And now for something completely unrelated to Chicago theatre.
After much speculation, gossip and conjecture, they’ve announced the star of the new Bartlett Sher-helmed production of Funny Girl, set to open on Broadway in spring 2012. And it’s some TV actress I don’t know.
Oh, well. (Hey, anyone but Lea Michele, right?)
Obviously they didn’t get Patti LuPone’s audition tape:
(Things to note: LuPone’s still singing the wrong lyric and love how it seems like she’s pulling back the reins on a horse before hitting her final note at 2:22. Fabulous, no?)
To make this Chicago theatre related, Jessie Mueller would have been a fabulous Fanny Brice. But, guess what? As announced by The New York Times this morning, Mueller’s set to star in another Broadway-bound revival of a show connected to la Streisand — On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
Chicago Theatre Addict 
TTRue about Jessie Mueller. But Lauren Ambrose is a very good actress. She got raves for her portrayal of Juliet a couple of years ago in Shakespeare in the Park. And apparently she can sing. And she’s kind of funny looking, without looking like Barbra.
Btw, you should watch Six Feet Under. It’s worth it.
You don’t know Lauren Ambrose? I guess you have never watched Six Feet Under. IMO, the best TV show ever written. She is a great actress! I had no idea she could sing. Very cool!
I may have seen her in something? But, no, I’ve never watched Six Feet Under. I’m one of those annoying people who rarely watch tv, and when I do, Gator usually has the remote. So it’s procedural crime drama central :)
I didn’t know who it was until I read the “Six Feet Under” reference, then she started looking familiar. I always thought that Amy Winehouse would have done a good Fanny Brice. She had the voice, the looks, the fame, and there was no way you can compare her to Streisand. There goes that fantasy casting..
I didn’t know that Lauren Ambrose was a singer either, but she is a very good actress. She was great on “Six Feet Under” and in the 2000 film, “Psycho Beach Party”.
P.S. Actually I do remember Ambrose singing on “Six Feet Under” – and, of course, YouTube has a clip of the scene.
Thanks for sharing this, Marc. Yeah, I guess she can sing, but has she played the lead in a musical 8 times a week? This is one hugely demanding part — even for an experienced musical stage actress.
I saw Lauren Ambrose on Broadway in Eugene Ionesco’s “Exit the King” with Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon. She was pretty good, in a non-singing role. (She played the younger, adoring wife of Rush’s character.)
Um. I think you’re all forgetting Ms. Ambrose’s finest role – in “Can’t Hardly Wait.” She’s the angry girl who winds up locked in the bathroom with Seth Green. And she’s awesome.