By Melissa Hunter
Assistant Editor
This November, Broadway in Cincinnati continues its 2024-2025 season with the iconic musical, “Funny Girl.” The show features Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Melissa Manchester as Rose Brice, Fanny Brice’s strong and supportive mother. I had the opportunity to sit down with Ms. Manchester and interview her about her role in the musical, as well as her history as a recording artist and musician.
MH: What attracted you to the role of Fanny Brice’s mother, and how does it feel to step into character when you go on stage?
MM: Well, “Funny Girl” has always been a part of my life. I saw the original in 1964 with Barbra Streisand when I was a young girl. And it’s never had a national tour. This is the first national tour in 60 years! When I learned it was being mounted, I really wanted a shot at auditioning for the role of Rose Brice, because Rose is symbolic of all the sweet women who helped raise me… my mother, my aunts, and my neighbors in the Bronx. The tone of how her character is written is so beautiful and so musical, and it shows such a deep and authentic journey of a mother’s relationship with a daughter. So, I prepared for the audition, and then I was offered the tour! I was a new grandmother at the time. I have a granddaughter, and I didn’t want to miss her first year of life, but all my kids said, “You have to do this. This is a rare adventure,” and it has worked out beautifully. Actually, I FaceTime with my granddaughter every week, so she knows her Baba.”
MH: How has the experience been?
MM: It’s been very lovely. The cast is fantastic. The thing that’s so rewarding is how many kids have come to see it, how many musical theater students have come to see it, how many families have come to see it, how many people that were only familiar with the movie have come to see it. It’s really nothing like the movie, but the thing that is the most touching for me is how it has resonated in this moment. You know, sometimes art grows into a moment. And I believe that “Funny Girl,” the story of triumph of the will, of this exceptional woman, Fanny Brice, really resonates in this moment.
MH: Absolutely. I grew up watching the movie, and my husband, myself, and my older daughter watched it again the other night. She’s 22, and it was her first time seeing it, and it resonated with her as well.
MM: (The touring musical) is very different from the movie. It has been reworked by the great Harvey Fierstein. It’s a big musical. There are 30 people in the cast. There’s lots of glorious tapping and gorgeous music. And of course, one of the really magical moments for the audience is to hear the standards that have come out of this musical, like “People who Need People” and “Don’t Rain on my Parade.” It’s really thrilling night after night.
MH: That’s wonderful. I think we probably touched upon this, but I don’t know if there’s anything else you’d like to add about how you actually relate to the character of Rose Brice. Are there any of her personality traits or her journey that resonates with you personally?
MM: Yes, thank you for asking. You know, as a mom, each kid of yours is different, and sometimes you have that one kid who has a singular light that you have to sort of love differently, not more, just differently. And in the case of Rose Brice, it’s Fanny. And Fanny will not take “no” for an answer. She knows that she doesn’t look like everybody else, but she also knows that she has something that she must offer the world, and she finds her way, and her mother loves her fiercely. What’s interesting about the evening is you see the journey of Fanny growing from a young girl to a mature, successful business woman and a star. And you see the relationship between Fanny and Rose changing. As a mother, you’re often the last to know that the relationship is changing. I have been told that the character of Rose is really the grounding force in the evening, and you will see that.
I’ve never had a primarily acting role as opposed to a singing role. I sing a little but it’s mostly an acting role, right?
It’s thrilling to share the stage with so many talented actors. And Hannah Shankman is wonderful as Fanny and Stephen Mark Lukas is great as Nick. All in all, the principal characters and their journeys have really been developed, and you really care about everybody on the stage.
MH: That’s fantastic. That leads into my next question almost seamlessly, because I was wondering, since you’ll be showcasing both your acting and your singing talents, how do you prepare to balance these two in the world?
MM: I go over my lines every night to make sure that the brain/mouth connection is ignited. And, you know, I drink a lot of water during the day, and I stretch and warm up. It’s very different than doing a concert. It’s the 50th year of my career, and I’ve traveled this nation for 50 years, but I’ve never been able to just unpack my suitcase and walk around the neighborhood and look at local shops and go to a restaurant and smell the air in a local place. I mean, for me, it’s very luxurious to be in each place at least a week, sometimes two and sometimes three. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate, to celebrate this particular anniversary of mine.
MH: Wow. I also want to ask how your experience as a recording artist has influenced your approach to performing in a musical like “Funny Girl.”
MM: Well, it’s really a very distant cousin. It’s very, very different. The lovely thing is, I released my 25th album earlier this year called RE:VIEW, which is a rethinking of several of my charted hits. On it, we had some spectacular guest stars. I’m singing “Midnight Blue” as a duet with Dolly Parton, and I’m singing the song I wrote with Kenny Loggins, “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend,’” with Kenny, and there’s a sax solo by the great Dave Koz. So it’s been a very rich year, and the fact that “Funny Girl” is starting year two is just amazing, and it’s been extended through April! I’m just feeling very blessed, and in this moment of celebrating the New Year (of Rosh Hashanah), I am so grateful and and humbled by all of these blessings.
MH: This is wonderful, and feeds directly into my next question. In your career, you’ve collaborated with so many artists. How does working in a theater company compare to those musical collaborations?
MM: Well, that’s an interesting question. Theater is all about the collaboration. I mean, nothing can exist without the collaboration. And as a concert performer, I must tell you that being in “Funny Girl” feels like being an honored guest at a very beautiful party. I am not carrying the evening. I am part of a splendid cast and company. The production in its entirety is just fantastic, and we are all taken care of and hold each other close. We’re really a village. It’s unusual and rigorous and very disciplined, but very, very joyful.
MH: Touching upon your recording history as a musician, you’ve had a remarkable career and and now you’re releasing your new album RE:VIEW. How do you feel your music has evolved since your early hits.
MM: Oh, the more you write, the more aware you are of the tools in your tool belt to edit as you go along. That’s been my experience, anyway. You refine your language so that the songs become monologues. In the early days, when I first started writing, it was such a gush of expression that I just couldn’t stop writing. When I listen to those very early songs, I wouldn’t be able to write that way anymore. I was so fortunate to study songwriting with the great Paul Simon when I was 17, and I learned so much from him. And when I teach, I really pay forward what he taught me. It’s a very mysterious process, and it’s as mysterious now as it was when I started such a long time ago.
MH: That’s amazing. What keeps your passion for performing alive after so many years in the industry?
MM: Performing and creating and traveling is simply my version of normal. You know, it’s not for everybody. My father was a musician with the Metropolitan Opera. He worked every year. He encouraged me to get out into the world and see what was out there. Living in the Bronx in Manhattan, I thought, who wants to leave? But once I started to tour, I discovered it’s fabulous. I was born into the right family where creativity and expression are encouraged. My mother was actually a pioneer in the fashion industry. She was one of the first women to own her own design and manufacturing firm.
MH: So you come from a very creative family?
MM: I do. My sister and I were really encouraged to stay curious and open.
MH: That’s great. Looking ahead to the future, are there any upcoming projects or roles that you’re particularly excited about? What can your fans look forward to?
MM: Since RE:VIEW was released last February, I have not been on the concert tour at all to support it. I will get back to that after this tour shuts down in April. And, you know, there are some projects that are in the kernel stage, and so we’ll just see what the future brings!
“Funny Girl” opens November 19th and runs through December 1 at the Aronoff.
For more information, visit Broadway in Cincinnati.
