The producers of the first Broadway revival of Funny Girl, planned for the spring of 2022, confirmed that Beanie Feldstein has been cast to play Fanny Brice, the role that made Barbra Streisand famous.
The musical will be directed by Michael Mayer (Head Over Heels) with a revised book by Harvey Fierstein and produced by Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis and Chocolate Factory Productions, according to a press release distributed today. The original Jule Styne-Bob Merrill-Isobel Lennart musical opened in March 1964 and ran for more than three years.
In 2015, Mayer staged a revival at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory with Sheridan Smith that Friedman transferred to the West End. Four years earlier, producer Bob Boyett scrapped a planned $12 million Funny Girl starring Lauren Ambrose, when four major investors pulled out. More recently, before the pandemic, Idina Menzel had been in talks about taking the role.
Feldstein, best known for the 2019 movie Booksmart, made her Broadway debut in Hello, Dolly! in 2017 and has performed in MCC Theater’s annual Miscast fundraisers.
Broadway Journal reported Feldstein’s casting on Monday.
