I'm the Greatest Star I'm the Greatest Star "I'm the Greatest Star" is a popular song from the 1964 musical "Funny Girl". The show tune was composed by written by Jule Styne with lyrics by Bob Merrill. Barbra Streisand performed it in the role of Fanny Brice, first in the Broadway cast, then again in the 1968 film adaptation. The song was first included on the original Broadway cast recording album "Funny Girl", which was a best-seller in 1964. A review in "Talking' Broadway" notes that Brice "comes out swingin' with 'I'm the Greatest Star. Howard Taubman wrote in "The New York Times" "Miss
Funny Girl (musical) Dolly!", it failed to win in any categories. The original cast recording of "Funny Girl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. The musical is set in and around New York City just prior to and following World War I. "Ziegfeld Follies" star Fanny Brice, awaiting the return of her husband, Nicky Arnstein, from prison, reflects on their life together, and their story is told as a flashback. Fanny is a stage-struck teen who gets her first job in vaudeville. Her mother and her friend Mrs. Strakosh try to dissuade her from show business because Fanny is