This weekend, playgoers will be saying “hello, gorgeous!” to a different kind of girl than they expected.

First released on Broadway in 1964 titled “My Man,” “Funny Girl” is set in New York City during World War I, just before the Roaring Twenties. The story is loosely based on an actress by the name of Fanny Brice, a girl with big dreams and an even bigger attitude. During her climb to stardom, she meets Nick Arnstein, an ambitious entrepreneur with a dangerous gambling problem, and the tale follows the love and misfortunes they encounter. “Funny Girl” is perhaps most famous for it’s adaptation with Barbra Streisand, but the audience will be seeing none of that.

“The problem with doing plays like “Funny Girl” is that they’re a star vehicle,” director Marguerite Bennett said. “One person makes them famous, so the audience expects the play to imitate that person. This play tells the story of the actual Fanny Brice, and shows the human side of her.”

Fanny is played by Arts & Sciences senior Ariel Talacko, while Univeristy of Nebraska-Lincoln junior Sean Flattery is the velvet-smooth voice of Nick Arnstein. As the dominant female lead, Talacko took on the role by familiarizing herself with the character prior to casting. She embodies her own unique adaptation of Fanny’s quirky humor, faces and all, and hopes the audience will fall in love with Brice like she did.

“I’m so grateful to play the part,” Talacko said. “I did a lot of research on her over the summer, and it’s so cool to portray her in the theater. I hope my role will inspire others to spark an interest in Fanny and her life.”

“Ariel has grown so much during this production,” Arts & Sciences sophomore assistant stage manager Marcus Denker said. “‘Funny Girl’ is all about being hard-driven and rising to a challenge, and Ariel does that beautifully. She brings the role to life and makes it so real.”

“Funny Girl” has qualities that appeal to a wide range of audiences. Musical junkies will sing along to well-known Broadway tunes such as “You Are Woman, I Am Man” and “His Love Makes Me Beautiful.” Lovers of romance will immerse themselves in the passionate (and often unfortunate) chemistry between Fanny and Nick. For Glee fans that have listened toLea Michele belt “Don’t Rain on My Parade” over numerous episodes, this play might only serve to deepen the love for Streisand-smitten Rachel Berry.

Another noteworthy character is Eddie Ryan, a dancer and friend of Fanny’s. Played by Arts & Sciences sophomore Nik Whitcomb, he describes his character as being in a rather unfortunate situation.

“Eddie gets friend-zoned right off the bat,” Whitcomb said. “He is Fanny’s rock in her journey, and always the funny guy that’s there for her, but there are definitely romantic feelings there that last throughout the play.”

With this theater-on-theater inception, viewers of all ages can’t help swooning over Nick’s good looks, laughing with Fanny’s family at her silliness and groaning alongside her friends about her poor life decisions. All the while admiring glamorous, colorful costumes of pre-1920’s show business.

“This play is a step back in time,” Arts & Sciences senior stage manager Mary Kate Gliedt said. “We generally put on more modern productions, and ‘Funny Girl’ is a look back in history that the [Creighton] theater doesn’t do as often. It’s a good story to help those who don’t know theater get a stronger sense of understanding about who we are and what we do.”