1964 was an outstanding year on Broadway. It began with the opening of Hello, Dolly! and at the end of the year, Fiddler on the Roof got the 1964-65 theater season off to a rousing start. And in between the two was Funny Girl, which opened on March 26, 1964. 21-year-old Barbra Streisand starred, but it had taken a while for her name to come up during casting discussions. Before she was approached, one singer whose name was tossed around was Eydie Gorme; however, she would consider the role only if her husband, Steve Lawrence, was cast in the role of Nicky Arnstein!
Despite receiving eight Tony nominations, Funny Girl went home empty-handed as Hello, Dolly!was the big winner, with ten. However, Barbra would win an Oscar as Best Actress for the movie version, which was released in 1968. (It was the top grossing film of the year.) And when Hello Dolly! was made into a feature film in 1969, it was Streisand who was cast in the title role, not Broadway Dolly's!Carol Channing. (This was also Channing's fate when Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was made into a movie in 1953 and Marilyn Monroe was chosen over her, despite Channing's acclaimed performance in Blondes on Broadway.)
I've also published posts about other Broadway openings:
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Well, Barbra Streisand really great,that girl looking very cute,really this stroy is very funny.i enjoyed by reading this blog story,thanks a lot.
Posted by: funny posts | 11/09/2011 at 04:29 AM