The Great Ziegfeld in 35mm Sun, May 5 | 2pm | TMT
LIMITED SERIES FUNNY GIRLS: FANNY BRICE
AND HER LEGACY
MAY 2–27, 2024
“ A jester may be first in the kingdom of heaven because he has diminished the sadness of human life. ” – Rabbi Max Nussbaum, read at Fanny Brice’s memorial service in 1951 Born Fania Borach on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1891 to middle-class Jewish parents, young Fanny Brice’s drive to perform was nurtured by the patrons at her mother’s saloon on Lafayette Street, where as a child she would dance, sing, and enact scenes based on fairytales. Her first prize-winning performance at a Brooklyn amateur night in 1906 led to a career spanning four decades. After a start on the burlesque circuit, Brice joined the glamorous Ziegfeld Follies as the ensemble’s first true comedienne, and this high-profile affiliation led to extensive radio appearances, recording contracts, and roles in Hollywood films, her life later inspiring Funny Girl , the 1964 Broadway musical in which Barbra Streisand originated the role she would take to the screen four years later. Inspired by this trailblazing performer, Funny Girls: Fanny Brice and Her Legacy spotlights funny Jewish women behind the camera (Elaine May, Joan Micklin Silver, Emma Seligman), and comedic Jewish actors on screen (Streisand, Goldie Hawn, Sandra Bernhard), whose films remind us that humor is one of life’s necessities. Programmed and notes by K.J. Relth-Miller.
Presented in partnership with ADL (Anti-Defamation League).
The Great Ziegfeld in 35mm Sun, May 5 | 2pm | TMT
Funny Girl in 4K Thu, May 2 | 7:30pm | DGT
Based on the life of Florenz “Flo” Ziegfeld Jr., the legendary impresario behind the Ziegfeld Follies, this spectacular MGM production is chockablock with stars and extras, with certain musical numbers choreographed for over 150 performers. Nominated in seven categories, the film won for Best Picture, Best Actress (Luise Rainer as actor Anna Held), and Dance Direction for choreographer Seymour Felix. Unique for its rare film performance by Fanny Brice (her image survives in fewer than eight movies), Brice’s Jewish roots and myriad talents are captured for posterity in just 10 minutes of this sweeping biopic that underscores Ziegfeld’s massive influence on 20th century American entertainment. Content advisory: This film contains a performance with a white actor in blackface.
Barbra Streisand’s film debut brought the Tony- nominated role she originated on Broadway to Columbia Pictures, where Jewish playwright Isobel Lennart adapted her own book from the stage musical for the screen in this Academy Award–nominated biopic of legendary Jewish comedienne and Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice. With indelible renditions of songs “People” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” Streisand is at once hilarious, self-assured, and heartbreaking as Brice, a multi-hyphenate talent who often joked at her own expense. Brice’s son-in-law Ray Stark was nominated as producer for Best Picture, though Streisand’s powerhouse performance was the film’s only nomination of eight to take home an Oscar. DIRECTED BY: William Wyler. WRITTEN BY: Isobel Lennart. WITH: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis. 1968. 151 min. USA. Technicolor. Scope. English. Rated G. 4K DCP.
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