Funny Girl at the Peace Center
The difficulty in recreating a stage role that has become so enduringly associated with a single actor is a daunting task. That said, Katerina McCrimmon quickly makes one forget the recent off-stage dramas involving other Funny Girls, Lea Michele and Beanie Feldstein, but also the queen of them all, Barbra Streisand.
A true triple threat, McCrimmon sings these long-beloved songs beautifully and without having to resort to imitation. Her Brooklynese delivery of Isobel Lennart’s fast-flying one-liners sprinkled throughout the dense script is precise and appropriately sardonic. She’s a fine hoofer, too, and it’s easy to gush over anyone who takes on such a demanding role and pulls it off — especially in light of an otherwise uneven production.
Fanny Brice’s meager Henry Street beginnings are presented with her mother, ably played by Eileen T’Kaye (understudying for an absent Melissa Manchester), decrying how Fanny will never become famous due to her not being pretty enough. But Fanny, teaming up with Vaudeville choreographer Eddie Ryan (Izaiah Montague Harris), uses her smarts, wit, and a good deal of moxie to force her way into the business and, ultimately, stardom.
The scenes and songs that feature the Harris and McCrimmon duo are the best of the show as the actors share an easygoing chemistry and Harris gets to showcase some real talent as a dancer. Sadly, the bulk of the play revolves around Fanny’s ill-fated romance and marriage with Nick Arnstein, and Stephen Mark Lukas lacks sufficient charisma to play this role, leaving the audience wondering if he’s meant to be a savior or a criminal. Most of his scenes — especially those in which he sings or dances — fall flat, and the slower love ballads throughout the show bring the production to a halt, especially after all of the rapid-fire dialogue that precedes them.
The technical elements by set designer David Zinn and lighting designer Kevin Adams work best when establishing places with simple lighting and painted drops, but are overbearing and even confusing when trying to get overly fancy. Conversely, the costuming by Susan Hilferty never lets us doubt the time period or the status or role of each player, whether the simple lines of working-class Brooklyn or the elaborate headdresses of the chorus girls of the Ziegfeld Follies.
The direction by Michael Mayer keeps the action moving, even if the fast-talking dialogue is sometimes hard to catch in the cavernous Peace Center. He otherwise takes few risks and those few show why that’s a smart move on his part.
Since the material deals with history and biography, the script by Isobel Lennart still holds up and contains unnoticeable revisions by Harvey Fierstein. However, it’s the songs that really sell the show. With music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill, each tune is welcome, even those heard thousands of times over the years (e.g. “Sadie, Sadie”; “Don’t Rain on My Parade”; and, of course, “People”) since Funny Girl’s debut in 1964.
The larger numbers are competently sung and danced by the ensemble, but it’s both exciting and disappointing that the bulk of them are spent looking for McCrimmon in the crowd. Funny Girl lives and dies on the actor playing Fanny, and this one most definitely lives.
Funny Girl runs through Nov. 5 at the Peace Center. For details and tickets, visit peacecenter.org.
(Photo by Matthew Murphy/MurphyMade)
