'Funny Girl' at DCLO beats L.A. to the punch

DOWNEY - Quality and resourcefulness are two of the elements that have kept the Downey Civic Light Opera afloat while other Southland CLOs have gone under. Now you can add a third: timing."Funny Girl," the vehicle that launched the career of Barbra Streisand in 1964, will come to the Downey Civic Light Opera a full eight months before the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson stages its own production. With book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Bob Merrill, "Funny Girl" ran a total of 1,348 performances on Broadway and was nominated for eight Tonys. The 1968 film, also starring Streisand as 1930s Broadway, film star and comedienne Fanny Brice, won her an Academy Award for Best Actress (shared with Katharine Hepburn), and was also an Oscar nominee for Best Film, which is rare for a musical in the movies. It was also the top grossing film of the year. Now local theatergoers and DCLO subscribers will have a chance to see why. "Funny Girl" will run from June 2-19 at the Downey Theatre, which is located at 8435 Firestone Blvd. in Downey. For more information, call (562) 923-1714, e-mail downeyclo@hotmail.com or visit downeyciviclightopera.org. -Downey Civic Light Opera

********** Published: March 31, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 50