Lea Michele to star in Funny Girl after Beanie Feldstein’s death

The show reported Monday that actress Lea Michele will take on the role of Fanny Price in a Broadway revival of “Fanny Girl” in early September, following the Benny Feldstein show. surprise announcement She is leaving the role earlier than expected.

Feldstein wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday night that her “dream” taking place as Bryce, a gritty actor who is bursting to stardom with Ziegfeld Follies, will end on July 31, instead of the previously announced date of September 25. Feldstein, whose performance in the role garnered lukewarm reviews, Wrote That she was leaving the musical early because the production “decided to take the show in a different direction”.

The show quickly indicated that her successor was waiting in the wings, and on Monday, it was announced that Michelle — who starred in the original Broadway production of “Spring Awakening” and is best known for her central role on the TV show “Glee” — will make her debut in the role on September 6.

Until then, actress Julie Pinko, who played Bryce as Feldstein’s replacement, will step in. Under a new arrangement, Pinko will continue to play the role once a week, on Thursdays, after Michelle takes over.

In a post on Instagram after the news was announced, Michelle Wrote: “A dream come true is an understatement. I am so honored to join this amazing cast and production and get back on stage playing Fanny Price on Broadway.”

The show also announced that actress Tovah Feldshuh, who starred in the original Broadway production of “Yentl,” will take on the role of Brice’s mother, currently played by Jane Lynch. The show had previously announced that Lynch would be leaving after September 25, but the new announcement relayed her departure a few weeks earlier. This schedule means that Michelle and Lynch, who were both “Glee” co-stars, will not be performing together.

After Barbra Streisand took on the role of Bryce in the original 1964 production, The Show Dodging Broadway Revivals for Decadespartly because comparisons to Streisand’s star-making performance seemed hard to escape.

It was no secret that Michelle—who opened each chapter of her 2014 memoir, “Brunette Ambition” with a Streisand or Brice quote—was interested in the role. The central plot of her character in “Glee,” the evil captain of the high school glee club on which the show is based, involves playing Brice, giving Michelle the opportunity to perform songs like “People” and “I’m the Greatest Star” throughout the series.

“Glee” co-creator Ryan Murphy acquired the rights to the movie “Funny Girl”, thinking that Michelle’s character would audition for the role in the TV series, and then, perhaps, Michelle would take part in the show in real life. in 2017 appearance On the Andy Cohen talk show, Michelle said that they were considering collaborating on a Broadway production after the end of “Glee,” but it seemed too early because she had just performed so many songs on the TV show.

“But I feel really ready to do it now, so maybe we can do it soon,” she said on the show.

This dream has not come true – yet.

Michelle was 8 years old when she made her Broadway debut as Young Cosette in “Les Misérables,” but she has spent more than a decade focusing primarily on television. Michelle performed at the Tony Awards last month during the reunion performance With the other original cast members of “Spring Awakening”.

In 2020, meal-ware company HelloFresh ended its partnership with Michelle after former Glee co-star Samantha Marie Weir tweeted that Michelle was responsible for “painful micro-assaults” towards her. Release Michel statement of apology On her Instagram, she said she did not remember making a specific comment that Ware wrote about, but added that she was thinking about her past behaviour. “Whether it was my privileged position and perspective that made me be seen as insensitive or inappropriate at times or whether it was just my immaturity and I just being needlessly difficult, I apologize for my behavior and for any pain I caused,” she wrote.

The current production of Funny Girl, which opened in April at the August Wilson Theater, has generated solid ticket sales, averaging nearly $1.2 million each week in the full 14 weeks since the shows began. The series’ only nomination at last month’s Tony Awards was for Jared Grimes’ role as Bryce’s boyfriend, Eddie Ryan, a brilliant tap dancer who helps catapult Bryce into the show business.

Grimes will continue his role, as will Ramin Karimloo, who plays Brice’s sweet love, Nick Arnstein.