“Hello Gorgeous…”

Funny Girl premiered on Broadway on March 26, 1964, with beloved actress/performer, Barbra Streisand as the “funny girl” herself. Funny Girl had a solid run but then closed in July of 1967. However, late last year it was announced that the beloved musical was going to be revived staring Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice alongside former Glee star, Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice.

The revival opened back up on Broadway at the August Wilson Theater on April 24, 2022. Rumors speculated throughout the few months Feldstein was performing that she was thinking about leaving the production. During her original run, Beanie was in quarantine once or twice due to COVID and bronchitis and her understudy, Julie Benko took on the role during that time. On June 15, 2022, she confirmed the rumor of her departure and that her last show as Fanny Brice would be September 25, 2022. Beanie continued performing that month and on July 10, 2022, she announced that she noticed that the production was taking the show in a different direction than she originally thought. She confirmed her departure was being changed to July 31, 2022 instead. After her last show, understudy Julie Benko has been taking on the role until September 6, 2022. 

A few days before Feldstein announced her departure, rumors spiked in the media that former Glee star, Lea Michele, was going to be Beanie’s replacement. Michele’s former co star, Jane Lynch, also announced alongside Feldstein that her last show would be September 6, 2022. Following the rumors about Michele’s casting, it did not go unnoticed by the Funny Girl production team. The crew took to Instagram to tease an announcement they had about casting. The next day, it was confirmed that Lea Michele will begin shows as Fanny Brice on September 6, 2022. Alongside that, it was revealed that Tony Award nominee, Tovah Feldshuh, would be Jane Lynch’s replacement as Mrs. Brice. Lea arrived in New York City on July 30, 2022, and began rehearsals right away. It has yet to be revealed how long her run will be.