Funny Girl

Act One

The New Amsterdam Theater, New York City, 1920s. Fanny Brice, the worldly and experienced star of the Ziegfeld Follies, enters, looking inside her dressing room and walking around the stage, seemingly at a loss. In her dressing room, she stares at herself in the mirror. John, the Stage Manager, and her dresser, Emma, both poke their heads in, asking, “any word from Nick yet?” The Stage Manager calls 30 minutes, but Fanny is still lost in thought. In the mirror she sees the past: her mother, Mrs. Brice and three card-playing cronies, including the opinionated Mrs. Strakosh, can be seen playing poker and laughing amongst themselves. Mrs. Strakosh is trying to discourage the Fanny of the past from the world of the theatre, telling her that she doesn’t have the looks to succeed. (“If a Girl Isn’t Pretty.”) Fanny grows increasingly involved in the conversation, giving the answers that she gave many years ago, until eventually, enthusiastically, she throws off her sophisticated coat