Are Lady Gaga, Rosie O'Donnell coming to Broadway in 'Funny Girl'?
Could "Funny Girl" starring Lady Gaga, left, as Fanny Brice and Rosie O'Donnell as her mother be headed to Broadway? Credit: Composite photo; Getty Images/Neilson Barnard, left, and Getty Images/Dia Dipasupil
Did Rosie O'Donnell let a secret slip Saturday night?
Opening for Randy Rainbow's show at The Paramount, the Commack-raised comic announced that she'd be on Broadway in the long-rumored return of "Funny Girl." And the bombshell: The part of Fanny Brice, made famous by Barbra Streisand in the original 1964 Broadway production and in the 1968 movie version, will be played by Lady Gaga, O'Donnell said. (O'Donnell gets the mother role.)
The dream casting would certainly qualify as repeat history, with Gaga now getting raves in the big-screen remake of "A Star Is Born," a starring role for Streisand, who won a best actress Golden Globe for the 1976 film version. O'Donnell has appeared on Broadway several times, most recently in the 2004 revival of "Fiddler on the Roof." She also played the gym teacher in the 2016 TV special "Hairspray Live!"
Broadway buzz has been looking at a return of the Jule Styne musical, the semi-autobiographical story of Brice and her relationship with gambler Nick Arnstein, ever since a planned production in 2012, directed by Bartlett Sher and rumored to star Lauren Ambrose, was shelved. A 2016 London production, starring Sheridan Smith, was filmed and is due to hit theaters on Oct. 24.
Representatives for O'Donnell and Gaga have not yet responded to requests for confirmation.
