It’s got two classic numbers: “People” and “Don’t Rain on my Parade.” It’s got laughs and heartache. It’s got a zinger of a role for a comic actress. So why hasn’t there been a full UK revival of “Funny Girl” since Barbra Streisand helmed it in London in 1966?A lively new staging at The Savoy provides some answers: there’s no antagonist, not much conflict, and a fair bit of padding. But there are nuggets of gold too, and Sheridan Smith provides a cracking turn in the title role.The plot of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill’s musical is loosely based on the real-life story of Fanny Brice, the most successful female Broadway entertainer of the 1920s and 30s. We see the gawky, Yiddish-quipping Fanny triumph against the odds as a comedienne, and then fall for the suave and debonair gambler Nicky Arnstein (Darius Campbell). The marriage crumbles when Nicky loses his money and can’t face the humiliation of being bankrolled by his wife.It’s pretty thin as plots go: an itty-bitty conflict is stretched for two acts. But Smith compensates with bags of charm in Fanny’s revue numbers, and she makes the audience wonderfully complicit in her pratfalling with her knowing winks and rolling of the eyes. She gets the pathos just right too: when her husband leaves her, the pain is etched on her every feature. On the downside, she relies too heavily on certain mannerisms –a sudden lowering of the voice for comic effect, clutching her head in a certain way – and they come to feel repetitious.On Thursday Smith’s voice gave out, but professional that she is, she croaked and rasped her way through the numbers as best she could. Despite her efforts, they were underpowered and uncertain. No doubt things will pick up in the rest of the run.Darius Campbell, with his matinee-idol looks and silky voice, is on far more secure ground, and he provides a terrific turn as the charming but weak-willed Nicky. The rest of the cast (in mostly underwritten roles) all do a good job, and director Michael Mayer keeps the period-costume production flowing well. But they can’t disguise the flaws under the fun.“Funny Girl”, a transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory, is at the Savoy Theatre.
↧