Funny Girl @ The Marlowe Theatre Review

Funny Girl is the semi-autobiographical story of Fanny Brice, whose vocal talents and comedic genius see her rise from Brooklyn music hall singer to Broadway star. It first opened on Broadway in 1964 and provided Barbara Streisand with her big break as the original lead role. Funny Girl is now touring the UK, across twenty two cities from February 2017.

Courtesy of Marlowe Theatre.

I jumped at the chance to see Funny Girl. I hadn’t really heard much about it and was intrigued. I’m glad I went in blind – I was so pleasantly surprised. Natasha J Barnes as Fanny Brice is simply a force to be reckoned with. She is absolutely hilarious, a complete natural with a voice that literally blows the roof off. Barnes is completely effortless, her comedic timing is perfect. I am left in complete awe of her performance, and as my friend says ‘She’ll never be out of work after that’. Her performance of Rain On My Parade is simply flawless and leaves me with goosebumps. Funny Girl is worth seeing for her performance alone.

Darius Campbell (of Popstars and Pop Idol fame) is also a pleasant surprise. His on-stage relationship and chemistry with Barnes is natural and utterly hilarious. Their rendition of You Are Woman, I Am Man is fantastic and has me crying with laughter.

The musical talents of Ben Van Tienen and his orchestra bring the show, quite literally, to life. It is great to hear an orchestra playing the gorgeous music accompanying the show. The choreography is also fun to watch, classic ‘showbusiness’. All of the performers are fantastic, there isn’t anything that I could fault throughout the whole performance.

Funny Girl is a real ‘feast for the eyes’ and one that I am really glad to have witnessed for myself. From the standing ovation at the end it would seem that everyone else would also agree. I’ve been singing the songs ever since! 5/5

Review written by Stacie Pollard.

Funny Girl was shown  at the Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday 2nd until Saturday 6th May. For more information on the production, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop