FROM STAGE TO SCREEN … FUNNY GIRL

 

Funny Girl – 1964.

Music by Jule Styne

Lyrics by Bob Merrill

Book by Isobel Lennart

NEW YORK: March 26, 1964

WINTER GARDEN; 1,348 performances.

Presented by Ray Stark; directed by Garson Kanin, Jerome Robbins; choreographed by Carol Haney; settings & lighting, Robert Randolph; costumes, Irene Sharaff; music director, Milton Rosenstock; orchestrations, Ralph Burns.

CAST: Barbra Streisand (Fanny Brice), Sydney Chaplin (Nick Arnstein), Danny Mëehan (Eddie Ryan), Kay Medford (Mrs. Brice), Jean Stapleton (Mrs. Strakosh), Reginald DeKoven (Florenz Ziegfeld), Lainie Kazan (Vera).

LONDON: April 13, 1966

PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE; 112 performances.

Presented by Bernard Delfont & Arthur Lewis; restaged by Lawrence Kasha; dances reproduced by Larry Fuller; settings & lighting, Robert Randolph; costumes, Irene Sharaff; music director, Marcus Dods; orchestrations, Ralph Burns.

CAST: Barbra Streisand (Fanny Brice), Michael Craig (Nick Amnstein),Lee Allen (Eddie Ryan), Kay Medford (Mrs. Brice), Stella Moray (Mrs. Strakosh), Ronald Leigh-Hunt (Florenz Ziegfeld).

The saga of Fanny Brice covers her discovery by Ziegfeld, her stage triumph in the Follies, her marriage to gambler Nick Arnstein, and the break-up of the marriage after Arnstein gets out of jail for stock swindling.

The musical was produced by Ray Stark, Miss Brice’s son-in-law, who first planned it for the screen, but Isobel Lennart’s original draft convinced him it would be better on the stage. Writing took a year and a half, and at various times three directors (Robbins, Bob Fosse, Kanin) were used.

Five opening-night postponements were required before all was ready. The reception accorded Barbra Streisand, in her first major role, quickly established her as a star.

Rastar Productions / Columbia, 1968, Color, 151 minutes

Produced by: Ray Stark
Directed by: William Wyler
Musical Numbers Directed by: Herbert Ross
Assistant Directors: Jack Roe, Ray Gosnell
Screenplay by: Isobel Lennart
Music Supervised and Conducted by: Walter Scharf
Music by: Jule Styne
Lyrics by: Bob Merrill
Orchestrations: Jack Hayes, Walter Scharf, Leo Shuken, Herbert Spencer
Choreography: Herbert Ross
Set Decorator: William Kiernan
Barbra Streisand's Costumes Designed by: Irene Sharaff
Color by Technicolor, Filmed in Panavision

Awards:
Academy Award for Best Actress (Barbra Streisand); Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Kay Medford), Best Cinematography (Harry Stradling), Best Film Editing (Robert Swink, Maury Winetrobe, William Sands), Best Score - Musical (Walter Scharf), Best Song ("Funny Girl") and Best Sound

Cast:
Barbra Streisand (Fanny Brice),
Omar Sharif (Nick Arnstein),
Kay Medford (Rose Brice),
Anne Francis (Georgia James),
Walter Pidgeon (Florenz Ziegfeld),
Lee Allen (Eddie Ryan)

1 Overture
2 I'm the Greatest Star
3 If a Girl Isn't Pretty
4 Roller Skate Rag
5 I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy With Somebody Else)
6 His Love Makes Me Beautiful
7 People
8 You Are Woman, I Am Man
9 Don't Rain on My Parade
10 Sadie, Sadie
11 The Swan
12 Funny Girl
13 My Man
14 Finale