Funny Girl may have said goodbye to Broadway last week, but the production is poised to launch a national tour September 9 in Providence, Rhode Island. Before the show hits the road, get a first listen to newcomer Katerina McCrimmon, leading the tour as Fanny Brice, sing the musical's Act One finale anthem "Don't Rain on My Parade" in a newly released video above.
McCrimmon will be joined in the cast by Grammy-winning "Don't Cry Out Loud" singer Melissa Manchester, who starred in the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance, as Mrs. Brice; Stephen Mark Lukas as Nick Arnstein; Izaiah Montaque Harris as Eddie Ryan; Walter Coppage as Florenz Ziegfeld; Leah Platt as Emma and Mrs. Nadler; Christine Bunuan as Mrs. Meeker; Eileen T’Kaye as Mrs. Strakosh; and David Foley Jr. as Tom Keeney.
Rounding out the company will be Vinny Andaloro, Lamont Brown, Kate E. Cook, Julia Grondin, Jackson Grove, Jorge Guerra, Dot Kelly, Alex Hartman, Ryan Lambert, Kathy Liu, Zoey Lytle, Meghan Manning, Bryan Charles Moore, Sami Murphy, Hannah Shankman, Jordon Taylor, Sean Thompson, and Annaliese Wilbur.
Funny Girl, which premiered on Broadway in 1964, features a score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill and a book by Isobel Lennart, newly adapted by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein for this revival. The original production propelled a young Barbra Streisand to international fame; she would reprise her stage performance in the 1968 film adaptation, winning an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the process. The biomusical tracks real-life singer and comic Fanny Brice from her humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, to fame and fortune onstage in the Ziegfeld Follies and as a radio and screen performer.
The revival, which opened on Broadway April 24, 2022, at the August Wilson Theatre, was directed by Mayer with choreography by Ellenore Scott and tap choreography by Ayodele Casel. Much of the Broadway creative team reprises their work for the tour, including music supervisor Michael Rafter, scenic desiger David Zinn, costume designer Susan Hilferty, lighting designer Kevin Adams, sound designer Brian Ronan, and hair designer Campbell Young Associates. Joining the creative team are music director Elaine Davidson and co-sound designer Cody Spencer. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger. The production also includes orchestrations by Chris Walker; dance, vocal, and incidental music arrangements by Alan Williams; and additional arrangements by Carmel Dean and David Dabbon.
The touring stage management team will include production stage manager Jovon Shuck, stage manager Stacey Taylor, and assistant stage manager Mariah Young.
Funny Girl's national tour is produced by NETworks Presentations in special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis, and David Babani.
See the full touring itinerary at FunnyGirlOnBroadway.com.
