Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
July 12, 2018

The chance to see a semi-staged concert of Funny Girl, presented by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, is a delight in itself. But with a dozen leading ladies sharing the honours as Fanny Brice – in surprisingly effective fashion – it becomes a genuinely special experience, with Caroline O’Connor proving to be the starriest star of the night.

The cast of Funny Girl. Photo © Robert Catto

Based on the story of real performer Fanny Brice, Funny Girl follows her life from stage-struck teenager, determined to become a performer despite people telling her she’s not pretty enough, to stardom with the Ziegfeld Follies. Meeting charming gambler Nick Arnstein, they fall in love, marry and move to a flash Long Island mansion. Eventually, however, he loses all their money in a failed casino and is jailed for embezzlement. Fanny keeps performing as she waits for his return.

With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, Funny Girl opened on Broadway in 1964, making a star of Barbra Streisand who later played the role in the 1968 film. Twenty-one year old Jill Perryman also proved a sensation in the...