Lea Michele replaces Beanie Feldstein in Broadway's Funny Girl


Lea Michele has officially snagged her dream role.
The actress has been cast as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl on Broadway, replacing Beanie Feldstein. She'll join the musical beginning Sept. 6, with Tovah Feldshuh also taking over the role of Mrs. Brice from Jane Lynch.
Michele has long been open about her interest in starring in Funny Girl, so much so that when Feldstein was cast in the new Broadway revival instead, Michele's name began trending on Twitter. There was even a storyline on Glee in which Michele's character, Rachel Berry, is cast in Funny Girl on Broadway, and she performed many of the songs during the series.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When the Funny Girl revival opened in April, Feldstein's performance received mixed reviews, quickly prompting speculation that Michele could replace her. "In song after song, Feldstein's voice lets her down," Vulture said. By June, it was announced that Feldstein would leave the show in September.
But on Sunday, Feldstein revealed she would instead leave on July 31st, two months earlier than expected. The Booksmart star said she made the "extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated" after "the production decided to take the show in a different direction," though further details weren't given.
"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 said.
Michele previously called Feldstein an "incredible choice" for the role.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia