Lea Michele revealed in a new profile published Thursday that she had reached out to people behind the scenes of Funny Girl about replacing star Beanie Feldstein before the actress even started her run.
Lea, 36, said she had been in touch with the musical’s director, Michael Mayer, in a… New York Times profile focused on her period with the classic musical.
While rumors of bad blood between her and Beanie, 29, have been circulating in recent months, the Glee star has also been complimentary about her predecessor’s time on stage.
Waiting in the wings: Lea Michele revealed in a New York Times profile published Thursday that she offered to replace former Funny Girl star Beanie Feldstein before she even started her run as the lead; seen in April in Las Vegas
Reviews for the Lady Bird actress’ role as the lead in Funny Girl, which is about the life of comedian Fanny Brice, were mixed.
While several critics praised her performance, others said her singing skills were not up to par, while many critics mocked other parts of the production that had nothing to do with her.
Following the mediocre reviews, Beanie announced on July 10 that she would be leaving the show and Lea was announced as her replacement the following day.
The news had broken through – but not confirmed – on June 30 gawkerwhich, however, led to more backstage tension.
Quick Turnaround: Beanie received mixed reviews in the role, announcing she was leaving on July 10, followed by news that Lea was taking over on July 11; seen in march in NYC
Get Out of There: Beanie then decided to end her run on July 31st instead of her previously scheduled final appearance on September 25th
Beanie’s final show was originally set to be on September 25, but after announcing that Lea would be taking over, the Booksmart actress announced she would be leaving on July 31 more than a month early.
Lea’s engagement was pushed back to September 6, and Beanie’s understudy has come on in the meantime.
Mayer, who had directed Lea in Spring Awakening, had considered her one of the top candidates for the role prior to Beanie’s casting, but the recent birth of her son put her out of the running.
However, after the lead role was completed, he contacted her and defensively explained why Beanie had been given the part.
“I said, ‘Look, I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but this is what we do,’” Mayer recalled, adding that he hoped to do the show with her in the future.
Getting ahead: Lea told the Times that she had offered to replace Feldstein in early November 2021, which was before her predecessor had even started making appearances
But the New York Times profile includes a new detail provided by Lea herself, in which she revealed she had contacted Mayer later in November 2021, around the time she was appearing on a one-day Spring Awakening reunion show.
Around that time, she told him she would be “honored” to replace Feldstein.
In particular, she said she would step in if Beanie’s run ended early and if a replacement was needed, rather than offering her services for the next time an actress was needed.
Nothing to see here: While fans of the show and followers of Broadway drama were quick to speculate about feuds between Beanie and Lea, she tried to downplay them in the same profile
Although fans of the show and followers of Broadway drama are quick to speculate about feuds between Beanie and Lea, she tried to downplay them in the same profile.
Lea was in the audience at one of her predecessor’s performances and had nothing but kind things to say about it.
‘I saw the broadcast. I wrote [Beanie] and told her what an incredible job I thought she was doing,” she said. “I think everyone just thinks everything is so dramatic.”
She added that while people “really love the excitement of pitting women against each other,” it was “very sad and unhappy.”
Kind words: ‘I’ve seen the show. I wrote [Beanie] and told her what an incredible job I thought she was doing,’ Lea said. ‘I think everyone just thinks everything is so drama’; Beanie seen in April