Tue. Dec 24th, 2024 3:55:15 AM

Lea Michele seen out in NYC for FIRST TIME since snapping up Funny Girl role from Beanie Feldstein<!-- wp:html --><div></div> <div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Lea Michele was spotted out in New York this week in her first public sighting since she was hired to replace Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The Glee actress was already a fan favorite to play the lead role of Fanny Brice before being tapped to take over for Feldstein, who is leaving the show months earlier than originally planned after a string of bad reviews.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">When she was spotted in New York this week Michele, 35, cut a fashionable figure in an open beige shirt thrown over a fluttering black dress.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Out and about: Lea Michele was spotted out in New York this week in her first public sighting since she was hired to replace Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Michele, who sang multiple songs from Funny Girl years ago on Glee, accented the look with a black leather handbag and matching slippers. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">She wore a serious expression as she spoke with someone on the phone while legging it across the sidewalk.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Meanwhile Funny Girl producers have denied being ‘blindsided’ by Feldstein’s Instagram announcement that she is quitting early.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">It was previously claimed that Feldstein, 29, found out from Gawker that she was being replaced by Michele, and was in such a state at being booted from her ‘dream role’ that she surprised the producers by publicly declaring she was leaving the show on July 31 rather than September 25. </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Gal about town: She wore a serious expression as she spoke with someone on the phone while legging it across the sidewalk</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">However the producers and a representative for Feldstein told <a target="_blank" class="class" href="https://people.com/theater/funny-girl-producers-set-record-straight-beanie-feldstein-exit-lea-michele-steps-in-exclusive/" rel="noopener">People</a> in a joint statement: ‘The producers of Funny Girl were not blindsided by Beanie’s social post.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">They continued: ‘The producers decided to take the show in a different direction and end Beanie’s contract on September 25th, 6 months earlier than anticipated. A month after that decision, Beanie decided it was best for her to leave on July 31st. The producers were aware of and in support of her decision.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The statement concluded: ‘The producers and Beanie worked on this together professionally, respectfully and graciously.’</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">‘Producers were aware’: Producers of the Broadway revival of Funny Girl have denied being ‘blindsided’ by Feldstein’s Instagram announcement that she is quitting early; she seen onstage in April</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Previous reports said Feldstein was upset when she discovered that she had been ousted from Funny Girl after critics panned her performance and Lea Michele was brought in as her replacement.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldstein, who played the lead role of Fanny Brice, was ‘basically fired’ from the show, an inside source told <a target="_blank" class="class" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-real-broadway-drama-over-lea-michele-replacing-beanie-feldstein-in-funny-girl?ref=home" rel="noopener">The Daily Beast</a>, before abruptly quitting publicly on social media on Sunday. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Sources said the actress had learned about her impending departure when Gawker reported on June 30 that Michele would be taking over her role. </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Claims: It was previously claimed that Feldstein, 29, found out from Gawker that she was being replaced by Lea Michele (pictured) after a string of bad reviews</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldstein, who was ‘upset’ by the article, according to the insider, took to Instagram on Sunday and announced that she would be leaving the show on July 31 instead of September 25. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,’ Feldstein wrote. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Her replacement, Glee alum Lea Michele, 35, will be stepping into the role on September 6 and tickets for her shows are already sky high – topping out at $2,500.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="splitLeft"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="splitRight"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Casting changes: Feldstein announced on Sunday that she would be leaving the show on July 31 instead of September 25. A day later, Lea Michele confirmed she would be in the role</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Lifelong dream: ‘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 posted for her roughly 600,000 followers</p> </div> <div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news"> <h3 class="mol-factbox-title">Critics: Beanie Feldstein flops in lead role of Fanny Brice in Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’ </h3> <div class="ins cleared mol-factbox-body"> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-bold">Adam Feldman, Time Out New York:</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldstein’s Fanny seems very young—in one early scene, as her neighbors deride her looks (‘If a girl isn’t pretty like a Miss Atlantic City, all she gets from life is pity and a pat’), she sits on the floor like a child—so it feels almost weird to review her, like reviewing your cousin’s performance in her high-school show. But it’s hard to keep rooting for her as the show goes on; what is meant to read as chutzpah plays uncomfortably close to entitlement. