Mayer, Michael

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      in Theater

      Beanie Feldstein to Star in ‘Funny Girl’ on Broadway

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      With the “Booksmart” actress taking on the role originated by Barbra Streisand in 1964, the show is getting its first Broadway revival in 58 years.Beanie Feldstein will star as Fanny Brice, the role that helped make Barbra Streisand a star, in a production of “Funny Girl,” which is returning to Broadway for the first time in 58 years.The revival of the 1964 musical will be directed by Michael Mayer, who oversaw a 2015 revival of the show in London. Producers said performances would begin in the spring, but did not specify a date — though a recent Equity casting call gave April 2 as the first performance. The theater where the musical will be housed will be announced later.“The first time I played Fanny Brice was at my third birthday party, in a head-to-toe leopard print outfit my mom made for me,” Feldstein said in a statement. “So, it’s safe to say that stepping into this iconic role, on Broadway and not in my family’s backyard, is truly my lifelong dream come true.“I am immensely grateful to be able to do so alongside such a remarkable creative team,” she added, “and cannot wait for audiences to get back in theaters again!”Feldstein made her Broadway debut in 2017 as Minnie Fay in “Hello, Dolly!,” which starred Bette Midler, and had memorable roles in the films “Booksmart” and “Lady Bird.” She’ll play Monica Lewinsky next month in the new FX series “Impeachment: American Crime Story.”“Funny Girl” charts the rise of the self-deprecating comedian and actress Fanny Brice, and her relationship with the professional gambler Nick Arnstein. The original production was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including best musical.Streisand won a best actress Oscar for the 1968 film and her performance has cast a long shadow over the title role — a multidimensional character who must sing, generate laughs and succeed against the odds all at once.An attempt to revive the show in 2012, with Bartlett Sher directing the television actress Lauren Ambrose in the lead role, fell apart. So for many theatergoers, the long-awaited return of “Funny Girl” makes it one the most highly anticipated revivals in years.Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s score includes such classic songs as “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” Isobel Lennart’s original book is being revised by Harvey Fierstein. And Mayer has a strong track record, though some of his biggest directing successes have been with rock-inflected material, including “Spring Awakening” in 2006 (for which he won a Tony) and the 2014 revival of“Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”The new production will also feature the choreography of Ellenore Scott and scenic design by David Zinn. Ayodele Casel, an artist in residence at Little Island, will oversee tap choreography for the show.Producers said that additional casting announcements would be released shortly. “Funny Girl” is the second previously unscheduled musical to announce its Broadway opening since the pandemic began. Preview performances for the new musical “Paradise Square” will begin on Feb. 22 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. More

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      in Music

      Neil Diamond’s ‘A Beautiful Noise’ Musical to Open in Boston in 2022

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      “A Beautiful Noise,” featuring songs from the hit-maker’s deep catalog, will play a monthlong run in Boston in 2022, with New York planned next.A musical featuring the songs — and telling the life story — of Neil Diamond now has a title, a choreographer and scheduled performance dates in Boston, with Broadway plans next.“A Beautiful Noise,” named as a nod to the singer-songwriter’s 1976 album, is set to run for four weeks at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston next summer, the show’s producers, Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio, announced on Tuesday. They plan to bring the production to New York following that run.“I personally hope that this announcement demonstrates to the world that the Broadway factory is starting to come back to life, that there is smoke coming from our chimneys,” Davenport said in an interview on Tuesday. “We’re starting to make stuff again — we may not be able to show it to everyone right now, but we will.”The show, first announced in 2019, has put together a marquee team: The director is Michael Mayer, who won a Tony Award in 2007 for “Spring Awakening.” Steven Hoggett, whose work has been featured in “Once” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” will supply movement and dance. Anthony McCarten, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind “The Theory of Everything” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is writing the book.“A Beautiful Noise” will cover the ups and downs of Diamond’s life, from growing up poor in Brooklyn through his rise to stardom in the ’70s (thanks to hits like “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “Song Sung Blue”) and into the later decades of his career, when he became something of a living legend. In this respect, it promises to be similar to the shows about Tina Turner and Donna Summer that appeared on Broadway recently.Asked whether theater fans would still have an appetite for jukebox musicals after the pandemic-enforced Broadway hiatus, Davenport (a Tony winner for the 2018 revival of “Once on This Island”) said that “A Beautiful Noise” shouldn’t be pre-emptively pigeonholed.“I characterize it as a biographical musical drama and not a jukebox musical,” he said. “We’re excited to show people what separates it from some of the jukebox musicals that have been around.”In a statement, Diamond, who is now 80, said he thinks the opening of the show will be similar to performing his song “Sweet Caroline” at Fenway Park after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, an experience he called “a moment of relief, unity, strength and love.”When performances begin in June 2022 “and we’re all able to safely be in the same space together, experiencing the thrill of live theater, I imagine those same emotions will wash over me and the entire audience,” he said.The Boston area has lately been a popular proving ground for Broadway-bound musicals, including “Jagged Little Pill,” which opened at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge in May 2018, and “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” which received its world premiere at the Emerson Colonial that July. Both were enjoying successful New York runs when the pandemic suspended live theater, and are up for numerous Tonys, including best musical.Casting details and ticketing information for “A Beautiful Noise” will be released later. More