Marian High grad Toni DiBuono is back on Broadway, starring in 'Funny Girl'

Marian High grad, actress and singer Toni DiBuono is back on Broadway – in one of this season’s most talked-about productions, the revival of the musical “Funny Girl” – and freely admits that she’s still adjusting to her good fortune.

“I still can’t entirely wrap my mind around it. My husband is a very busy Broadway actor but I stepped away from stage work for several years to bring up our daughter,” said the actress and singer by telephone recently.

DiBuono was born in Worcester, and lived in Marlborough as a young child before moving to Holliston, where she attended public schools from first through eighth grades. She then moved to Framingham, subsequently graduating from Marian High School, a private Catholic school that closed in 2018.

When she was ready to return to the stage, it didn’t take long for DiBuono – whose TV credits include “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU” – to land roles in shows like “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and “Cabaret,” at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Steady work in regional and summer theaters aside, DiBuono, last on Broadway in the 2003 revival of “Wonderful Town,” says she was caught off guard when contacted about this season’s Beanie Feldstein-led revival of “Funny Girl,” the legendary 1964 musical – with score by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and book by Isobel Lennart – famed for songs like “People” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” and for launching Barbra Streisand on the path to superstardom.

The musical’s book, revised for the 2022 production by Harvey Fierstein, details the life and career of Broadway, film, and radio star Fanny Brice, and her sometimes tortured relationship with businessman and high-stakes gambler Nicky Arnstein.

“I was kind of surprised when I got the call to audition. I originally went in for Mrs. Brice, Fanny’s mother, but I knew they’d probably want a celebrity for that part,” explains DiBuono of the role that ultimately went to five-time Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch (“The Weakest Link,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”).

“They’d seen a slew of old broads,” says DiBuono with a laugh. “Then I received an email asking me to come back in to read for the part of Mrs. Strakosh, which I ended up getting.”

It was quite a get, too, as Mrs. Strakosh – a meddlesome neighbor and friend of the Brices – plays a significant role in unwittingly propelling Fanny to fame.

“In some ways, it’s Mrs. Strakosh who lights the fire under Fanny. In the act-one number ‘If a Girl Isn’t Pretty,’ she suggests that Fanny’s dreams of becoming a performer might be hindered by unconventional looks, telling her, ‘Fanny, when people pay good money in the theater – especially the male element – they want something to look at!’”

But as DiBuono points out, “Fanny is undeterred, proclaiming ‘You’ll see, Mrs. Strakosh,’ before singing ‘I’m the Greatest Star.’”

When it comes to Feldstein – first seen on Broadway as Minnie Fay in the 2017 revival of “Hello, Dolly!” – her fellow cast member won’t argue with that assertion.

“I give Beanie huge props. She’s doing Herculean things, including songs cut from the original production. She’s marvelous and incredibly generous on stage, too. She is with you every step of the way. She is selfless. It is never all about her,” says DiBuono. “Beanie is there for everyone.”

While Broadway-focused internet message boards seem endlessly interested in comparing Feldstein with Streisand, she isn’t the only one taking on a well-known performer’s role – legendary television actress Jean Stapleton (“All in the Family”) was the original Mrs. Strakosh.

“When I think about it, it is somewhat intimidating to be only the second performer to play a character on Broadway that was originated by Jean Stapleton,” acknowledges DiBuono. “Sometimes I deliver a line and hear her in it.”

And Mrs. Strakosh often has a lot to say, which is just fine by her current portrayer.

“What I admire about the character is that she’s completely confident in her opinions. She tells it like is, which I love,” says the Boston Conservatory graduate.

DiBuono says her performance is a nod to three women who have played big roles in her personal life.

“There’s some of my mother’s sister Jackie, my dad’s sister Angie, and my own older sister Beth in my Mrs. Strakosh,” she says. “Beth will probably be surprised to learn that the raised eyebrow I do in the show comes from her.”

Married since 1993 to Tony Award winner Michael McGrath (“Nice Work if You Can Get It”) – standby to Matthew Broderick in the current limited run Broadway revival of “Plaza Suite” and a fellow Worcester native and Boston Conservatory graduate – DiBuono and her husband now make their home in Bloomfield, New Jersey, spending summers on the Cape when their schedules allow.

“When ‘Plaza Suite’ closes on July 6, Michael will get in the car with our dog Georgina, a mixed-breed rescue, and head straight for Yarmouth. He’s been working very hard, even during the pandemic, and he needs some time off,” says DiBuono.

And while she will be on Broadway this summer, the pair – who co-starred in the Boston production of “Forbidden Broadway” – will be together on Oct. 28 when their daughter Katie Claire McGrath, who currently stars as Sophie in “Mamma Mia!” for Royal Caribbean Cruises, follows her parents’ lead and marries fellow actor Peter Kendall.

“I’ve already put in for the days off,” says DiBuono. “Michael and I are very happy for Katie and Peter.”

'Funny Girl”'

WHEN: Now playing.

WHERE: August Wilson Theatre, 245 West 52nd St., New York City

TICKETS: From $69

INFO: funnygirlonbroadway.com

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Marian High grad Toni DiBuono stars in 'Funny Girl' on Broadway