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-bold">Jesse Green, New York Times:</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">You root for her to raise the roof, but she only bumps against it a little. Her voice, though solid and sweet and clear, is not well suited to the music, and you feel her working as hard as she can to power through the gap. But working hard at what should be naturally extraordinary is not in Fanny’s DNA.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"> <span class="mol-style-bold">Frank Rizzo, Variety:</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldstein’s Fanny is a wide-eyed woman-child, at turns stubborn, awkward and silly. Knowingly precocious, Feldstein relies on broad face-making rather than a more nuanced comic skillset. Yes, though Brice herself could be soulful in song, she was not the subtlest performer either — one of Fanny’s trademark comic characters, after all, was Baby Snooks. But that doesn’t mean this bio-show has to reflect a child’s version of adulthood.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-bold">Helen Shaw, Vulture:</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">But in song after song, Feldstein’s voice lets her down. Piercing and unpleasant when it gets any higher than her chest, fading and pitchy when it descends even a few steps, it’s simply not a sound you expect to hear on Broadway. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-bold">Peter Marks, The Washington Post:</span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">While, for instance, you believed outright that Streisand was a star, with Feldstein, your foremost belief is that she believes she’s a star. It’s a distinction with a difference, in that, with this latest Fanny Brice, that powerhouse illusion at times requires more cooperative effort from the audience.</p> </div> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">A senior show source told The Daily Beast that Michele — who shares an agent with Feldstein — signed on to play Brice in June ‘a week and a half’ after this year’s Tony Awards. The highly anticipated Funny Girl revival was nominated for just one award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical, at this year’s ceremony.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Later that month, Gawker reported that Michele was set to take over the role — before the show, or its current star, had officially announced the swap.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldstein was ‘upset’ by the article, and show producers were subsequently barred from from talking to the actress directly, instead being told to go through her representatives, the Beast reports.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">David Kalodner, of top agency WME’s theater department, has not responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment regarding the matter. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Kalodner is also an agent for big names including Bernadette Peters, Chloe Sevigny, Hugh Jackman, Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Martin Short, Tom Hiddleston, Anjelica Huston, and many others.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">On Monday, Michele confirmed the casting news with a post to her Instagram page, adding a Funny Girl marquee poster of herself and Tovah Feldshuh, who is taking over the role of Fanny’s mother Mrs. Rose Brice from Jane Lynch, another Glee alum. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘A dream come true is an understatement,’ the New Year’s Eve star gushed in the caption of her post.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">She continued, ‘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. @funnygirlbwy #FUNNYGIRL.’ </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The actress sang one of ‘Funny Girl’s iconic tunes, ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade,’ in the first season of ‘Glee.’ She also performed the same song at the 2010 Tony Awards. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Ticket sales to see the former ‘Glee’ star on stage have already skyrocketed at the box office, according to SeatGeek, that seats at the August Wilson theater are going for $500 to $2,500.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">These prices, which do not include additional $100 and $500 service fees, are for shows in September and beyond, when Michele will be in the leading role. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Tickets for shows in July and August, when Feldstein and her understudy are performing, are going for just $69 and weekday shows at $49. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Michele’s announcement comes a day after Feldstein announced on Instagram that she will be departing the show earlier than expected.  </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The 29-year-old actress posted a text message about portraying Fanny after announcing last month that she would be leaving the role in September — a date that was unceremoniously moved up soon after.