Was Funny Girl really that funny?

Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre opened their season last night with their performance of Funny Girl. The show was headlined by Shoshana Bean who has performed in so many hit Broadway shows and is also a award winning recording artist. The show also featured a few other great cast who were able to support her in her leading role.

The story of Funny Girl features Young Fanny Brice grows from poverty in New York's Lower East Side to become one of the stars of the Ziegfeld in the 1920s. She is helped on her journey by a flashy gambler. The show when it premiered featured music legend Barbara Streisand who’s voiced performed these amazing song’s "I'm the Greatest Star" (Fanny); "If a Girl Isn't Pretty" (Rose & Mrs. Strakosh); "Roller Skate Rag," "I'd Rather Be Blue Over You," "His Love Makes Me Beautiful," "People" (Fanny); "You Are Woman, I Am Man" (Fanny & Nick); "Don't Rain on My Parade," "Second Hand Rose," "Sadie, Sadie," "The Swan," "Funny Girl," "My Man" (Fanny) n the 1968 movie.

The NSMT performance however was very different from the movie. Now you know when your going into this it isn’t going to be Barbara Streisand on stage so that is a given. But Shoshana Bean was able to fill those shoes and then some. However other than Bean carrying the show the performance lacked any remarkable moments. For someone going into the story without any back story you could get lost until midway through the first act. Also the first act is very long to take it all in with all the different songs being performed. The supporting cast featured James Van Treuren as a handsome classy as Florenz Zigfield, Jr. Also the love interest of Fanny Brice was played by Bradley Dean and Fanny’s best friend Eddie was played by Rick Faugno.
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Overall the show was lead by Shoshana throughout with her amazing voice and performing skills but the long interludes and low energy moments really made a lot of the audience at least where we were sitting time to check their watches. The show runs at NSMT now through June 19th. If you’re looking for a good attempt at a recreation of Funny Girl on the north shore give this a shot it might hit you In a spot that didn’t connect with us. To purchase tickets to this performance please visit www.NSMT.org . This may have been the season opener but Bill Hanney promised an amazing season and next up we will be covering the opening night of Mary Poppin’s which Bill let the crowd know there will be a lot of flying going on in the Theater in the Round.

​Story Written By: Mark Allen Wood
​Wood Media Staff Writer