Washington Examiner:The American Century Theater wants to set the record straight about turn-of-the-century songstress Fanny Brice, counteracting all inaccurate portraits of Brice, especially in Barbra Streisand’s Broadway show and movie “Funny Girl.”
Claiming that their Fanny is the real Fanny, ACT employs a script by Chip Deffaa and the talents of actress/singer Esther Covington to explore the life and times of Brice through narrative and song.Covington is extremely talented with a clear soprano voice and she belts out many of Brice’s most famous numbers: “Rose of Washington Square,” “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody,” “Second Hand Rose,” “Ja-Da” and “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey?” She also delivers more plaintive material (“I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” “My Man” and “After You’re Gone”) with the poignancy that made her such a favorite among men and women of her age.
Deffaa’s script neatly describes that age, including many details about Fanny’s life, making her rags-to-riches story very credible. Deffaa tells Brice’s story in chronological order, beginning with Fanny singing for her father, whom she adored, then singing on the street with one of her brothers, picking up coins thrown by appreciative passers-by, then singing onstage with her brother, again for coins, until she got a paying job in a burlesque revue.
One of the nicest elements of “One Night With Fanny Brice” is the way Deffaa brings Fanny’s historical contemporaries to life: Flo Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, Gypsy Rose Lee, Billy Rose, W.C. Fields, Al Jolson and all the lowlifes associated with Nicky Arnstein, Fanny’s one true love. Deffaa also emphasizes Brice’s abilities as a comedian, allowing her to sing some funny songs, like Irving Berlin’s “Grizzly Bear,” and to re-create some of the curious characters who peopled her life.
But Deffaa’s narrative drags occasionally and there are too many details clogging the script, like those surrounding Fanny’s first and last marriages. By the time Act II rolls around and Fanny finally meets the tall, handsome, no-good gambler and con man Arnstein, it’s clear that Deffaa will exploit his every sexual and financial betrayal, creating sympathy for Fanny but also creating a decidedly untheatrical, slow-moving narrative.
Director Ellen Dempsey doesn’t take a lot of chances with “One Night With Fanny Brice.” She lets Covington come down into the audience twice and sing directly to the audience, but for the rest of the show she is center stage, her pianist behind her, delivering her songs from the same vantage point.
Dempsey also includes a considerable amount of tap-dancing in the show. By Brice’s own admission, she early on became the best tap-dancer of the company she was playing in at the time. But Covington’s dancing ability doesn’t approach her talent as a singer and comic, and it quickly becomes distracting.
Patrick Lord’s set is simple and effective: white chiffon curtains and a ghost light suggesting a rehearsal in progress; a trunk; a single chair, which Covington uses to good advantage. Steven Barker’s lighting design calls for a palette of soft pastels illuminating a screen at the back of the stage.
Musical director Tom Fuller’s piano playing is sketchy at best, drawing attention away from Covington’s clear-edged, concisely delivered numbers and at times overwhelming Covington’s powerful voice with amplified piano. Covington deserves better support for her diligent, energetic and sensitive portrayal of one of America’s greatest performers.
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