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘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 posted for her roughly 600,000 followers.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,’ she added.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘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,’ Beanie continued.  </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">She concluded: ‘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 you continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Sources told Page Six that Feldstein had a yearlong contract and would be in the role until next April, but the show posted on social media in June: ’14 weeks left to see Beanie Feldstein & Jane Lynch now through September 25th.’</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">New role: Lea Michele revealed that she is set to replace Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl starting on September 6</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">It was announced in August 2021 that Beanie would star as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The Booksmart actress shared the news on her Instagram page and received a congratulatory comment from Michele who wrote, ‘Yes! YOU are the greatest star! This is going to be epic!!!!’  </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The Scream Queens star’s positive reaction surprised fans, who thought she may have been disappointed to be passed over for the role as she has long expressed interest in playing Fanny. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldstein made her debut at the August Wilson Theatre in April to mixed reviews from critics. </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Broadway revival: The 29-year-old actress is shown as Fanny Brice on opening night of Funny Girl on Broadway in April at the August Wilson Theatre</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">The actress explained, ‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated.’ Seen in 2022</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In June, the production announced that she and Jane would be leaving the show on September 25. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Feldshuh, 73, will now replace the 61-year-old Role Models star on the earlier than expected date of September 6.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Per <a target="_blank" class="class" href="https://variety.com/2022/theater/news/lea-michele-broadway-funny-girl-beanie-feldstein-1235307379/" rel="noopener">Variety,</a> Feldstein’s current stand-in Julie Benko will perform as Fanny from August 2 through September 4 as well as every Thursday beginning on September 8th.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Back in June, <a target="_blank" class="class" href="https://www.showbiz411.com/2022/06/16/broadway-exclusive-funny-girl-insiders-are-saying-lea-michele-will-finally-be-fanny-brice" rel="noopener">Showbiz 411</a> reported that producers were eying Lea as a potential replacement for Feldstein.<span> </span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>Funny Girl is based on the life and career of Broadway star, film actress, and comedian Fanny Brice, featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein.</span></p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">More goodbyes: Along with Feldstein, it was also announced back in June that actress Jane Lynch is stepping down from her role as Mrs. Rose Brice</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Stepping in: Feldshuh, 73, will now replace the 61-year-old Role Models star on the earlier than expected date of September 6. Seen in February 2022</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span>Michele </span>had been rumored to be in the running for the role initially after performing many of the show’s songs during her time on Glee from 2009 to 2015.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Over the course of the hit musical series’ six season run, Michele’s character Rachel Berry sang some of Fanny’s most well-known numbers including Don’t Rain on My Parade, My Man, I’m the Greatest Star and People.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In season five, Rachel drops out of college after landing her dream role as Fanny in a Broadway revival of Funny Girl.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">During a 2017 appearance on <a target="_blank" class="class" href="https://www.bravotv.com/watch-what-happens-live-with-andy-cohen/season-14/andrea-martin-lea-michele" rel="noopener">Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen</a>, Lea said that she ‘really hoped’ to play Fanny one day.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Prepared: Michele had been rumored to be in the running for the role initially after performing many of the show’s songs during her time on Glee from 2009 to 2015</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Classic: Among the accolades, the 1964 production with Barbra Streisand as Fanny received eight nominations at the 18th Tony Awards</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘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,’ she said. ‘But I feel really ready to do it now, so maybe we could do it soon.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In joining the cast of Funny Girl, Michele will reunite with director Michael Mayer who helmed her first lead role in Spring Awakening. