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When lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim was invited to work on a musical recounting the life of Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, he refused because Mary Martin (who played Peter Pan on Broadway) was being considered for the lead. A New Yorker and Jewish, Sondheim told composer Jule Styne that the actress chosen had to be ?ethnic.? And when Carol Burnett was offered the role, she turned it down, telling Brice?s son-in-law, producer Ray Stark: ?I?d love to do it, but what you need is a Jewish girl.?

Barbra Streisand?s career was launched with Funny Girl, the 1963 Broadway musical.?