Go Inside Opening Night of FUNNY GIRL on Broadway

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

The musical, Funny Girl, is back on Broadway for the first time since the original production in 1964

And stepping into the iconic role of Fannie Bryce is Beanie Feldstein

And we're here on opening night to celebrate with her and her co-stars

Rameen Karam Loo, Jane Lynch, Jared Grimes, and The Company. Absolutely

I mean, it's dreams coming true to be on Broadway in general, but to be Fannie Bryce and a funny girl

There I don know I never have a night like this again in my whole life Yeah I know this is something you wanted from a very young age the age of three The age of three I mean what was it about funny girl when you were growing up What was it You know I think it was her ambition

She's so unapologetic and she demands space and that energy is so infectious

And Fannie herself, she broke so many glass ceilings and she was such a remarkable trailblazer

But I think even as a little being, I just couldn't believe how unapologetic and just furroweating

and just ferocious. She was in her want to be on stage and to make people laugh and to sing

And that's, even from this big, was all I wanted to do too. When you took your bow tonight, back on Broadway, what were you thinking

Of a clump. I was gone. I could not. I just, it's in a state of shock. It was surreal

And we have so many Broadway debuts in the company to watch them take their first, you know, opening night, Broadway

I just, I remember that feeling so distinctly from Hello Dolly and to get to witness them

is just the greatest gift. To finally open Funny Girl on Broadway

again, we've spoken before. We knew that this was a, Funny Girl wasn't something that I was on my radar

I didn't grow up with it, to know what this has become over the preview period

to finally have it open on Broadway, the excitement, the adoration from the audience

like they're loving it, and you know, it's just, it's a pure joy

I'm so grateful for it. I love being part of the Broadway community and opening this show

which has been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. You know, I grew up with this music

This is a full circle moment for me. I feel my mother very much who passed

but, you know, this was our favorite musical, and we loved it together

And this is very much, you know, due to my mom, you know just loving this music so much and passing that on to me Living in the world of Mrs Bryce is a real joy because she a ferocious advocate for her daughter She loves her daughter with a passion that we all deserve

You know, first of all, Fannie is very talented, but in her mom's eyes, she can do no wrong

and she's a good girl, and her mother sees that, and her mother would walk through fire for her

She would take a bullet for her. She would, you know, jump in front of a racing horse for her

I was going to see a car, but I don't know that they had cars back then. I feel amazing

It's so good to, after all the previews that we've had, it's so good to get in front of an opening audience

and just express and give them our version of Funny Girl. What's made this so special for you

Has it been seen on Broadway since 1964? What's made it so special for you

One of the most special things for me is that, you know, Eddie Ryan is African American this time around

When I got the opportunity to audition, you know, I knew that

I was like, wait a minute. I was like, in the movie, Eddie was, you know, it was definitely not African-American

and I didn't think twice about it. I was like, yeah, I feel like I could do that

and bring something very great to the role while still respecting the traditional mindset

of what the role was. And, you know, for me, that's just bringing the history of what New York was in the early 1900s

from a tap dancer's perspective and from a young budding choreographer's perspective

and just being truthful with that. And, you know, Michael Mayer was really

really flexible and just let me explore those instincts in the room and you know that's kind of like what I lived through

every day in a different way every show when you took your bow tonight do you

remember what you were thinking I just was thinking about how hard the pandemic

was and and about how I really didn think I was gonna be an actor anymore and and how surprised I am What happened instead I was thinking I couldn believe on some level I felt the honor of that standing on stage with David Zinn Susan Helfready Kevin Adams Michael Mayer artists of such tremendous standards that I you know I feel so grateful

And I thought, you know, you're doing okay, kid. I couldn't believe I was part of this company

I mean, we've been doing it for three months now, but I still couldn't really wrap my brain around it

until we just, you know, Michael Mayer went by, Harvey Firestein went by

and I was like, wait a minute, I'm in this, and I'm part of this

And I was just really proud and grateful. I mean, I don't know how else to put it

I just, you know, who knew that after all this time I could, at my age

I could be back on Broadway. Just what a gift, what a complete gift to the world at a time when it needs it

You know, something beautiful, but genuine, you know. There's nothing cheap in this

It's fun, it's great, but it's real people. And Michael, the director, just so focused on the fact that these people are all real

We know them. It's show people. Oh, my gosh. I thought, my mother's here

My mother gets to see this and my husband's here, my sister's here. I can't believe I'm standing here

I'm so happy