Funny Girl

When Michelle Lamarca as Fanny Brice sang “I’m the Greatest Star” at the beginning of Noosa Arts production of Funny Girl, a frisson of electricity went up my spine and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I knew that whatever the rest of the performance held, we were in good hands. And with show-stopping performances of some of musical theatre’s greatest anthems, “Don’t Rain on my Parade”, “People” and “My Man”, Lamarca proved she was more than just run-of-the-mill. Not only did she nail the songs, her portrayal of vaudeville comic Brice was rooted so deep into the character that it had incredible pathos, incredible warmth, and was endearingly funny.

The show, which made a star of Barbra Streisand in 1964, and two-years later created Australian theatre history when Australian Jill Perryman was cast as the lead in a major Broadway musical for J.C. Williamson’s.

The show has rarely been produced since in amateur or professional theatre. This is the Queensland community theatre premiere and in all my years of theatregoing the first time I’ve ever seen an amateur production of it.

The backstage story of Ziegfeld Follies star Brice, whose onstage comic antics were the opposite to her backstage life married to gambling addict Nicky Arnstein who eventually landed in gaol, the musical follows the trajectory of traditional backstage stories but it’s the score that elevates the material - the best that Jule Styne and Bob Merrill ever wrote for Broadway and a fierce sing (the reason it’s not performed often).

Adam Adra was a smooth and suave Nicky Arnstein, whose performance gave nuance and depth to a fairly conventional character. Linda Gefken mined Mrs Brice’s Jewish humour for multiple laughs, as did Yvie Somerville’s Mrs Strakosh. Glen Miller’s theatre-weary Music Hall owner Mr Keeney was an assured presence throughout, but pitchy vocals sometimes letdown Steven Mitchell’s otherwise strong portrayal of Brice’s mentor and confidante Eddie Ryan.

The bevy of Ziegfeld lovelies added glamour to the production numbers, as did the period perfect costumes. But it was Lamarca’s show. This versatile actress, most recently seen last year in the title role of Jo Loth’s gender-switch production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at Caloundra, proved she is one of the Sunshine Coast’s best triple-threat performers. Top marks to director Ian Mackellar (assisted by Jo Hendrie) for giving her the opportunity and to Noosa Arts Theatre for mounting this forgotten musical classic.

Peter Pinne