STAGE REVIEW : Pia Zadora Sings Her Heart Out in Middling Production of ‘Funny Girl’

Never let it be said that Pia Zadora can’t sing. She is singing her heart out at the Terrace Theatre these days, trying to be taller, uglier and brassier than she really is as Fanny Brice in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera revival of “Funny Girl.” But the big question on everybody’s mind before she opened as funny Fanny was: Can she act ? Yes she can, even if the performance that results is more gamin than brassy, more cute than ugly and definitely short, short, short.

But then Zadora has a few other hurdles to contend with: the memory of Barbra Streisand in the role, this average book and score and this average production. “Funny Girl” is a one-song (“People”) so-so musical. It may have earned composer Jule Styne a Tony nomination and Carol Haney a compassionate posthumous award for her musical staging after the 1964 Broadway opening, but it was a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. Streisand made “Funny Girl” a bigger hit than it should have been. Zadora does her best, which is much, much better than this writer expected, but, despite her efforts, the LBCLO edition, which marks the official debut of producer Barry Brown as artistic director, rarely rises above the rank of respectable.

Rarely, though, is not never. And Zadora, when she’s singing, gives us moments to relish. She delivers a towering solo in “Who Are You Now?” (almost cut short by a mistimed blackout at Saturday’s opening). She has the requisite pluck for “I’m the Greatest Star.” Her version of “People” owes no apologies. There’s plenty of zeal (and a little breathless disorder) in the “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” number, and she demonstrates a real aptitude for comedy as the pregnant bride in “His Love Makes Me Beautiful.”

What rains on Zadora’s parade is a supporting cast that resolutely resists scintillating and a pace set by director/choreographer Alan Johnson that makes the show move but not fly. Kaye Ballard turns in a decent performance as Mama Brice, but it’s lean material for her larger talent. Carol Arthur is kooky enough as the gossipy Mrs. Strakosh, Jack Ritschel is stentorian and grand as Flo Ziegfeld, and Lloyd Gordon, a fine dancer, falls victim to the unyielding blandness of the best-friend role as Fanny’s mentor and pal Eddie Ryan. No one transcends these predictable, two-dimensional characters.

Adrian Zmed, who has the requisite dash as gambler Nick Arnstein, starts out slight, but gains momentum as the role develops and ends on a strong, sensitive note. It is Zadora, in the scenes between them (or about him) that require passion, who too often drops the ball. She’s fine with a song, not so fine with a tortured emotion. And it’s unpersuasive to hear her harp about being ugly when the evidence shows a person who is, at the very least, thoroughly glamorous.

These distinctions aside, the production itself has a tentative air that betrays a short rehearsal period and that may acquire more snap as it grows confident. This won’t improve the sets (imported from San Bernardino Civic Light Opera and revamped to fit the Terrace by D Martyn Bookwalter). They are ambitious, tricky and borderline tacky. Ditto the costumes (from Eaves Brooks, with a little help from Bill Belew). The inadequate opulence, clearly a budgetary factor, is most salient in the Follies numbers. But if Johnson’s staging, including the safe choreography, had half the sparkle and energy of Mark Hummel’s musical direction, the shortfalls would matter much less.

There is enough pleasure fluttering in the wings of this revival to hope it can find its way to front and center.

* “Funny Girl,” Terrace Theatre, Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; matinees, Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends March 17. $14-$35; (213) 432-7926, (714) 826-9371. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

‘Funny Girl’

Pia Zadora: Fanny Brice

Kaye Ballard: Mrs. Brice

Lloyd Gordon: Eddie Ryan

Adrian Zmed: Nick Arnstein

Jack Ritschel: Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.

Carol Arthur: Mrs. Strakosh

Paul Lyday: Tom Keeney

Ray Sarr: Ziegfeld tenor/Mr. Renaldi

A Long Beach Civic Light Opera revival of the 1964 musical. Producer Barry Brown. Executive producer Pegge Lee Logefeil. Director/choreographer Alan Johnson. Book Isobel Lennart. Music Jule Styne. Lyrics Bob Merrill. Musical director Mark Hummel. Scenic consultant D Martyn Bookwalter. Lights Kim Killingsworth. Costume supervisor Bill Belew. Dialogue supervisor Philip Astor. Hair/Makeup designer Elena Breckenridge. Production manager Donald Hill. Stage manager Jill Johnson.