Beanie Feldstein’s performance in the Broadway stage revival of Funny Girl has divided critics in its first reviews.
The Booksmart actor stars as central character Fanny Brice in the classic musical – a role originated by Barbra Streisand in 1964, which she then reprised in the film version in 1968.
The production, running at Manhattan’s August Wilson Theatre, also features Ramin Karimloo as Nicky Arnstein and Jane Lynch as Mrs Brice.
Though its opening night performance garnered standing ovations from the audience on Sunday (24 April), reviews from media critics have been mixed.
Vulture’s reviewer mentioned Feldstein’s singing voice as a drawback for the production.
Helen Shaw wrote: “In song after song, Feldstein’s voice lets her down. Piercing and unpleasant when it gets any higher than her chest, fading and pitchy when it descends even a few steps, it’s simply not a sound you expect to hear on Broadway.”
For Variety, the actor’s vocal talents were also a matter of concern, as well as Feldstein’s ability to charm the audience.
“To make some kind of emotional sense of Fanny’s character calls for an actress of extraordinary charm, maturity and finesse,” wrote Frank Rizzo. “Oh, and [to] sing the hell out of the score. Feldstein’s Fanny is a wide-eyed woman-child, at turns stubborn, awkward and silly.”
For The Guardian, Feldstein’s casting is one that “makes sense on paper” with the reviewer praising her comedic skills.
“Her crisp comedic timing adapts well to the show’s slapstick gags and Fanny’s avant-klutz schtick; her deep brown eyes, wide as saucers, effectively project a real human on and off the meta-stage,” wrote Adrian Horton.
Though The New York Times notes Feldstein to be good but “not stupendous”, the outlet’s critic reserves most criticism for the show’s book, rather than her performance. According to Jesse Green: “It bites off more than it can chew and then, at least in Michael Mayer’s production, repeatedly refuses to chew it.”
