When I heard that the revival of Funny Girl (starring Lauren Ambrose in the iconic role of Fanny Brice) had been postponed indefinitely, I immediately envisioned a trench coat and a fedora-wearing Lea Michelle in a dark alley somewhere, paying off some unseemly character with an envelope full of cash. I, for one, am glad that this project fell through. As far as I’m concerned, Funny Girl will always be Barbra Streisand’s show. Anything else is just a pale imitation. You don’t remake Gone with the Wind. You don’t remake Citizen Kane. And you absolutely DO NOT remake Funny Girl.
Now, a stage adaptation of Yentl is a different story.
- Akil