Editing Funny Girl (musical) (section)

==Background==
Stark married Fanny Brice's and Nicky Arnstein's daughter Frances Brice in 1940. In telling Fanny's story, Stark produced the Broadway musical, film version and film sequel ''[[Funny Lady]]''.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 4, 1992 |title=Frances Brice Stark, Hollywood Figure, 72 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/04/obituaries/frances-brice-stark-hollywood-figure-72.html}}</ref>

Ray Stark commissioned an authorized biography of Brice, based on taped recollections that she had dictated, but the result of which she was unhappy with. Stopping the publication of ''The Fabulous Fanny'', as it had been titled by the author, eventually cost him $50,000. Stark then turned to [[Ben Hecht]] to write the screenplay for a biopic, but neither Hecht nor the 10 writers who succeeded him were able to produce a version that satisfied Stark. Finally, Isobel Lennart submitted ''My Man'', which pleased both Stark and [[Columbia Pictures]] executives, who offered Stark $400,000 plus a percentage of the gross for the property.<ref>{{cite book |last=Herman |first=Jan |url=https://archive.org/details/talentfortrouble00herm |title=A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director |publisher=G.P. Putnam |year=1995 |isbn=0-399-14012-3 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}</ref>

After reading the screenplay, [[Mary Martin]] contacted Stark and proposed it be adapted for a stage musical. Stark discussed the possibility with producer [[David Merrick]], who suggested Jule Styne and [[Stephen Sondheim]] compose the score. Sondheim told Styne "I don't want to do the life of Fanny Brice with Mary Martin. She's not Jewish. You need someone ethnic for the part." Shortly after, Martin lost interest in the project and withdrew.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Theodore |title=Jule: The Story of Composer Jule Styne |publisher=Random House |year=1979 |isbn=0-394-41296-6 |location=New York |pages=226–249}}</ref>

Merrick discussed the project with [[Jerome Robbins]], who gave the screenplay to [[Anne Bancroft]]. She agreed to play Brice if she could handle the score. Merrick suggested Styne collaborate with [[Dorothy Fields]], but the composer was not interested. He went to Palm Beach, Florida for a month and composed music he thought Bancroft would be able to sing. While he was there, he met Bob Merrill, and he played the five melodies he already had written for him. Merrill agreed to write lyrics for them; these included "Who Are You Now?" and "The Music That Makes Me Dance". Styne was happy with the results and the two men completed the rest of the score, then flew to Los Angeles to play it for Stark, Robbins, and Bancroft. Bancroft was at odds with Merrill because of an earlier personal conflict, and after listening to the score, she stated "I want no part of this. It's not for me".<ref name="Taylor" />

With Bancroft out of the picture, [[Eydie Gormé]] was considered, but she agreed to play Brice only if her husband [[Steve Lawrence]] was cast as Nick Arnstein. Because they thought he was wrong for the role, Stark and Robbins approached [[Carol Burnett]], who said "I'd love to do it but what you need is a Jewish girl." With options running out, Styne recalled [[Barbra Streisand]], whom he remembered from ''[[I Can Get It for You Wholesale]]'', and thought that she would be perfect. She was performing at the Bon Soir in [[Greenwich Village]] at the time; Styne urged Robbins to go see her there. He was impressed and asked her to audition. Styne later recalled, "She looked awful ... All her clothes were out of thrift shops. I saw Fran Stark staring at her, obvious distaste on her face." Despite his wife's objections, Stark hired Streisand on the spot.<ref name="Taylor" />

Robbins had an argument with Lennart and told Stark he wanted her replaced because he thought she was not capable of adapting her screenplay into a viable book for a stage musical. Stark refused and Robbins quit the project.<ref name="Taylor" />

''Funny Girl'' temporarily was shelved, and Styne moved on to other projects, including ''[[Fade Out – Fade In]]'' for Carol Burnett. Merrick signed [[Bob Fosse]] to direct ''Funny Girl'', and work began on it again, until Fosse quit and the show went into limbo for several months, at which point Merrick suggested that Stark hire [[Garson Kanin]]. It was Merrick's last contribution to the production; shortly afterward he bowed out, and Stark became sole producer.<ref name="Taylor" />

Streisand was not enthusiastic about Kanin as a director and insisted she wanted Robbins back, especially after Kanin suggested "People" be cut from the score because it didn't fit the character. Streisand already had recorded the song for a single release, and Merrill insisted, "It has to be in the show because it's the greatest thing she's ever done." Based on audience reaction to it, Kanin agreed to let it remain. By the time the show opened in Boston, audiences were so familiar with "People" that they applauded it during the overture.<ref name="Taylor" />

There were problems with the script and score throughout rehearsals, and when ''Funny Girl'' opened at the Shubert Theatre in Boston it was too long, even after thirty minutes had been cut. The critics praised Streisand but disliked the show. Lennart continued to edit her book and deleted another thirty minutes before the show moved to Philadelphia, where critics thought the show could be a hit if the libretto problems were rectified.<ref name="Taylor" />

The New York opening was postponed five times while extra weeks were played out of town. ''Funny Girl'' played two tryout periods in Philadelphia at the Forrest and Erlanger theaters. Five songs were cut, and "You Are Woman", a solo for [[Sydney Earle Chaplin|Sydney Chaplin]], was rewritten as a [[counterpoint]] duet. Streisand was still unhappy with Kanin and was pleased when Robbins returned to oversee the choreography by [[Carol Haney]].<ref name="Taylor" />

Kanin's novel ''[[Smash (novel)|Smash]]'' is based loosely on his experience directing ''Funny Girl''.