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Actors Jared Grimes, who plays Eddie Ryan and Ramin Karimloo, who plays Nick Arnstein, will remain with the show for the next run. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Funny Girl opened on Broadway on April 24 and currently has an open-ended run. Among the accolades, the 1964 production with Barbra Streisand as Fanny <span>received eight nominations at the 18th Tony Awards.  </span> </p> <div class="art-ins mol-factbox news"> <h3 class="mol-factbox-title">LEA MICHELE HAS FACED CRITICISM FROM CASTMATES AND ‘GLEE’ FANS OVER THE YEARS</h3> <div class="ins cleared mol-factbox-body"> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-bold"><span class="mol-style-large">Lea Michele reveals she once allowed Jonathan Groff to see her genitals so she could explain the female anatomy and satisfy the gay actor’s curiosity</span></span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Lea Michele revealed earlier this year that she once let her friend and co-star Jonathan Groff see her genitals so she could explain the female anatomy to the actor, as they rehearsed love scenes for the sexually-charged musical Spring Awakening.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Michele starred with Groff, 37, who is gay, in the Broadway production 15 years ago, and in a documentary about the experience, the Glee actress is said to reveal how the pair shared a very intimate moment together.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">The HBO documentary reveals that Michele once let ‘Groff see her vagina, using a desk lamp’ to give him an ‘illustrative lesson and satisfy his curiosity in the female anatomy as a gay man with no practical knowledge of its particulars.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Their Broadway production opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre near the end of 2006, when Lea was only 20 and Jonathan 21.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">In an interview with PEOPLE Michele also spoke about how close the pair have remained as friends, and has even offered to carry his baby.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="splitLeft"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="splitRight"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">The pair had to simulate sex scenes on stage as part of the show (Pictured left in 2015, and right in 2013)</p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font"><span class="mol-style-bold"><span class="mol-style-large">Former Glee castmate Samantha Ware accused Lea Michele of making her life on set a ‘living hell’</span></span></p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Samantha Ware, the actress who accused Lea Michele two years ago of making her life on the set of Glee a ‘living hell’, appears to have slammed her former castmate landing the lead role in Funny Girl.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Though she did not name Michele, Ware appeared to be discussing her former co-star’s recent casting in several tweets posted Monday.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, im affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m Black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’d do it again,’ Ware, 30, posted.</p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Nothing Glee-ful to say: Ware took her former co-star to task in 2020 </p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Samantha’s bullying allegations against Lea first came to light in 2020, after Michele took to social media to pay tribute to George Floyd</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Samantha, who appeared as Jane Hayward on the show’s sixth season in 2015, responded to her: ‘Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?!… </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">‘Cause I’ll never forget… I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s*** in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.’</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Michele subsequently issued a public apology to Samantha and vowed to ‘be better in the future.’ </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">Speaking up: Though she did not name Michele, Ware appeared to be reacting to her recent casting in Funny Girl</p> </div> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">‘Yes, I was abused’: Samantha Ware, the actress who accused Lea Michele two years ago of making her life on the set of Glee a ‘living hell’, appears to have slammed her former castmate landing the lead role in Funny Girl; Ware pictured 2019 </p> </div> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Michele was also criticized by Glee fans when she didn’t initially speak out about the death of co-star Naya Rivera. The two famously feuded during their time on the show, it was reported. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">While many castmates posted tributes to Rivera, Michele deleted her Twitter account. </p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">Rivera passed away on July 8, 2020, at the age of 33 after she accidentally drowned during boating trip with her son Josey at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. </p> <div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img"> <div class="image-wrap"> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption">In remembrance: Several of Naya Rivera’s former castmates shared tributes to the late actress on their respective Instagram accounts on July 8, which was the second anniversary of her passing</p> </div> </div> </div> </div><!-- /wp:html -->

