How “Funny Girl” Showed Me How Funny Celebrity Culture Is.
Just a few weeks ago, I traveled from Minnesota to New York City to see my favorite play, “Funny Girl,” on Broadway, starring the one and only Lea Michelle…. Just to show up to her alternate…. And it was still the best 2 hours and 50 minutes of my life.
A quick “Funny Girl” background
In case you’re not a theater nerd, “Funny Girl” is a Broadway revival of the 1968 movie (and play) starring Barbra Streisand and stirred up lots of press surrounding the celebrity casting of Lea Michelle, who fictionally played the lead, Fanny Brice, on “Glee.” While Michelle hasn’t had the best reputation in years past, people flocked from all over the country to see this monumental real-life “Glee” moment. Me included.
The show had a few casting changes before Michelle since its opening on April 24, 2022, when Beanie Feldstein, Jonah Hill’s sister, portrayed Brice. Those changes include the addition of Julie Benko, the current alternate for Michelle, Ramin Karimloo, who plays Brice’s love interest Nick Arnstein, and Tovah Feldshuh, a Broadway legend who plays Brice’s mother.
Photo from cbsnews.come
A trip of a lifetime… or so I thought
So back to my “Funny Girl” experience. I had two reasons why I flew to NYC to see “Funny Girl.” The first is that I am 100% a “Gleek.” Last year I was among the top .01% of Glee Cast listeners on Spotify and while I don’t prefer to share that information with just anyone, it provides context to this trip. And the second reason was that I had just graduated from Penn State and my mother wanted to treat me to a fun trip. I fell asleep and woke up each night before our trip dreaming of this play and finally seeing the star of it all.
Photo from vulture.com
So on May 21, the day of the performance, I enjoyed beers at a nearby drag bar and the constant noise of the city – but I didn’t see Michelle. While I didn’t see Michelle perform, Karimloo, Feldshuh and Benko all went on that night. Given I had 24 hours to sulk in my sorrows and sadness, I went to the theater with an open mind. Even though it wasn’t the exact cast I was expecting, I was still excited to see my second-ever Broadway show (my first was “Wicked” when I was 15, so I didn’t care).
Due to the temporary casting switch, I expected much of the theater to be local New Yorkers who loved this story rather than the hundreds of Michelle fans waiting to see this infamous role. Moving past the sounds of tickets being scanned, we were met with smiling faces and people in line to buy drinks and merch. Honestly, if I hadn’t known, it seemed that Michelle was on, and everyone was equally excited to watch Benko.
Photo by Caitlyn Garrity
However, that was until I sat down, and an older couple sat beside me. I was elbow-to-elbow with a posh woman and could tell that she had not looked into the Playbill because when she did, she immediately said to her husband, “Oh my god Jeff, Lea Michelle isn’t even performing. What the hell!”
She asked me if I had known that and I told her about how I did and I flew from Minnesota to come to see her. She replied, “We flew from San Francisco,” which led to me not liking her and not wanting to further engage.
I could overhear her telling her husband they'd leave in the second act if the leading lady wasn’t good, which is hilarious because Michelle or not, we were still sitting in a Broadway theater. That’s when I started to reflect on this entire experience.
This play was important to me because it was a real-life depiction of a show I loved. A show filled with incredible singing, theatrical numbers and hilarious dialogue… but come to find out that was exactly what the next 2 hours and 50 minutes would become.
A change of heart, thanks to Julie Benko (and others)
For the entire performance, I thought about Michelle 0 times and became enthralled with Benko’s portrayal of Brice. It was a performance that teetered on hilarious and heart-wrenching during each scene. And when it came to the ensembles and songs, it was a steamy day in New York, but every time a cast member sang, it brought a chill down my spine; I may or may not have cried during “Rain My Parade.” It was a song that I thought would only be brought justice by this celebrity, but to hear it out loud, in costume, by someone with an incredible talent for acting and singing, was better than I could’ve ever imagined.
Photo from time.com
Celebrity culture is funny
Once the curtain was brought down for the last time and the curtain call was over, I realized something: buying shit just because of a celebrity is completely and utterly stupid.
The woman to my right didn’t laugh or cry once, and she was in a sour mood the entire time (at least when I noticed her, you honestly couldn’t get my focus off this performance; it was that good). Her husband seemed carefree and thoroughly enjoyed every second of this play that he knew nothing about (nor probably cared). She flew all this way, sat in front of multiple award-winning actors and actresses, and ruined it for herself over someone with notoriety.
It was funny. Something that I thought would be an 80% satisfactory experience became the show of a lifetime all because my perspective changed. I removed myself from seeing some celebrity to caring about the meaning and the value of the performance and people right before me. I realized that the value of this play lay in the context and the story itself, not how famous the person was that was bringing it to life. The only difference between Benko and Michelle is that Michelle has to deal with much more paparazzi and public scrutiny than Benko does. But really, the two are both successful and talented actresses that are both worth paying good money to see. While I initially thought I was paying for Michelle, the performance by Benko was most definitely equal in value.
Photo by Caitlyn Garrity
So if you ever are met with an opportunity (or a disappointment) regarding a celebrity, think to yourself: Do you want something to brag about, or do you want something to enjoy, reminisce about and share with others?
And if you’ve never heard of “Funny Girl” before, you are now obligated to watch the 1968 film with Streisand. It’s free with Amazon Prime Video, and it’s truly the best 2.5 hours of my life with music that you will never get out of your head.
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