She must shine in every detail! And we ain’t just talking about the perfect showgirl, no sir! We’re talking about the costumes, the lights, the choreography, the singing, the movement, the atmosphere— if you want to impress as a major Broadway musical these days— you’ve got to tick all the boxes! And with 36 expressions, Funny Girl has all the pip and pizazz! It’s a dazzling revival musical harkening back to the golden days of Broadway and the audiences of Baltimore are here for it! And not just because there’s a scene that takes place at The Belvedere Hotel right here in Charm City! Broadway Across America is proud to present Funny Girl for a limited one-week engagement at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre and it’s a razzle-dazzle wonder of singing, dancing, and earnest heartfelt feelings. Directed by Michael Mayer with Choreography by Ellenore Scott and Tap Choreography by Ayodele Casel, this sensational show is the heartwarming misadventure in follies that Baltimore is begging for and it delivers above and beyond the call of comedic, earnest duty.
It’s all about the lights and wondrous illumination that Lighting Designer Kevin Adams provides for this production. The old-school, nostalgic ring-frame of big-bulb-blinkers that wraps itself around the outline of the stage like an illuminating hug is the perfect gateway to a time long ago— The Golden Era of Broadway where Folles was the hit sensation touring every market. David Zinn’s scenic design supports Adams lighting work and the pair of designers work together to create the grandiose effects of an old-world Broadway show. And it’s wonderful. There’s glorious glide-in backdrops really set the stage and lavish furnishings for the more posh and swanky scenes, particularly the scene in The Belvedere Hotel. Both Zinn and Adams have finessed the aesthetic of this show to give it that professional Broadway sheen; (every detail falls flawlessly into place— everything from mood-lighting during the not-quite villainous number, “Temporary Arrangement” to the plush chaise lounge in The Belvedere Hotel— Zinn and Adams put their heart and soul into making the show look perfect and it shows.
The only thing more perfect, in the realm of production aesthetics, is the myriad of costumes by way of Costume Designer Susan Hilferty. You want razzle? Check. You want dazzle? Check! You want sensational sequins, glorious glitter, and a whole host of other amazing outfits that fill that stage from start to finish? Hilferty is your person. The spangly sequin-show pieces that fill out “His Love Makes Me Beautiful” are like walking mirror-balls incarnate. The tinfoil storm-trooper uniforms featured during “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” as so shiny they’re hypnotizing. Not to mention the ‘36’ outfits that you get to see on Fanny Brice! Hilferty has done a stupendous job of creating costume pieces that are both of the time and compliment each character accordingly. You never get anything overly dashing on Nicky Arnstein, beyond that ruffled shirt, and that’s okay as he percolates like a obsidian mist in the background of Fanny’s story. You get glorious mustards, burnt oranges, and even sienna-orange spats on the Eddie Ryan character that just make him pop with panache. The costumes are as glamourous and as gorgeous as the era that inspired them and they move beautifully on the stage too.
It’s rare to talk about the sound design of a show (unless one is complaining about how awful or out of sync and balance it is, though that is definitely not the case here!) Sound Designers Brian Ronan & Cody Spencer have pulled out all the stops when it comes to giving that polished sense of clean sound on the show. One of the really unique things that they do for this show is mic Eddie Ryan’s tap-shoes. (Gotta be an ‘up-the-pant-leg’ mic?) You get to hear the stunning clickity-clack sounds of his fast and furious feet every time he’s in tap mode and having that augmented sound is a real treat. You even get the orchestra (at this performance, conducted by Elaine Davidson) perfectly balanced against the singers. If there’s one musical complaint— and this is well beyond the decision of Ronan & Spencer— it’s that today’s modern audience doesn’t have the attention span for the five-minute overture at the top of the show where nothing is happening but the music and all they say is the main curtain with blinking frame lights. Various and sundry audience members all around were getting antsy, shifting and shuffling, starting to talk; that’s the one component of historical musical theatre that does not do well with today’s audience; find the truncated two-minute version for a smoother transition from curtain speech into action and you’ll keep the audiences’ attention much better.
Where does one even begin to describe the sensational and astonishing dance routines that Choreographer Ellenore Scott and Tap Choreographer Ayodele Casel has put into play. Rich, lush, big, splashy choreographed numbers— true to the time and the era of the show— spill into a bunch of the big ensemble routines and there is no shortage of extraordinary dancing talent in the ensemble (at this performance Lamont Brown, Kate E. Cook, Julia Grondin, Jackson Grove, Alex Hartman, Meghan Manning, Ryan Lambert, Dot Kelly, Kathy Liu, Sami Murphy, Jordon Taylor, Sean Thomspon, Rodney Thompson.) Scott’s ‘Folles’-inspired choreography is gorgeous and is made even more sensational by the wild costumes Susan Hilferty uses in those numbers. And Casel’s tap routines leave the audience thundering with applause. Particularly “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” which features an entire ensemble tap-along that is exquisite to watch and just astonishing to behold. Casel also puts a great deal of impressive moves into the solo tap-routines executed by the Eddie Ryan character; they’re equally astonishing and really wow the audience every step of the way.
