Katerina McCrimmon is the real deal, folks. She brings humor, heart and genuine star power to the title character of Broadway's "Funny Girl," which opened Tuesday at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre for a six-day run.

Belting like a banshee jacked up on dreams and love, she shows us that nobody, not even the dreamboat Nick Arnstein to whom she gives her treasure and heart, is going to rain on her parade, even if she has to steel herself a bit to believe her own words.

McCrimmon holds the fantastic center in Michael Mayer's lavish first-class production of the classic Jule Styne-Bob Merrill musical. Wearing Susan Hilferty's stylish costumes, she floats like a star in David Zinn's splashy scenography.

And she helps "Funny Girl" do triple duty by not only entertaining us with a thoroughly modern Fanny. We also get to look back fondly on old Broadway and the vaudeville era.

That's Fanny's milieu. A fatherless girl in Brooklyn, she has the talent and will to be a star. But in that era, she was considered an ugly duckling better suited for the chorus than the spotlight (in a reversal, Mayer's production features a chorus of stunners).

Fanny carries some psychic damage from constantly hearing "If a Girl Isn't Pretty," a number that's sung by family, friends and strangers alike. That would explain some of her attraction to Nick, a gambler and playboy who validates her talent. (The show is about Fanny but Nick's transformation does not quite track dramaturgically in Harvey Fierstein's revision of Isobel Lennart's script.)

Fierstein's new take lessens the toxicity of Nick's masculinity by giving him some of Fanny's lines. But the character remains a dud, since he is stuck in the idea that he has to be the breadwinner as a man. Fierstein also makes Fanny's mother (Barbara Tirrell) more of a stalwart in her daughter's camp.

McCrimmon makes us see why everyone comes to believe in her. She elicits chills with her showstopping rendition of "People," invested with all the feels around her newfound love. "Don't Rain on My Parade" becomes an anthem of indefatigability and determination. And her powerhouse delivery on a number like "The Music That Makes Me Dance" brings down the house.

The production also features Ayodele Casel's noteworthy tap dance. Izaiah Montaque Harris, who plays hoofer and Fanny's longtime friend Eddie Ryan, delivers with elegance and finesse, his blinding smile a tipoff to the sublime sounds coming from his feet.

Stephen Mark Lukas' Nick looks and sings the part of a heartthrob with aplomb, never mind his issues with his upper registers. But he has room to grow as a dancer. Still, he plays his part well enough opposite McCrimmon that our hearts still race.

They all make "Funny Girl" a gorgeous thrill.

‘Funny Girl’ When: 7:30 p.m. Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun. Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. Tickets: $34-$139. hennepintheatretrust.org.