Rave reviews for 'Funny Girl'
DEFT direction from Matthew Wild, an evocative set by Saul Radomsky, sumptuous period costumes by Birrie Le Roux, energetic dancing devised by Louisa Talbot and proficient musical accompaniment from a 10-piece ensemble come together with artistic unanimity to support the cast performing in this production of Styne/Merrill’s Funny Girl.
Not surprisingly, Harvey as Fanny Brice has the lion’s share of the action, and she gives it her all. Judiciously cast in this demanding role, she captures the brash confidence of her persona without sacrificing a real though latent vulnerability beneath all that wordy self-promotion which carries the singer to stardom – and heartache. This is an intelligent portrayal, and high-octane vocal power to boot adds to the calibre of her performance.
Such a strong female lead is likely to eclipse the rest of the cast, including the leading male, and it does. Fortunately in the context of this story, that is not necessarily a flaw, since Nick Arnstein (Fanny’s lover and husband) is a weaker character than his opposite number, so understatement is called for in interpreting the role.
Berning is at his most credible in the latter half of the show, after his disgrace and imprisonment.
Noteworthy cameos are provided by the trio of Jewish matrons led by Kate Normington as Fanny’s mother; her card-playing friends, impersonated by Diane Wilson and Michèle Maxwell, form a sort of chorus to comment on the progress of the singer’s career and love-life, and their earthy humour enlivens the show at regular intervals.
Mike Huff, as Ziegfield, has strong stage presence and a twinkle that suggests grudging amusement at Fanny’s outrageous subversion of the spectacles that made him famous. Another secondary character, Eddie Ryan (an ally of Fanny when her career was little more than wishful thinking) is played sympathetically by Cameron Botha.
Apart from ravishing costumes, there are moments in the show that haunt the memory for their visual beauty due to imaginative lighting, for which credit goes to Daniel Galloway and Benjamin du Plessis. A case in point is the staging of that familiar hit, People… sung by a spotlit Harvey halfway up a spiral stairway with the rest of the stage in penumbra.
From opening sequence to finale, this is a period piece conveying show biz in the early 20th century, the background to a woman’s career, life and love. Like a Ziegfield extravaganza, it makes few demands on its audience, and its message is simple: success and wealth do not bring happiness.
You deal with life as Fanny does, with courage, humour and self-belief.