Lea Michele was spotted out in New York this week in her first public sighting since she was hired to replace Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

The Glee actress was already a fan favorite to play the lead role of Fanny Brice before being tapped to take over for Feldstein, who is leaving the show months earlier than originally planned after a string of bad reviews.

When she was spotted in New York this week Michele, 35, cut a fashionable figure in an open beige shirt thrown over a fluttering black dress.

Out and about: Lea Michele was spotted out in New York this week in her first public sighting since she was hired to replace Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl

Michele, who sang multiple songs from Funny Girl years ago on Glee, accented the look with a black leather handbag and matching slippers. 

She wore a serious expression as she spoke with someone on the phone while legging it across the sidewalk.

Meanwhile Funny Girl producers have denied being ‘blindsided’ by Feldstein’s Instagram announcement that she is quitting early.

It was previously claimed that Feldstein, 29, found out from Gawker that she was being replaced by Michele, and was in such a state at being booted from her ‘dream role’ that she surprised the producers by publicly declaring she was leaving the show on July 31 rather than September 25. 

Gal about town: She wore a serious expression as she spoke with someone on the phone while legging it across the sidewalk

However the producers and a representative for Feldstein told People in a joint statement: ‘The producers of Funny Girl were not blindsided by Beanie’s social post.’

They continued: ‘The producers decided to take the show in a different direction and end Beanie’s contract on September 25th, 6 months earlier than anticipated. A month after that decision, Beanie decided it was best for her to leave on July 31st. The producers were aware of and in support of her decision.’

The statement concluded: ‘The producers and Beanie worked on this together professionally, respectfully and graciously.’

‘Producers were aware’: Producers of the Broadway revival of Funny Girl have denied being ‘blindsided’ by Feldstein’s Instagram announcement that she is quitting early; she seen onstage in April

Previous reports said Feldstein was upset when she discovered that she had been ousted from Funny Girl after critics panned her performance and Lea Michele was brought in as her replacement.

Feldstein, who played the lead role of Fanny Brice, was ‘basically fired’ from the show, an inside source told The Daily Beast, before abruptly quitting publicly on social media on Sunday. 

Sources said the actress had learned about her impending departure when Gawker reported on June 30 that Michele would be taking over her role. 

Claims: It was previously claimed that Feldstein, 29, found out from Gawker that she was being replaced by Lea Michele (pictured) after a string of bad reviews

Feldstein, who was ‘upset’ by the article, according to the insider, took to Instagram on Sunday and announced that she would be leaving the show on July 31 instead of September 25. 

‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,’ Feldstein wrote. 

Her replacement, Glee alum Lea Michele, 35, will be stepping into the role on September 6 and tickets for her shows are already sky high – topping out at $2,500.

Casting changes: Feldstein announced on Sunday that she would be leaving the show on July 31 instead of September 25. A day later, Lea Michele confirmed she would be in the role

Lifelong dream: ‘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 posted for her roughly 600,000 followers

Critics: Beanie Feldstein flops in lead role of Fanny Brice in Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’ 

Adam Feldman, Time Out New York:

Feldstein’s Fanny seems very young—in one early scene, as her neighbors deride her looks (‘If a girl isn’t pretty like a Miss Atlantic City, all she gets from life is pity and a pat’), she sits on the floor like a child—so it feels almost weird to review her, like reviewing your cousin’s performance in her high-school show. But it’s hard to keep rooting for her as the show goes on; what is meant to read as chutzpah plays uncomfortably close to entitlement. 

Jesse Green, New York Times:

You root for her to raise the roof, but she only bumps against it a little. Her voice, though solid and sweet and clear, is not well suited to the music, and you feel her working as hard as she can to power through the gap. But working hard at what should be naturally extraordinary is not in Fanny’s DNA.

 Frank Rizzo, Variety:

Feldstein’s Fanny is a wide-eyed woman-child, at turns stubborn, awkward and silly. Knowingly precocious, Feldstein relies on broad face-making rather than a more nuanced comic skillset. Yes, though Brice herself could be soulful in song, she was not the subtlest performer either — one of Fanny’s trademark comic characters, after all, was Baby Snooks. But that doesn’t mean this bio-show has to reflect a child’s version of adulthood.

Helen Shaw, Vulture:

But in song after song, Feldstein’s voice lets her down. Piercing and unpleasant when it gets any higher than her chest, fading and pitchy when it descends even a few steps, it’s simply not a sound you expect to hear on Broadway. 

Peter Marks, The Washington Post:

While, for instance, you believed outright that Streisand was a star, with Feldstein, your foremost belief is that she believes she’s a star. It’s a distinction with a difference, in that, with this latest Fanny Brice, that powerhouse illusion at times requires more cooperative effort from the audience.

A senior show source told The Daily Beast that Michele — who shares an agent with Feldstein — signed on to play Brice in June ‘a week and a half’ after this year’s Tony Awards. The highly anticipated Funny Girl revival was nominated for just one award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical, at this year’s ceremony.

Later that month, Gawker reported that Michele was set to take over the role — before the show, or its current star, had officially announced the swap.

