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<em>Six Feet</em>'s Lauren Ambrose Is The New <em>Funny Girl</em>
By
Garth Johnston
Published Aug 3, 2011
Modified Aug 3, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Aug 3, 2011
Modified Aug 3, 2011
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For the first time since 1967, Funny Girl will be back on Broadway. And the actress playing the role of Fanny Brice (which made Barbara Streisand into a star) will be played by...Lauren Ambrose, an actress who you might remember from such television shows as Six Feet Under, The Return of Jezebel James and Torchwood: Miracle Day, currently airing on Starz. The new Funny Girl, directed by Bartlett Sher (Lincoln Center's revival of South Pacific) will run in LA from January 15 through February 26, before hopefully coming to rain on the parade of other big Broadway revivals like Evita, with Ricky Martin, in the spring. Hey, at least it won't be Lea Michelle, right?
Sher, who perviously worked with Ambrose in the 2006 revival of Awake and Sing!, talked to the Times about "the toughest role I've had to cast," telling ArtsBeat that “Lauren was the only person I saw with the deepest acting skills, the capacity to sing everything in this role and an emotional richness that really worked for Fanny at all ages. It was a wonderful surprise. She wasn’t honestly a front-runner for the part until she called me, asked to audition and came in and blew us all away.”
As for Ambrose. She's not going to be granting interviews just yet. But she did put out a statement: “Let’s face it, there is obviously more than a lot to live up to playing Fanny Brice, but I am humbled and thrilled by the opportunity to be a part of this revival. The character is complex, the music beautiful and challenging. I can’t wait to get into that rehearsal room with the team Bart is assembling.”
And we do know that she can sing:
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broadway
funny girl
lauren ambrose
Garth Johnston
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