice a register for the occasion. He also looks absolutely smashing in the suits James Lavoie has created for him.
Khan is a charisma-free Nicky Arnstein. In his defence, it’s a thankless role, but the lack of any visible chemistry with Fanny is a shame. Fortunately, Farb has charisma to spare.
In addition to the suits for Ziegfeld, Lavoie has contributed a vast array of period-appropriate costumes for a wide swatch of 1920s New York. Some of Fanny’s outfits are gorgeous; others not so much. Was there a sale on that garish orange material?
His sets do yeoman’s service in creating the many, many locations the script calls for. They are nicely complimented by the lighting design of Sonoyo Nishikawa, who has a nice way of washing curtains with cascades of changing lights.
Sound designers Corey Macfayden and Kaitlyn MacKinnon seem to have had a competition to see who could crank up the volume past the pain level during the musical numbers. Good news for the hard of hearing who can leave their hearing aids at home.
In the final analysis, however, this revival of Funny Girl is all about Sara Farb. She is absolutely thrilling. If you want to see one of Canadian theatre’s living treasures, book now.
Funny Girl continues at the Shaw Festival through October 3, 2026. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Shaw Festival website.
Footnote: If you can’t make it to Shaw to marvel at Sara Farb’s way with a song. Check out these YouTube videos:
“The Miller’s Son” from A Little Night Music
“Changing My Major” from Fun Home
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