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The Forgotten Funny Girl |
Feature April 2010 |
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Lisa Shane's "Funny Girl" EP single |
Lisa Shane, the London production's understudy in
Funny Girl was chosen to play Fanny Brice once Barbra left the show.
Sadly, the headline "Understudy
Becomes Star" was never written.
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"It
must
be a
plot,
'cause
they're
scared
that
I
got
such
a
gift..."
April 19,2010
Not much is known about Lisa Shane, except to note that the Irish
born actress had a
moment of fleeting notoriety when it was announced that she would
permanently replace Barbra Streisand in the
London production of Funny Girl back in 1966.
Her fairy tale did
not have a happy ending.
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April 29, 1966 - Lisa Shane's
substitute performance is announced |
Lisa Shane started out as Barbra's official understudy in the West End
production. But unlike Lainie Kazan, who understudied the part during
Barbra's run on Broadway (and reportedly only performed the lead
once), Lisa actually performed the role many times for Barbra at the
Prince of Wales Theatre.
We know of at least
two occasions where Lisa went on when Barbra was ill. And later, when
her doctor advised a scale back in activity during her pregnancy,
Barbra withdrew from
Saturday evening
performances altogether, allowing Lisa to perform as Fanny Brice on a
semi-regular basis.
As Barbra's London run was coming to an end, Lisa Shane was chosen to
replace her. The news was deemed so important that it was reported
on both sides of the Atlantic. Sadly, Lisa's brief turn as Fanny Brice
would not bring
her the same success enjoyed by Mimi Hines, Barbra's replacement on
Broadway, or even Lainie Kazan for that matter. |
While Mimi Hines was
drawing SRO audiences in
Funny Girl eight times a week in New
York, the producers in London realized that their production could not sustain a
profitable box-office without Streisand.
At the eleventh hour, they pulled the plug on
Funny Girl.
The show never reopened after Barbra left and Lisa Shane's chance to officially star in the
West End production never came to pass. Her involvement in
Funny Girl is all but forgotten today.
Although her vocals were not
as dynamic as Streisand's,
Shane did possess a legitimate theatrical voice that was quite
capable of carrying the Styne-Merrill score.
In studio, Lisa Shane recorded four numbers
from
Funny Girl
that are the only
lasting testaments to her time in the show. Have a listen
(see side bar) and
see if you don't agree that Lisa Shane was probably pretty
good as Fanny Brice, if only for disappointed theatre-goers on Saturday nights.
Lisa Shane
recorded her selections from
Funny Girl
for the
British record label, Pye. They were released twice: on a 1967 EP single
called Lisa Shane Funny Girl
and on a 1996 CD collection of obscure British musical
performances called A Slice of Pye.
Both recordings are out of print.
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The
Producer Remembers
Richard Mills, one of the producers
of
Funny Girl at The Prince of Wales Theatre recalls that first
Saturday night performance without Barbra:
"One third of the audience went on their way with their refunds
and a very angry two thirds, remained. The overture was played,
the curtain rose on the first scene – an empty backstage set and
guess who was to make the first entrance? That’s it
– the
understudy, Lisa Shane. She was not very welcome and was booed by
some of the audience.
"I was now standing at the back of the stalls
pretending to be a customer. I shouted in a voice as loud as I
could, ‘give the girl a chance’. After a pause, there was applause
and general approbation from the audience. The performance went
ahead – Lisa gave a great performance, and like in all show
business stories, received a standing ovation at the end.
"On subsequent Saturday evenings, even when the public were aware
that the understudy was playing, we still had a full house.
"We did consider trying to replace Barbra when it was time for her to
leave, but decided that she would be impossible to follow, so we
reluctantly closed the show when the time came."
Read Richard Mills' complete
Funny Girl recollection. |
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