NEWSLea Michele Knifes Beanie Feldstein To Take Over As Fanny Brice In 'Funny Girl'
July 11 2022, Published 11:01 a.m. ET
Lea Michele is finally getting her chance to play Fanny Brice in Funny Girl after Beanie Feldstein announced on July 10 that she would be departing the Broadway show on July 31.
According to Showbiz411, an insider told the outlet that the Glee alum will take over as the leading lady. "Lea has always wanted the role," the outlet wrote. "When she was in Glee there was a lot of talk about her taking the part, but a lot of things went sideways, and it never happened. On Sunday, July 12, Lea was a hit at the Tony Awards during the Spring Awakening reunion. She was really given the spotlight and it hit a home run."
Feldstein, 29, made the shocking announcement on Sunday, July 10.
“Playing Fanny Brice on Broadway has been a lifelong dream of mine, and doing so for the last few months has been a great joy and true honor,” she wrote on Instagram. “Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated. I will never forget this experience and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who came to the August Wilson for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew. The people I have had the great joy of bringing Funny Girl to life with every night, both on and off the stage, are all remarkably talented and exceptional humans and I hope to continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st.”
Shortly after, Funny Girl's Twitter account wrote, "Stay tuned for exciting casting announcements coming tomorrow at 1 p.m. est."
Of course, people posted memes of Michele, writing, "Someone is ready," while another person said, "Lea Michele is waiting in the vents of the theater for her chance."
A third person added, "Please Lea!"
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The mom-of-one has expressed interest in the part before. In 2017, while appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she replied to a fan's question about whether she would ever appear in Funny Girl.
"I hope so, I really hope so," she said at the time. "We were thinking of doing it right after Glee but I did a lot of the songs from Funny Girl on Glee so it felt like a little soon, but I feel really ready to do it now so maybe we could do it soon."
