#maybe I'll delete this later but I'm so tired of this bs

[starberry-cupcake]

Ok so, I tried my hardest not to talk about the whole Funny Girl fiasco but the Tonys performance really irked me and apparently it didn't bother reviewers as much as it bothered me.

Let's call it all for what it is.

The production thought they could transfer the West End revival as it was and it would work out. So, they cast accordingly to what they had done in said revival, because Sheridan Smith and Beanie Feldstein aren't that different performance-wise, when you listen to them side by side.

Sheridan Smith's take was less vocally powerful and more comedic and physical, to be closer to the real Fanny Brice. It isn't a strange decision, it makes sense to want to revive a show and do it differently than what it used to, especially since the real person who was being represented in the show got watered down in the subsequent years because of one specific performance that took over the interpretation of her entire person forever.

If you think about it, it's kind of weird that people think of Fanny Brice as a character played by Barbra Streisand before they think of her as an actress who existed and who, aside from her personal relationships, was very meaningful in her career and what she represented in the entertainment industry of her time.

So, it makes sense wanting to separate Fanny Brice, the real person, from Barbra Streisand, the real person, by bringing in an actress who would be closer to what Fanny's uniqueness for the entertainment world would mean for a 2020s stage. Beanie Feldstein as a fat queer Jewish girl would be that and her vocals and Sheridan Smith's vocals aren't that far from each other.

The problem was never that choice. The problem was that they failed to understand that US Americans want to see Barbra Streisand more than they want to see Fanny Brice.

They wanna go see Funny Girl to see Barbra because that's what the role became to them. They want to hear those vocals, because the book remains weak but what can save it for them isn't comedy, physicality or who is closest to Fanny Brice in this day and age, but Streisand vocals that can bring the house down.

Beanie wasn't a wrong casting decision for a revival of Funny Girl, she was a wrong casting decision for a revival of Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl.

That inability to read the room the production had isn't the only issue, though, they also failed to commit to that view when things got nasty and decided that letting Beanie take the whole blame was the best thing to do to save their pockets.

Instead of defending their stance, of trying to re-work the show to make more evident what they wanted to highlight to differentiate this version, they threw Beanie under the bus and let her get all the nasty vitriolic hate that was, obviously, made grater by the fact that she is, as I said, a queer fat Jewish woman. Because you can say you just dislike her vocals all you want but when people are calling her a cow and sending her hate throughout her engagement to her now wife, I think you have to look at the bigger picture.

There are a lot of folks out there, especially thin women, who justify their rejection on Beanie saying things like "I don't think it's about her body, there are tons of other fat actresses who would have done a good job".

The problem is that no fat actors are getting leading roles in revivals of known shows where the leads weren't fat to begin with. Even in 2023, fat actors have to originate roles to be considered for them, and when they're leading roles, most often than not, their weight is part of the storyline.

Even then, we get thin actors in fat suits (like Josh Groban in Comet or Rob McClure in Mrs. Doubtfire) or thin actors playing characters that were originally fat (like Sherie Rene Scott as Ursula) more often than fat actors.

If being a famous actress or coming from a famous linage gave Beanie Feldstein the shot to become a fat queer actress being chosen for a revival of a role otherwise given to a thin straight actress, then by all means, let her, because they sure as heck aren't gonna do an open casting call for fat performers for it, nor are they rushing to do it ever again. If Beanie being famous helps open the door for others after her, so be it.

This year, the Tonys finally recognized Alex Newell and Bonnie Milligan and there were other fat performers nominated in supporting categories but that's the thing, it's always supporting categories, unless they're originating a role that has to do with their fatness, like Jaquel Spivey (who didn't even win but boy did he deserve it).

So, it wasn't enough, though, that they drove Beanie Feldstein away from the production, they let her deal with all the backlash and then replaced her with L*a M*chele because the drama of it all would at least get people engaged and who cares if you cast someone with a myriad of known accusations of the most toxic stuff, as long as she can sing as close to Barbra as possible and look as traditional for a romantic leading lady as possible.

When they let her perform at the Tonys and I saw a lot of known people who talk about community and respect giving her a standing ovation, all I could think of was how much that showcased the paper thin commitment to respect that these people really have.

It was a great night for performers who deserved wins for so long and they had been elusive for them for who they are, like Bonnie Milligan, Alex Newell and J Harrison Ghee. But to end it with this was a showcase of how little people matter in the grand scheme of things for the entertainment industry and how any kind of diversity or solidarity goes only as far as their pockets will allow.

#maybe I'll delete this later but I'm so tired of this bs #I thought we were past this and then the tonys happened #luly rambles #luly rants