"I'm the Greatest Star" is a popular song from the 1964 musical '' Funny Girl''. The

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. T ...

was composed by written by Jule Styne with lyrics by

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

performed it in the role of Fanny Brice, first in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

cast, then again in the 1968 film adaptation. The song was first included on the original Broadway cast recording album '' Funny Girl'', which was a best-seller in 1964.

Critical reception

A review in ''Talking' Broadway'' notes that Brice "comes out swingin' with 'I'm the Greatest Star. Howard Taubman wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' "Miss Streisand imagining herself in a radiant future in 'I'm the Greatest Star,' an appealingly quirky song, is not only Fanny Brice but all young performers believing in their destinies". Commenting on a 1991 performance by

Pia Zadora Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention ...

in the lead role, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' critics noted "She has the requisite pluck for 'I'm the Greatest Star.Los Angeles Times March 4, 1991
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References

{{authority control Songs from Funny Girl (film) Songs from Funny Girl (musical) 1964 songs Songs with music by Jule Styne Songs written by Bob Merrill