Broadway in Orlando review: In 'Funny Girl,' Katerina McCrimmon is a star in the making

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photo by Matthew Murphy

Katerina McCrimmon and Stephen Mark Lukas in the national touring production of "Funny Girl"

When you hear the title Funny Girl, if you’re over the age of 40 you probably think of a young Barbara Streisand purring “Hello, gorgeous,” in her star-making stage and screen role. If you’re younger, you likely know of the show from the controversy surrounding its recent Broadway revival, which saw poorly reviewed lead Beanie Feldstein replaced by the divisive Lea Michele. But the person who should come to mind first is Fanny Brice, the early 20^th century queen of comedy whose rise to fame and tragic love life formed the basis for the classic 1964 musical currently playing at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center. 

Perhaps that fraught New York production would still be running if they had cast Katerina McCrimmon, whose performance in the leading role is by far the best reason to see this touring production. McCrimmon is a triple-threat dynamo who holds the audience’s focus every second she’s on stage, boasting a nasal Brooklyn bray in the comedic scenes, and a bell-toned belt for Jule Styne’s soaring tunes like “People” that gave me chills just like a vintage Babs album. 

McCrimmon’s impeccable comic timing and the propulsive pacing of Michael Mayer’s smoothly cinematic direction sustains the long first act through the exuberant “Don’t Rain on My Parade” finale. Unfortunately, the shorter second half becomes an uncomfortable slog, as the plot drowns in Brice’s dysfunctional marriage to charming gambler Nick Arnstein (Stephen Mark Lukas), whom both her saloon-owning single mom and her tap-dancing BFF (Barbara Tirrell and understudy Lamont Brown, both excellent) warn is a nogoodnik. 

The book by Isobel Lennart (with some snappy revisions by Harvey Fierstein) repeatedly reminds us that Nick is gorgeous and Fanny is unattractive, but I saw quite the opposite, and I wish that some of the stage time wasted on their doomed romance had been instead devoted to Brice's many accomplishments after 1924. (Guess they had to save something for the poorly reviewed sequel.) And although the performers’ rapport helps paper over the dated dialogue, nothing could stop me from squirming at the unchallenged sexism inherent in many of Bob Merrill’s once-amusing lyrics.

Funny Girl still provides all the essentials of a classic Broadway musical comedy — handsome scenery (by David Zinn) referencing century-old photographs and playbills; more outrageously attired dancing showgirls than all of Las Vegas (by costumer Susan Hilferty, and choreographer Ellenore Scott with Ayodele Casel); and a full-throated pit orchestra led by Elaine Davidson. It’s got a couple of unforgettable songs, delivered with Great White Way-worthy talent, and plenty of hearty laughs (especially for members of the tribe) during the first half. But while McCrimmon is a star-in-the-making well worth witnessing, I wouldn’t blame you for slipping out at intermission.