Lea Michele is Taking Beanie Feldstein’s Place in Funny Girl
Beanie Feldstein plays the lead in Funny Girl, but not for much longer. Feldstein has been bringing in mostly negative reviews since her debut in the role in April. After the producers decided to take things in a different direction, Feldstein announced that she was performing her last show on July 31, instead of the September 25 date that had been previously announced.
Lea Michele has been chosen to take Feldstein’s place, taking on a role that Michele has publicly desired for many years. She will play Fanny Brice in early September, giving her little time to get fully accustomed to the role. But Michele has been practicing for this one role in particular for most of her life.
Lea Michele is mainly known for her leading role in Glee, where she belted out songs every episode. She was seen as the head of the group for her voice, which carried for many of the other vocalists.
In Glee, Michele’s character, Rachel Berry, dreamed of being a star on Broadway. In just the first season, Rachel sings a song from Funny Girl at the beginning of one of their performances.
Lea Michele had stated in an interview a few years ago that she was going to wait several years before jumping for Broadway, since she had sung so many of the classic songs on Glee. Now that the years have passed, Michele has acquired her dream role.
Lea Michele has spent some time outside of Glee working in film. She had a role in Scream Queens, and the 2011 New Year’s Eve. Mainly, she has stayed in the background since Glee wrapped up.
Jane Lynch, who starred alongside Lea Michele in Glee, currently plays Fanny’s mother in the show. She was set to leave in late September, but has now announced that she will also be leaving the show in July. This means that the two former co-workers will not be performing on stage together.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/11/theater/lea-michele-funny-girl.html