Feldstein was ‘upset’ by the article, and show producers were subsequently barred from from talking to the actress directly, instead being told to go through her representatives, the Beast reports.

David Kalodner, of top agency WME’s theater department, has not responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment regarding the matter. 

Kalodner is also an agent for big names including Bernadette Peters, Chloe Sevigny, Hugh Jackman, Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Martin Short, Tom Hiddleston, Anjelica Huston, and many others.

On Monday, Michele confirmed the casting news with a post to her Instagram page, adding a Funny Girl marquee poster of herself and Tovah Feldshuh, who is taking over the role of Fanny’s mother Mrs. Rose Brice from Jane Lynch, another Glee alum. 

‘A dream come true is an understatement,’ the New Year’s Eve star gushed in the caption of her post.

She continued, ‘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. @funnygirlbwy #FUNNYGIRL.’ 

The actress sang one of ‘Funny Girl’s iconic tunes, ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade,’ in the first season of ‘Glee.’ She also performed the same song at the 2010 Tony Awards. 

Ticket sales to see the former ‘Glee’ star on stage have already skyrocketed at the box office, according to SeatGeek, that seats at the August Wilson theater are going for $500 to $2,500.

These prices, which do not include additional $100 and $500 service fees, are for shows in September and beyond, when Michele will be in the leading role. 

Tickets for shows in July and August, when Feldstein and her understudy are performing, are going for just $69 and weekday shows at $49. 

Michele’s announcement comes a day after Feldstein announced on Instagram that she will be departing the show earlier than expected.  

The 29-year-old actress posted a text message about portraying Fanny after announcing last month that she would be leaving the role in September — a date that was unceremoniously moved up soon after.

‘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 posted for her roughly 600,000 followers.

‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,’ she added.

‘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,’ Beanie continued.  

She concluded: ‘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 you continue to join them on Henry Street after I depart on July 31st.’

Sources told Page Six that Feldstein had a yearlong contract and would be in the role until next April, but the show posted on social media in June: ’14 weeks left to see Beanie Feldstein & Jane Lynch now through September 25th.’

New role: Lea Michele revealed that she is set to replace Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl starting on September 6

It was announced in August 2021 that Beanie would star as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

The Booksmart actress shared the news on her Instagram page and received a congratulatory comment from Michele who wrote, ‘Yes! YOU are the greatest star! This is going to be epic!!!!’  

The Scream Queens star’s positive reaction surprised fans, who thought she may have been disappointed to be passed over for the role as she has long expressed interest in playing Fanny. 

Feldstein made her debut at the August Wilson Theatre in April to mixed reviews from critics. 

Broadway revival: The 29-year-old actress is shown as Fanny Brice on opening night of Funny Girl on Broadway in April at the August Wilson Theatre

The actress explained, ‘Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated.’ Seen in 2022

In June, the production announced that she and Jane would be leaving the show on September 25. 

Feldshuh, 73, will now replace the 61-year-old Role Models star on the earlier than expected date of September 6.

Per Variety, Feldstein’s current stand-in Julie Benko will perform as Fanny from August 2 through September 4 as well as every Thursday beginning on September 8th.

Back in June, Showbiz 411 reported that producers were eying Lea as a potential replacement for Feldstein. 

Funny Girl is based on the life and career of Broadway star, film actress, and comedian Fanny Brice, featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein.

More goodbyes: Along with Feldstein, it was also announced back in June that actress Jane Lynch is stepping down from her role as Mrs. Rose Brice

Stepping in: Feldshuh, 73, will now replace the 61-year-old Role Models star on the earlier than expected date of September 6. Seen in February 2022

Michele had been rumored to be in the running for the role initially after performing many of the show’s songs during her time on Glee from 2009 to 2015.

Over the course of the hit musical series’ six season run, Michele’s character Rachel Berry sang some of Fanny’s most well-known numbers including Don’t Rain on My Parade, My Man, I’m the Greatest Star and People.

In season five, Rachel drops out of college after landing her dream role as Fanny in a Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

During a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Lea said that she ‘really hoped’ to play Fanny one day.

