Lea Michele To Replace Beanie Feldstein In ‘Funny Girl’ On Broadway

• Lea Michele will succeed Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice.
• Michele has experience with the musical because of her time on “Glee”.
• Her final performance will now be on July 31.

Lea Michele will succeed Feldstein, who announced an early departure from the musical after her portrayal of Fanny Brice drew a frosty reception from critics.

Lea Michele is now officially the new “Funny Girl” on Broadway.

Producers announced on Monday that Michele will take over for current actress Beanie Feldstein as Ziegfeld Follies comedian Fanny Brice on September 6 in the show.

“A dream come true is an understatement,” Michele wrote on Instagram. “I’m so incredibly honored to join this amazing cast and production and return to the stage playing Fanny Brice on Broadway. See you September 6th.”

Actor Tovah Feldshuh will join Michele in the role of Mrs. Brice, Fanny’s mother, taking over for Jane Lynch. Ramin Karimloo and Jared Grimes, who played Nick Arnstein and Eddie Ryan, respectively, with Feldstein, will continue to work on the show.

In 2006, Michele made her final Broadway appearance in “Spring Awakening,” when she originated the part of Wendla. Prior to the announcement, there had been weeks of rumours about her casting on social media and in various entertainment publications.

The actor has experience with the musical because she has been in various songs from it over her six seasons on “Glee.” During the fifth season of “Glee,” Rachel Berry, the character she played, also performed on Broadway as Fanny Brice.

The news was released just one day after Feldstein revealed in a mysterious Instagram post that she will be leaving “Funny Girl” early. The “Booksmart” and “Lady Bird” actor’s final performance will now be on July 31, even though she was supposed to stay in the production until September 25.

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“Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than expected,” she wrote. “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 [Theatre] for the love and support you have shown me and our amazing cast and crew.”

In the intervening weeks until Michele joins the ensemble, Julie Benko, Feldstein’s current back-up actor, will play Fanny Brice. This fall, she will continue to play the part on Thursdays.

Barbra Streisand has long been identified with the role of Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” having created the character on Broadway in 1964 and winning an Oscar for the film adaption four years later. Since its debut 58 years ago, “Funny Girl” has never been performed on Broadway again until the current staging.

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Critics, however, had a cold welcome for Feldstein’s performance. A lot of people thought the actor’s singing voice wasn’t appropriate for the difficult score, which has songs like “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People.” Despite Grimes receiving a featured actor nomination for the 2022 Tony Awards last month, the show was also conspicuously excluded from the ceremony.