Funny Girl (film) "funny girl" with her body, voice, gesture, and character, tying together her Jewishness and oddness. The film values women over men and portrays the men as dependent to their women; it reverses the gender roles. "Funny Girl" helped change the way women were viewed and used comedy to deflect Jewish mockery. Streisand was widely praised by critics, with "The New Yorker"s Pauline Kael calling it "A bravura performance ... As Fanny Brice, she has the wittiest comic inflections since the comediennes of the 30s; she makes written dialogue sound like inspired improvisation. ... Streisand's triumphant talent rides right over the
Funny Girl (musical) until the show closed. The First National Tour gave top billing to Lillian Roth as Mrs. Brice, Anthony George as Nicky and Marilyn Michaels third billed as Fanny. The Australasian premiere season commenced March 4, 1966 at the Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. The production starred Jill Perryman as Fanny Brice. A 1996 United States National tour starred Debbie Gibson as Fanny Brice and Robert Westenberg as Nicky Arnstein. The planned 30-city tour started in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October 1996, but ended prematurely in November 1996 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1999, The Production Company produced "Funny Girl" in Melbourne, starring