Funny Girl

Funny Girl’ is the story of young Fanny Brice and her rise as a small time singer to a star of the Ziegfeld Follies and the people and places she meets and goes to along the way, including finding a husband.  The production opens with Fanny in her dressing room waiting for her husband who has just been released from jail.  It then flashes back to the start of her career and continues with her rise to fame.

To play a part like Fanny Brice you need a lot of stamina, as the actor is hardly off the stage and, Phebe Bland had this in abundance.  She not only acted well but had good vocal skills.  The two iconic songs from the show ‘People’ and ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’ were sung really well.

Phebe was well supported by Paul Atkins as gambler and her husband Nicky Arnstein.  I also felt that Jenny Gough gave a good performance as Fanny’s mother.  The remainder of the cast, principals, follies and ensemble worked well together and you could see how much they were enjoying giving the performance.  A production cannot rely just on the principals but with an ensemble like this one Sutton Arts had another sure fire hit on their hands.

Husband and wife production team of Emily Armstrong and Dexter Whitehead should be congratulated on this production, which is not widely staged.  The costumes were ideal and suited the time period and the set maintained the usual Sutton Arts Theatre standard.

Congratulations to you all

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