Until now. Perhaps it took the company all these years to find another actress capable of stepping into the tap shoes donned 50 years ago by Streisand. The search ended when they found Paula Shtein, about whom the line from “I’m the Greatest Star” – “Hey, that kid is terrific” – could have been written.

A graduate of Lincoln High School in Gahanna and the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Bexley, Shtein projects the complementary vulnerability and assurance of Ziegfeld Follies headliner Brice without mimicry. She mostly avoids Brice’s repertoire of funny faces and gives her a dignity and thoughtfulness more appropriate to a 21st century rendition in our age of female empowerment and the #MeToo movement. Even when her judgment may be sabotaged by a societally-instilled desire for marriage and family, or by the dubious charms of the conniving Nick Arnstein, she pursues what she believes she wants.

…You won’t be disappointed, however, by Shtein’s solo performances of the two blockbusters written by Styne and Merrill. Even those who revere Streisand remain divided over “People,” which became her signature. In fact, according to Styne’s biography “Jule” by Theodore Taylor, even the musical’s producers had a distaste for the song. Its permanent place in the score was decided by audience reaction to Streisand’s first performance during try outs. Shtein will make you feel lucky for its retention because she belts it out with authority.

With its breakneck pace and tongue-twisting lyrics, “Don’t Rain on My Parade” challenges any singer, but Shtein certainly doesn’t fake it, not in the full version that ends act one and not in the reprise that brings down the curtain after act two. She brings out all the resolve, defiance and spunk that Merrill wrote into those lyrics. One might even call it “the rose of sheer perfection,” if that line were not already taken.

In a December season when performances that aren’t tinselly are rare, Shtein’s Fanny Brice makes it worth marching your band out and beating a path to the Columbus Jewish Community Center.

Jay Weitz is a theater critic from Columbus.

Shtein, 22, a former Gahanna resident and Lincoln High School graduate, got her first taste of performing portraying Jeannie the Giraffe when Gallery Players presented “Noah’s Ark” more than a decade ago. After that, she began appearing regularly in musical theater performances all over Central Ohio. While attending Capital University’s Conservatory of Music, Shtein appeared in local productions of “Fiddler on the Roof” with Gallery Players and Weathervane Playhouse’s presentation of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

According to Shtein, Fanny Brice is “a strong character with so much in life in her. She doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and I find that incredibly empowering. I’m having a wonderful time learning about and from Fanny Brice.”

For example, Shtein said she identifies with Brice’s universal longing to be loved and approved of. She is also fascinated by the fact that despite her immense talent and professional success, Brice was emotionally vulnerable.

Barbra Streisand famously transitioned from appearing as vaudeville superstar Fanny Brice on Broadway to portraying her in the movie adaptation of “Funny Girl,” winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1968 for that performance, tying with Katharine Hepburn.

Gallery Players is the longest running community theater in the Midwest, according to the Columbus Jewish Community Center, and aims to highlight the Jewish experience and Jewish playwrights. It will present “Funny Girl” from Dec. 8 to Dec. 23 at the JCC in Columbus.

As a young woman embarking on a musical theater career in New York City, Shtein said she sees great parallels between her life and the beginnings of Brice’s professional pursuits.

“I have a lot in common with her and can see a lot of Fanny’s wants and needs within myself, as well,” she said. “So, I’m excited to bring that humanity to her.”

For Keely Kurtas-Chapman, “Funny Girl” represents not only a return to Gallery Players as director, it marks the second time she has worked with Shtein on a production there. She cast her in “Bad Jews” in 2014.

From that experience, Kurtas-Chapman said she knew Shtein was a talented singer she enjoys working with.

“It is also interesting to have an actress come back from New York to play this role,” she said.

Kurtas-Chapman said she has fond memories seeing “Funny Girl” performed on stage when she was young. It was the second “Broadway-style” show she ever saw, and the joy and thrill she felt sitting in the audience have stuck with her. In Kurtas-Chapman’s mind, Brice was a champion of female empowerment – a theme that resonates with her.

Along with Shtein, 27 others comprise the Funny Girl cast. Among them are two longtime Bexley performers, Fred Luper and Susan Gellman.

“I like this cast because it is so community oriented” Kurtas-Chapman said. “Some performers are JCC members and others are members of the Columbus theater community. That really comes through when the entire cast performs ‘Henry Street,’ a song that celebrates Fanny.”

While Brice grew up in the shadows of Broadway and Shtein was raised in the suburbs of Columbus, their mutual love of performing musical theater drew them both to Broadway, exactly where Shtein will return once “Funny Girl” closes.

When she heads back to The Big Apple and the “audition grind,” as she put it, Shtein said she will be accompanied by a renewed sense of energy gleaned by playing Brice.

“I will continue to audition and take classes and workshops to grow as an actor and performer,” she said. “NYC is the best place for that.”

-Tami Kamin Meyer -Columbus Jewish News

Paula will star as Fanny Brice, a Jewish comedienne who rose to stardom headlining Broadway’s Zeigfeld Follies in the early 1900s. Barbara Streisand famously portrayed Brice in the original Broadway production of Funny Girl and its film adaption.

