Funny Girl National Tour Announces Principal Casting

Off the heels of a highly acclaimed Broadway revival, Funny Girl has announced principal casting for the North American Tour. The cast will feature Grammy-Award winning singer-songwriter, Melissa Manchester as Mrs. Brice, and introduce Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice. They will be joined by Stephen Mark Lukas as Nick Arnstein, Izaiah Montaque Harris as Eddie Ryan, Walter Coppage as Florenz Ziegfeld, Leah Platt as Emma/Mrs. Nadler, Christine Bunuan as Mrs. Meeker, Eileen T’Kaye as Mrs. Strakosh, and David Foley Jr. as Tom Keeney. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Manchester has been an icon in the music industry since the 1970s, best known for celebrated songs such as "Don't Cry Out Loud," “You Should Hear How She Talks About You,” and “Through The Eyes Of Love” (Ice Castles). In her national tour debut, McCrimmon steps into the role of Fanny Brice, on the heels of becoming a YoungArts Winner in Theater and a Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

“Fans have adored Melissa throughout her 50-year musical career, and Katerina is a star in the making who embodies the rising stardom of Fanny. We could not be more thrilled to have this dynamic and talented duo lead the Funny Girl tour," said director and Tony® Award winner Michael Mayer.

The tour will officially open at Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI, from September 9-16, 2023, before continuing on to more than 30 cities coast-to-coast, including Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Philadelphia.

The Broadway revival features iconic songs, including “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star,” and “People.” Breaking box office records week after week and receiving unanimous raves on Broadway, this bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice. As a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage, everyone told her she’d never be a star, but then something funny happened—she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway. The Observer describes the revival as “sparkling and explosively entertaining!”

Funny Girl is directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer and features the classic score by Tony, Grammy, and Academy Award winner Jule Styne and lyrics by Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Bob Merrill. The original book by Isobel Lennart, from an original story by Miss Lennart, is revised by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein.

Funny Girl features choreography by Ellenore Scott; tap choreography by Ayodele Casel; scenic design by Tony Award winner David Zinn; costume design by Tony Award winner Susan Hilferty; lighting design by Tony Award winner Kevin Adams; sound design by Tony Award winner Brian Ronanand Cody Spencer; hair and wig design by Campbell Young Associates; music supervision by Emmy Award winner Michael Rafter; casting by Jim Carnahan, CSA, and Jason Thinger; orchestrations by Chris Walker; dance, vocal, and incidental music arrangements by Alan Williams, and additional arrangements by David Dabbon and Carmel Dean. The associate director is Johanna McKeon; the associate choreographer is Jeffrey Gugliotti; the assistant director is Torya Beard; the assistant tap choreographer is Dre Torres.

The Funny Girl tour stage management team is led by production stage manager Jovon Shuck and is supported by Stage Manager Stacey Taylor and assistant stage manager Mariah Young. The company management team is led by company manager Justin Sweeney with assistant company manager Ryan Mayfield. The tour music director/conductor is Elaine Davidson.

The Funny Girl tour is produced by NETworks Presentations in special arrangement with Sonia Friedman Productions, Scott Landis and David Babani.

The Broadway production of FUNNY GIRL began performances at the August Wilson Theatre on March 22, 2022, with the official opening on April 24, 2022, where it will continue its record-breaking run through September 3, 2023. Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis, and David Babani together with Gemini Theatrical, Accidental Jacket, and Sony Masterworks Broadway released Funny Girl– New Broadway Cast Recording, which is now available wherever you stream music. Produced by David Caddick and David Lai and featuring the classic score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, the album is co-produced by Sonia Friedman, Scott Landis, David Babani, Michael Mayer, Brian Gillet, Huck Walton, Sean Keller, and Marc Levine. The album is executively produced by Evan McGill and the associate producers are Joanna Drowos, Abby Green, and PickleStar Theatricals.