She is best known for writing the book for the Broadway musical Funny Girl which premiered in 1964,[1][2] although she also wrote scripts for successful Hollywood films featuring major stars, some of which received Oscar nominations.
[7] IMDb credits her with work on 30 films and television episodes, most of which involved major stars such as Lana Turner, Doris Day, Danny Kaye, Robert Mitchum, Walter Pidgeon, Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Ava Gardner, and Cyd Charisse, and major directors such as Jules Dassin, Mervyn LeRoy, Charles Vidor, and Robert Wise.
[9] Lennart's first script, The Affairs of Martha, an original comedy about the residents of a wealthy community who fear their secrets are about to be revealed in an exposé written by one of their maids, was filmed in 1942 with Spring Byington, Marjorie Main, and Richard Carlson.
[4] In 1968, Lennart wrote the screen adaptation of Funny Girl, which won her a Writers Guild of America award for Best Screenplay.
Funny Girl is based on the life and career of Jewish vaudevillian comedian Fanny Brice (1891–1951) and her romantic relationship with gambler Nick Arnstein.
Born to Jewish immigrants living in Manhattan's Lower East Side, Brice rose from the tenements via the Ziegfeld Follies to succeed as a stage, radio, and film performer.
[2] Nonetheless, Lennart's successful introduction of a funny female Jewish character to the Broadway stage opened doors for other "talented, confident, funny [female characters] in a room full of men," according to theater scholar and director Barrie Gelles, who researches the intersection of Broadway musicals and Jewish identity.
"[10] Lennart, the only member of the creative team present from concept to end result, outlasted others who left or were let go, including theater director Jerome Robbins.
[2] However, prior to the Broadway revival, according to Fierstein, pre-pandemic productions of his revised version were successful in London theaters and on tour.
The ensuing practice of blacklisting Hollywood writers thought to have Communist sympathies led Lennart to become a "friendly witness" when she was called to testify before HUAC in 1952, and she named more than 20 people as former party members.