The aforementioned ensemble fills out the scenes and the songs with gusto and pluck; they sound glorious and look magnificent. You can’t sing high enough praises for all that they’re doing for numbers like “Sadie, Sadie,” and “Henry Street” which is a full-on dance-break, sing-song party experience. Stand-out performers in the ensemble include (at this performance) Jackson Grove and Rodney Thompson as the Cornet Men, who tap and ‘cornet-play’ their way through that eponymous number and flank Fanny on either side during “Cornet Man.” Also (at this performance) Mrs. Meeker (Hannah Shankman) and Mrs. Strakosh (Christine Bunuan) who are dubbed, affectionately, the ‘dragon ladies’ but they needle, peck, and pick at both Mrs. Brice and Fanny, with the best of intentions, during both of the Poker chants as well as “If A Girl Isn’t Pretty.” Bunuan and Shankman both have that intense vocal affectation to show they are of Henry Street and deeply steeped in the Jewish tradition. You also get an incredibly felicitous Irish accent from David Foley Jr. as Tom Keeney, the first person to give Fanny Brice a job.
Mama knows best is a phrase that’s been pedaled around for years. And Mrs. Brice (at this performance, Eileen T’Kaye) lives up to that motto, even if she knows that the one place a mother should not be is in the middle of a marriage. With a real understanding of smart comic timing, T’Kaye manages to dazzle the audience in her own right. Sharp, sarcastic edges, but not without sincerity, she makes with the jokes, she delivers her own brand of humor but also finds a way to be sincere and somber when necessary. T’Kaye is a real hoot, especially when she teams up with Eddie Ryan (Izaiah Montaque Harris) in the second act for “Who Taught Her Everything She Knows?” She’s even got some pep in her step as she flits around the stage in that number; it’s delightful!
As the bubbly, effervescent, and frenetically inspired Eddie Ryan, Izaiah Montaque Harris is wowing the audience with his spirit, his attitude, and his tap-moves! You get a brief sample of his wonderful voice during that duet in the second act with Mrs. Brice but he blows the audience away with all that constant tapping. Perpetually smiling, even when his physical smile drifts into something more sober you can sense there’s a smile in his overall energy and spirit, Harris is exquisite in the role and simply smashing on his feet, especially when he’s showcasing his mesmerizing tap-capabilities. The audiences love him and delight every time he starts tapping his way across the stage.
She may be woman, but Stephen Mark Lucas is definitely man, and a most unforgettable man he is as Nick Arnstein. Disarmingly charming, hypnotically handsome, and so full of confidence you’ll melt in your seat to see him. And if you haven’t resolidified by the time Lukas opens his mouth to speak and sing, you’ll just melt right on through the floor. There’s a point at which honesty’s useless, so we’ll have it his way, Lukas is an undefinable enigma in this role. And oh my god does your heart stop when he floor-hops from lounging up onto the chaise lounge; jaw-drop, eyes-pop, walk-away. And he can sing. Like an old-school, glory-days crooner of Broadway’s iconic yesteryore. Those smooth, velvety vocals percolate through “I Want to Be Seen With You”, they burble like molten lava ready to scorch your soul in “You Are Woman, I am Man” and my god he burns the house down with “Temporary Arrangement.” Charisma doesn’t begin to describe what he’s pedaling and Lukas’ voice is something from the heavens as it rolls through these numbers; he even does a little spin-foot-dancing during “Temporary Arrangement” and you won’t be able to take your eyes and ears off of him.
Who is the pip with pizazz? Who is all ginger and jazz? Katerina McCrimmon, that’s who! This It’s always a challenge when the role handed to you is set down by a theatrical and musical God, one Barbara Streisand. McCrimmon does a stellar job of making Fanny Brice her own entity. Loud, obnoxisous, and playing with a heightened sense of caricature to make her titular character live up to it epitaph, Katerina McCrimmon is nailing it as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. She has a masterful command of both her physical body and her facial expressions when it comes to exaggerating these scenes and playing them up for laughs. This is particularly noticeable when she’s racing all around the swanky hotel private dining room during “You Are Woman, I am Man”, dodging and ducking and throwing herself around to add humor to this already hilarious and campy number. And the fire-in-the-belly gut-busting intensity comes wailing out of her mouth, particularly when she’s going head-to-head with the (at first unseen) notorious Florenz Ziegfeld (Walter Coppage, who is an extraordinary presence all his own.) You get pluck and spunk and a whole lotta chutzpah from McCrimmon all throughout the performance. And vocally she’ll blast you into next century. But she’s more than just a loud-mouth with powerhouse vocals. She understands the balance of the character— big and bold and beautiful and loud, but also emotionally vulnerable and real and grounded. McCrimmon delivers that powerhouse intensity with all the emotional fortitude of a tidal wave at the end of the first act for “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” You get a glorious sound from McCrimmon during “People” and when she smolder-builds her way into that sensational 11-o’clock number “The Music That Makes Me Dance” you feel it burning through your soul with her phenomenal vocal prowess and impressive emotional intention rolling behind it. McCrimmon is truly funny, really amping up the nonsense and shenanigans all through the first and a good portion of the second act, putting on that humorous caricature veneer, which makes the final portion of the show that much more heart stopping. A remarkable sensation, Katerina McCrimmon has truly made this her own experience.
If you wonder what happy people do, they go to the theatre. Because theatre people are people who need people, and those are the luckiest people in the world. If you want to be among the happy, lucky people, don’t miss out on Funny Girl right here in Charm City for its week-long, whirlwind engagement at The Hippodrome Theatre.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes with one intermission
Funny Girl plays through October 29th 2023 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre on the Main Stage of The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center- 12 North Eutaw Street Baltimore, MD 21201. For tickets call (410) 837-7400 or purchase them online.
