
When did Funny Girl premiere?įunny Girl premiered on Broadway on March 26, 1964 at the Winter Garden Theatre. Though Fanny determines not to let it affect their love, their relationship gets strained when she gets involved in his vices. However, Arnstein's shady past as a gambler looms large. She meets Arnstein at the afterparty following her debut Follies show, and the two quickly fall in love and marry. Eventually, though, she gets a job in vaudeville and eventually in the Follies, becoming an audience hit when she turns a classical, romantic number into a comedy routine.

Through a series of flashbacks, Fanny recounts her life up to that point, beginning with how she had big dreams of being a star as a teenager, but her mother discouraged her from show business because she wasn't conventionally attractive. The story takes place long after the peak of her fame, when Fanny is awaiting the arrival of her husband, Nicky Arnstein, from prison. So when someone asks "Who taught her (or him, or them) everything?" about Funny Girl, you can say you learned all about the show right here.įunny Girl is based on the true life story of Fanny Brice, a showgirl in Florenz Ziegfeld's Ziegfeld Follies revue. We've created a guide to all things Funny Girl, including fun facts about the original Broadway production and movie adaptation, the star-studded original and current casts, and basic details about the theatre and running time to know before you go. The musical - and especially its signature song, "Don't Rain on My Parade" - have become almost synonymous with its original star, Barba Streisand, but stage and screen star Lea Michele is now taking on Fanny's mantle. The show traces the rise and fall of Fanny's career together with that of her and Arnstein's relationship, which ends up being more difficult than either would have bet on.

This turbulent love story is based on the real-life relationship between Ziegfeld Follies comedienne Fanny Brice and gambler Nicky Arnstein.

Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter! Nearly 60 years after premiering to acclaim on Broadway, the classic musical Funny Girl is getting its very first Broadway revival in 2022.