Prepared: Michele had been rumored to be in the running for the role initially after performing many of the show’s songs during her time on Glee from 2009 to 2015

Classic: Among the accolades, the 1964 production with Barbra Streisand as Fanny received eight nominations at the 18th Tony Awards

‘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,’ she said. ‘But I feel really ready to do it now, so maybe we could do it soon.’

In joining the cast of Funny Girl, Michele will reunite with director Michael Mayer who helmed her first lead role in Spring Awakening. 

Actors Jared Grimes, who plays Eddie Ryan and Ramin Karimloo, who plays Nick Arnstein, will remain with the show for the next run. 

Funny Girl opened on Broadway on April 24 and currently has an open-ended run. Among the accolades, the 1964 production with Barbra Streisand as Fanny received eight nominations at the 18th Tony Awards.   

LEA MICHELE HAS FACED CRITICISM FROM CASTMATES AND ‘GLEE’ FANS OVER THE YEARS

Lea Michele reveals she once allowed Jonathan Groff to see her genitals so she could explain the female anatomy and satisfy the gay actor’s curiosity

Lea Michele revealed earlier this year that she once let her friend and co-star Jonathan Groff see her genitals so she could explain the female anatomy to the actor, as they rehearsed love scenes for the sexually-charged musical Spring Awakening.

Michele starred with Groff, 37, who is gay, in the Broadway production 15 years ago, and in a documentary about the experience, the Glee actress is said to reveal how the pair shared a very intimate moment together.

The HBO documentary reveals that Michele once let ‘Groff see her vagina, using a desk lamp’ to give him an ‘illustrative lesson and satisfy his curiosity in the female anatomy as a gay man with no practical knowledge of its particulars.’

Their Broadway production opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre near the end of 2006, when Lea was only 20 and Jonathan 21.

In an interview with PEOPLE Michele also spoke about how close the pair have remained as friends, and has even offered to carry his baby.

The pair had to simulate sex scenes on stage as part of the show (Pictured left in 2015, and right in 2013)

Former Glee castmate Samantha Ware accused Lea Michele of making her life on set a ‘living hell’

Samantha Ware, the actress who accused Lea Michele two years ago of making her life on the set of Glee a ‘living hell’, appears to have slammed her former castmate landing the lead role in Funny Girl.

Though she did not name Michele, Ware appeared to be discussing her former co-star’s recent casting in several tweets posted Monday.

‘Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, im affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m Black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’d do it again,’ Ware, 30, posted.

Nothing Glee-ful to say: Ware took her former co-star to task in 2020 

Samantha’s bullying allegations against Lea first came to light in 2020, after Michele took to social media to pay tribute to George Floyd

Samantha, who appeared as Jane Hayward on the show’s sixth season in 2015, responded to her: ‘Remember when you made my first television gig a living hell?!?!… 

‘Cause I’ll never forget… I believe you told everyone that if you had the opportunity you would ‘s*** in my wig!’ amongst other traumatic microaggressions that made me question a career in Hollywood.’

Michele subsequently issued a public apology to Samantha and vowed to ‘be better in the future.’ 

Speaking up: Though she did not name Michele, Ware appeared to be reacting to her recent casting in Funny Girl

‘Yes, I was abused’: Samantha Ware, the actress who accused Lea Michele two years ago of making her life on the set of Glee a ‘living hell’, appears to have slammed her former castmate landing the lead role in Funny Girl; Ware pictured 2019 

Michele was also criticized by Glee fans when she didn’t initially speak out about the death of co-star Naya Rivera. The two famously feuded during their time on the show, it was reported. 

While many castmates posted tributes to Rivera, Michele deleted her Twitter account. 

Rivera passed away on July 8, 2020, at the age of 33 after she accidentally drowned during boating trip with her son Josey at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. 

In remembrance: Several of Naya Rivera’s former castmates shared tributes to the late actress on their respective Instagram accounts on July 8, which was the second anniversary of her passing

By