Beanie Feldstein on Starring in Broadway Revival of ‘Funny Girl’: ‘I’m in a State of Shock’

variety.com:

Wilson Chapman editorThe bar at the August Wilson Theater, a lounge the theater’s owner Jordan Roth opened last year, was quiet after the curtain fell over Broadway’s first revival of “Funny Girl.”Save the chatter of interviews to the press and some small talk over sandwiches laid out for those who stayed behind, the atmosphere inside the theater in New York City on Sunday was hushed, subdued even, after the opening night of a historic musical: For the first time in 58 years, not since it first opened with an unknown Barbra Streisand in its leading role, “Funny Girl” is again on Broadway.Directed by Michael Mayer with a revised book by Harvey Fierstein, the revival stars Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice.

In the lobby of the theater, leaning against the wall after a barrage of press and her opening night bows, Feldstein could use a second to breathe.“I’m a woman who needs to be distracted,” she said, thoughtful and sincere with her words. “Really, I’m in a state of shock, if I have to be honest.

It’s my dream coming true, my whole life.”Indeed, “Funny Girl” has been around long enough — and levied its generational influence through Streisand — to mold a second leading lady in its own image.“My passion and my commitment and my care for the story is an overwhelming sensation, which leads to perfectionism and passion and needing to do right by Fanny every second,” she unburdened, the lobby’s hush now a salve.“At the beginning of the musical, I have 38 seconds to go from being Fanny in her mid-30s to being Fanny at 17.