According to Paula, this is her dream role. Like Fanny, Paula is a Jewish actress in New York City with big goals and the never-ending determination needed to achieve her dreams.

“Fanny doesn’t take no for an answer, which I find incredibly empowering. She has a laser focus on what she wants and goes after it. Not only am I learning about Fanny, I’m learning from Fanny,” Paula said.

Paula is inspired by Fanny’s confidence, strength, and determination but feels a special connection because of their shared Jewish identity.

“There is something about Jewish culture and the Jewish people that is so unique,” Paula said, “I can relate completely to the type of humor and I imagine Fanny’s community based on the experiences I’ve had being in a Jewish community myself.”

Jewish identity is an important reason for Paula to be a part of this show and for it to be shared with the community.

“To see a Jewish girl on stage with so much determination and strength is important and inspirational,” Paula said, “She is someone who doesn’t look like the other girls – she has features that differ from the other ‘beautiful’ Ziegfeld dancers but she says ‘it doesn’t matter, I can still do this.’ That is such an empowering message.”

Fanny’s message is clear. Just because you don’t look or sound the same as other people doesn’t mean you can’t go after your dreams. You just need the determination to do it.

“Fanny has that determination in spades,” Paula said, “She broke the standard of what people thought a star should be. She made it okay to be different. A Jewish girl from the lower east side became a star and it all came down to her belief that she could be one.”

While Paula is working on her own path to stardom in New York City, she finds it very fitting to perform her dream role in her hometown.

“Gallery Players was one of the first places to grant me roles and really encourage me in the arts,” Paula said, “I learned so much about performing on that very stage. When I think of the shows and roles I’ve done here, it’s some of the absolute happiest, most enjoyable experiences I’ve had. I’m so excited to have the memory of playing Fanny Brice for the first time be on the stage where I got my start.”

Opening night is December 8 at 8:00 pm and shows run through December 23.

-Elise Skaggs

Shtein just finished a national tour across 15 states and Canada.

“To have all my friends and family here that I’ve known my whole life to see me iin this dream role, It’s been incredible and everyone’s been so supportive,” said Shtein.

She said she was excited to come home and play the lead role of singer and comic Fanny Brice in ‘Funny Girl’, which was the breakthrough hit for Barbara Streisand when it debuted in 1964.

-Ben Gelber

Local News.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkY5HOE59TE&t=6s   -Full video segment shown on NBC4

“Most famous as a star-is-born vehicle for Barbra Streisand, “Funny Girl” doesn’t require a name-brand star, but benefits from a multi-talented lead performer. Gallery finds a memorable one in Paula Shtein, a New York actress with Columbus roots.

Shtein makes the title role her own with powerful singing, expert comic timing and believable personality.

Beyond her confident handling of the vaudeville-style shtick, Shtein grounds her funny girl in piquant insecurity. Her nuanced acting makes clear that Fanny uses humor to hide very real fears about her self-image and the possibility of romance.

Perhaps Shtein’s most convincing display of Fanny’s resilience is her mesmerizing rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” the triumphant first-act finale.

But “People” is the stand-out hit by composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill. Shtein makes the song translucent with yearning, reinforced by the supportive embrace of gambler Nick Arnstein.”

-Michael Grossberg

“Paula Shtein is mesmerizing as Olive Ostrovsky, a teenager whose best friend appears to be a dictionary. In this light-hearted show, Ostrovsky’s duet with her absentee parents, “The I Love You Song” gives the show depth, prospective and soul.”

-Paul Batterson

Broadway World Columbus

“So gifted is Ms. Shtein that she may often get frustrated performing with those of lesser talents”

“Star Performance Academy brings Little Women: The Musical to the Columbus area with a production I enjoyed more that the one I saw on Broadway”

“The show succeeds largely because of her”

(Life Full of Cheese Blog- Based in Columbus, Ohio)

 #BACKSTAGEphotos

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nfotusa/2015/02/01/paula-shtein-live

“Shtein’s Daphna — who changed her name from Diana after a trip to Israel the previous year and has taken up Judaism in earnest — is a force of nature, as horrifying at times as she is charming at others.”

(Sep 7, 2014)

-The Columbus Dispatch

“Four young actors do a wonderful job of bringing forward all the nuances and issues of a very compelling family story in “Bad Jews”. I was especially impressed by Paula Shtein with her passionate portrayal and commitment to the character of the conservative, outspoken and most fundamentally self-centered, self-righteous cousin Daphna.  Of particular note is how this character talks 100-miles-a-minute as she tries to force her ideas on everybody.  Though she was talking fast most of the time, I understood almost every word that Shtein said.  I have such admiration for that…This is a powerful script and a well-directed, well-acted show.”

9/10/2014

-Anonymous reviewer

Theater review | ‘Sound of Music’: Popular musical allowed to reveal heartfelt warmth

The seven children, who look and act as if they could all actually be in the same family, are appealing without being cloyingly cute, and as the eldest, Liesl, Paula Shtein is captivatingly spunky.