History: Funny business with FUNNY GIRL [dramaturg's desk]

This Week in History: March 20-26

It was this week in 1964 that Funny Girl, one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals, opened at the Winter Garden Theatre. But the show, which starred Barbra Streisand as Vaudeville starlet Fanny Brice, didn’t have an easy time reaching opening night.

On March 19, 1964, The New York Times printed an article whose subtitle announced that “Five Delays for Premiere Irk Agents and Audiences” and went on to observe that, “[o]riginally, the show was to have opened Feb. 13 at the Winter Garden. Then it was postponed to Feb. 27, March 14 and March 24. Recently, the date was moved forward to Sunday night [March 22]. On Tuesday, the premiere was finally set for next Thursday night [March 26].” And while the article pointed out that, “[c]hanges in Broadway opening dates are not rare,” it also stressed that “a total of five for an attraction is considered unusual.”

Sound familiar? The various delays began to arise out-of-town, when, after a three-week run in Boston, it then transferred to the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia and the show’s producer, Ray Stark, decided to keep the production in Philadelphia another two weeks. To make matters more complex, the show had to move to the Erlanger Theatre, because producer Kermit Bloomgarden declined Stark’s offer of $10,000 to mount his show (Anyone Can Whistle) at the Erlanger instead of the Forrest. The Times reported some the issues behind the delays, explaining that Funny Girl “has a new second act that requires more scenery and costumes.” Not long after, Jerome Robbins was called in for guidance: director Garson Kanin said in an interview that producer Ray Stark felt the production “needed a fresh eye—somebody who had not been through the various mutations.” By the end, the show still credited Kanin as director, but billed Robbins as production supervisor. Regardless of which director had more influence by the time of the March 26 opening, the show was a success and had a fruitful Broadway run that lasted 1,348 performances. So, who knows? Perhaps a certain arachnid-related show will have the same fortune; maybe Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark will be the next comeback kid and end up a classic like the fictionalized story of Fanny Brice, commanding that no one may rain on her parade.

Russell M. Dembin is a theatre educator and freelance dramaturg. Past production dramaturgy credits include the Drama Desk-nominated world premiere of Underground and the U.S. premiere of GBS at The Clockwork Theatre; the New York premiere of “Finding the Way” at Manhattan Theatre Source; and Annie Get Your Gun at Albany’s Park Playhouse, which featured a historically accurate recreation of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and an accompanying exhibition, “Annie Oakley: A Natur’l History,” in honor of Annie Oakley’s 150th birthday. You can reach him at Russ.Dembin@thecallboard.com