Barbra Streisand — Funny Girl :
The Jule Styne & Bob Merrill 'Trunk' Songs
The Broadway show had several titles before they settled on Funny Girl. At various points the show was called Fanny, My Man, The Fanny Brice Story, and A Very Special Person.
Jule Styne composed many songs for Funny Girl that were discarded as its book changed or when different directors fiddled with it (in JULE, biographer Theodore Taylor says Styne wrote 56 separate pieces). In a 1977 interview, Styne said, "I wrote the music for Barbra but they had already signed Anne Bancroft to play Fanny Brice. I wondered how I was going to get this little girl who was singing down in the Village in the show when they already had Anne Bancroft. So I wrote the toughest score. Only Barbra could sing it."
When the show finally opened and was "frozen", there were some fifteen songs, instrumental interludes between scenes, and some dance music which was arranged by Luther Henderson.
Here's a list of the cut songs from Funny Girl and what we know about them (or not). In theatrical lore, this type of song is also referred to a "trunk song". Also included are the promotional recordings released to publicize the show. Much of this information comes from actual Playbills that listed the cut songs.
Song
Notes
THE FUNNY GIRL SINGLES
People
I Am Woman
Absent Minded Me
Funny Girl
The Funny Girl Original Cast Album was released on Capitol Records. Over at her own label, Columbia, Streisand recorded several songs from the score as promotional singles. The tracks were arranged and conducted by Peter Matz.
"People's" fate was still being decided when it released as a single in January 1964 - it's said that Robbins, Fosse and Kanin all wanted to cut the song from the show. But the single helped -- "People" was accepted by audiences who had heard it on the radio. The rest, of course, is history.
"I Am Woman" was the flip side of "People". It's the same tune as "You Are Woman". The lyrics, however, have been changed to the female point-of-view so Barbra could sing it solo.
"Absent Minded Me" was dropped from Funny Girl but ended up being a single release in August 1964, and was later included on the "People" album.
"Funny Girl" is not the song you think it is! It's an up tempo song, not a ballad like the film song with the same title. The "Funny Girl" single may never have been intended for the show. It's possible the song was written to utilize the show's title in a publicity-minded single release.
Hear a sample of "Funny Girl":
Also, Allison Waldman's 2005 publication, Between the Grooves, revealed that "Who Are You Now?" and "Cornet Man" were recorded as singles but not released.
"I Did It On Roller Skates"
An out-of-town song, cut. The number, staged with roller skates, inspired the Funny Girl logo. Isobel Lennart would resurrect the roller skate concept (with a different song) for the film.
In a 1964 interview, right before beginning rehearsals, Barbra said, "I'll be singing, dancing, and roller skating. There's one number that goes, 'I Did It on Roller Skates and I Can't Wait to Do It on Skis.' Gee, I haven't roller skated in years ..."
"Block Party "
"Henry Street", the song in which Fanny's family and friends celebrate her Ziegfeld success, took a few tries to get right.
In February 1964 at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia, the show included "Block Party", which would eventually be thrown out in favor of "Henry Street."
Downtown Rag
In March 1964 at the Erlanger Theatre (Philadelphia), the show included this song, which would eventually be replaced with "Henry Street"
A Helluva Group
An ensemble piece, with the lyric favoring Mrs. Brice. Also known as "My Daughter, Fanny, The Star!", this song played in Boston but was replaced by "Henry Street".
I Tried
The biography JULE says "I Tried" was a second act climax song for Streisand. She did not like it, and the songwriting team used a reprise of "Parade" for the finale instead.
Something About Me
Sung in Act II. Song was listed in Feb. 1964 Forrest Theater playbill.
"Baltimore" (or "Baltimore Sun")
The character "Georgia" was one of the showgirls and sang this song. According to Edwards' Streisand bio, the song was shifted to Barbra, then cut altogether. "Baltimore" was also on the original Jule Styne demo prior to the show's rehearsals.
The character of Georgia made it into the film version (played by Anne Francis) but, once again, was edited out considerably.
"Home"
Also "It's Home"
First song in Act II (performed at the Arnstein house). Song was listed in March 1964 Erlanger Theater playbill. Cut in favor of "Sadie, Sadie".
"Sleep Now, Baby Bunting"
A sweet lullaby sung by Nick to the baby in the cradle. It ends bitterly when Nick refers to himself as "Mr. Fanny Brice."
This song was sung in the first pre-Broadway, out-of town run of "Funny Girl" at the Shubert Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.
"A Temporary Arrangement"
"Racing Form Lullaby"
Two Nicky Arnstein songs that were cut.
"Temporary Arrangement" was a soft-shoe dance number with the character "Snub Taylor" and lasted only one performance since Sydney Chaplin could not dance. "Temporary Arrangement" is listed in the January 20, 1964 Playbill — the first pre-Broadway, out-of town run of "Funny Girl" at the Shubert Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.
He
comic number for Fanny
"Do Puppies Go To Heaven?"
comic number for Fanny
"Larceny In His Heart"
was on the original Jule Styne demo prior to the show's rehearsals
"When I Talk About You"
David Foil writes that Bob Merrill contributed lyrics to five songs in only three days. "When I Talk About You" was one of them that ultimately was dropped.
"I'd Be Good For Her"
and
"Eddie's Fifth Encore"
"I'd Be Good For Her" was sung by Eddie Ryan. Actor Lee Allen explained: "It's an embarrassing moment for Eddie. Fanny's mother is using him as a model, and he's got this dress on. He's standing up on a chair, and she is pinning him up. Fanny walks in on the scene, and she treats him like an ordinary guy. She doesn't realize how badly he feels about her. He just sits down on that same chair that he's been standing on, in that ridiculous dress, and he starts to sing the song. The title says it all."
"Eddie's Fifth Encore" appeared in the Philadelphia try-out of "Funny Girl".
"Took Me A Little Time "
This song stayed in the show for at least a week at Boston's Shubert Theatre, as it was listed in both the January 20th and January 27th Playbills.
Most likely it fell where "Who Are You Now" or "Music That Makes Me Dance" now reside.
(The Baby Number)
Writer John Patrick told Rene Jordan: "[Ray] Stark started to spend money lavishly on quite tasteless things. There was a number in which the chorus girls dressed as babies and spread out in a line on their backs. Then Barbra, dressed in diapers, sang something called, I think, 'How Do You Tell Little Boys from Little Girls?' The number opened and closed in one night at a cost of some ten thousand dollars in discarded costumes, scenery, and orchestrations." Director Kanin told Rene Jordan that "it was sabotaged by those who hated it ... They never came up with the right look for the number."
Lainie Kazan (Streisand's understudy) remembers: "It was so embarrassing that we would just die. We did the number on closing night in Boston. The next thing I know, Carol [Haney] is fired and Jerry Robbins is there."
Out of Town Tryouts ... Streisand's Entrance Goes to the Dogs
"Streisand's first sweeping entrance had been planned with two leashed wolfhounds. But crossing the stage with these two less-than-cooperative animals proved more than the actress could handle when she tried to pause center stage. The dogs were summarily cut and the scene was rehearsed the next morning without them. Royce Wallace ["Emma"] recalled, 'The idea was good, but the dogs didn't know they were supposed to stop when she stopped. They took 'em right out after that, we said, now let's get on with the show.'"
- from the Jerome Robbins biography, Dances With Demons by Greg Lawrence.
Streisand & Chaplin: Trouble Behind the Scenes
Barbra and costar Sydney Chaplin, rumored to have had an affair during the show, eventually had to take their quibbles before Actor's Equity. Johnny Desmond replaced Chaplin during the last few months of the show.
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