LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts) It has been 50 years since
Barbra Streisand portrayed Fanny Brice in the 1964 Broadway stage production of Funny Girl, and 46 years since she reprised her critically acclaimed role for the 1968 feature film. On April 29, Capitol/UMe will release the Gold-certified Funny Girl:
Original Broadway Cast Recording in a 50th Anniversary
Deluxe Edition boxed set with a digitally remastered CD and vinyl LP, as well as a 48-page book featuring exclusive photos from the production and a new essay by Jay Landers. The remastered original cast recordingwill also be available for digital purchase, including 192k and 96k high definition audio on HDtracks.
By 1964, Streisand's star was on a rapid rise. She was already a two-time GRAMMY winner, earning 1963's Album of the Year and Best Female Vocalist awards for her solo album debut, The
Barbra Streisand Album. On March 26, 1964, Funny Girl opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre, with Streisand in the musical's lead role of Fanny Brice.
With music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill, Funny Girl was produced by Ray Stark, directed by Garson Kanin, and choreographed by Carol Haney under the supervision of
Jerome Robbins. In addition to Streisand, the show's original cast included Sydney Chaplin, Kay Medford,
Danny Meehan, Jean Stapleton, and Lainie Kazan, who also served as Streisand's understudy. The production earned rave reviews and eight Tony Award nominations, in every major category.
Funny Girl's
Original Broadway Cast Recording album was recorded in one session, 10 days into the show's run, with seasoned Broadway cast recording producer Dick Jones at the helm. Released one week later by Capitol Records, the album climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, just behind The Beatles' Second Album (also released by Capitol), and Streisand's rendition of "
People" became an instant classic. The album won the year's GRAMMY® Award for Best Original Cast Album.
After more than 1,300 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre, the Majestic Theatre, the Broadway Theatre, and a triumphant run in London's West End, Funny Girl closed on July 1, 1967. The next year, Streisand made her Hollywood film debut, once again wowing critics and fans alike and earning the Best Actress Academy Award® for her portrayal of Fanny Brice in the Funny Girl motion picture.
An artist of unparalleled accomplishments in multiple entertainment fields, Streisand has made her mark as an award winning actress of stage and screen, recording artist, concert performer, movie producer, film director, screenwriter, songwriter, philanthropist, designer, photographer, author and activist.
Barbra Streisand is the only artist ever to receive an Oscar, Tony, Emmy, GRAMMY, Directors Guild of America, Golden Globe,
National Medal of Arts, and Peabody Award, as well as France's Legion d'Honneur and the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. She is, in fact, the recipient of two Oscars, five Emmys, 10 GRAMMYs, and 12 Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Further, she is the only person to win an Oscar® in the acting and songwriting categories. She is also the first female film director to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. The three films she directed received 14 Oscar nominations.
Barbra Streisand is the only recording artist to have number one albums in five consecutive decades. She has achieved 51 Gold, 30 Platinum and 18 multi-Platinum albums, each of which, according to the Recording
Industry Association of America, exceeds all other female singers. Her most recent GRAMMY nominated album, What Matters Most, and Release Me became her 31st and 32nd to reach the Top Ten in the charts, with which she passed The
Beatles to become the third highest achiever in that significant statistic, exceeded only by the
Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra. She is the only female among the top ten album-selling recording artists and also the only one to have done so in the pop music field during decades dominated by rock and country sales dominance. In her sixth decade of providing music magic,
Barbra Streisand continues to reach the top of the charts. Her Back To Brooklyn concert DVD was confirmed as No. 1 on the Billboard Top DVD
Music Video chart. Achieving that distinction with the Columbia Records release, Streisand now has topped the DVD charts five times. Her success in the DVD field also includes having earned nine Gold DVDs, six Platinum and three multi-Platinum titles.
The Streisand Foundation has given millions of dollars in more than 2100 grants to over 700 non-profit organizations including her substantial underwriting of The Cedars-Sinai
Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education Program which addresses the leading cause of death among women in the United States. The legendary artist also has raised many millions more for a variety of causes through her performances.
Barbra Streisand was recently honored by the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors for her generous support and dedication to the
Barbra Streisand Women's
Heart Center at Cedars Sinai Hospital.
