Funny Girl Sets Closing Date

Producers have announced that the current Broadway revival of Funny Girl will play its final performance on September 3 at the August Wilson Theatre. The production began previews on March 26, 2022, and officially opened on April 24. By closing, Funny Girl will have played 30 previews and 599 regular performances. 

The four current principal performers—Lea Michele, Tovah Feldshuh, Ramin Karimloo and Jared Grimes—have extended their contracts and will star in the production through closing.

The news of closing comes after the show saw a significant dip at the box office over this last week, when many of its stars were out.

Michele and Feldshuh joined the company as Fanny Brice and Mrs. Brice, respectively, on Sept. 6, 2022. Karimloo and Grimes originated the roles of Nick Arnstein and Eddie Ryan, respectively, in this production. 

This staging, directed by Michael Mayer, marks the first-ever revival of Funny Girl on the Main Stem. The original Broadway production, directed by Garson Kanin, opened on March 26, 1964. 

The current Funny Girl features the original book by Isobel Lennart, revised by Harvey Fierstein. The production features musical direction by Michael Rafter, choreography by Ellenore Scott and tap choreography by Ayodele Casel. Funny Girl features music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill. 

Rounding out the creative team are associate musical director Meghann Zervoulis Bate, orchestrator Chris Walker, dance arranger Alan Williams, vocal arranger Alan Williams and incidental-music arranger Alan Williams. The production features additional arrangements by Carmel Dean and David Dabbon.

The design team includes scenic designer David Zinn, costume designer Susan Hilferty, lighting designer Kevin Adams and sound designer Brian Ronan.

The Funny Girl company features ​​Peter Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld, Ephie Aardema as Emma/Mrs. Nadler, Debra Cardona as Mrs. Meeker, Toni DiBuono as Mrs. Strakosh and Martin Moran as Tom Keeney. 

The ensemble includes Miriam Ali, Amber Ardolino, Daniel Beeman, Colin Bradbury, Kurt Csolak, John Michael Fiumara, Leslie Donna Flesner, Candice Hatakeyama, Curtis Holland, Masumi Iwai, Aliah James, Jeremiah James, Danielle Kelsey, Stephen Mark Lukas, Alicia Lundgren, John Manzari, Liz McCartney, Connor McRory, Justin Prescott, Katie Mitchell, Mariah Reives, Barbara Tirrell and Leslie Blake Walker. Julie Benko is the alternate for Fanny Brice. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger.