The actress — who is replacing Beanie Feldstein in the Broadway musical — will make her debut as Fanny Brice on September 6.
The curtain at the August Wilson Theatre will soon rise for Lea Michele when she takes the stage in Broadway’s “Funny Girl” — and the production has released the first look at the actress taking on the lead role of Fanny Brice.
On Friday, the official “Funny Girl” Twitter account dropped a 30-second, black-and-white promo that featured footage of Michele rehearsing for her debut, including clips of the “Glee” alum singing on stage, dancing and learning choreography.
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The short teaser also included Michele showing off her pipes, with the star belting out part of “I’m the Greatest Star,” a song from the musical.
“Who is the pip with pizzazz?/ Who is all ginger and jazz?/ Who is as glamorous as?” Michele’s voice can be heard singing in the clip. “Who’s an American beauty rose/ With an American beauty nose/ And 10 American beauty toes?/ Hey Mr. Ziegfeld, here I am.”
“A star returns,” the promo read in the beginning. The teaser later added, “Hello, Gorgeous. Hello, Lea.”
“The role of a lifetime,” the Twitter account captioned the video, below. “Lea Michele joins the cast of FUNNY GIRL as Fanny Brice beginning September 6. See you at the August Wilson!”
Last month, it was announced that Michele would be replacing Beanie Feldstein in the lead role of Fanny Brice. Following the announcement, Michele expressed her excitement over the news in an Instagram post.
The role of a lifetime. Lea Michele joins the cast of FUNNY GIRL as Fanny Brice beginning September 6. See you at the August Wilson! pic.twitter.com/nQatXGOzee
— Funny Girl on Broadway (@FunnyGirlBwy) August 19, 2022
@FunnyGirlBwy
“A dream come true is an understatement,” she wrote on July 11. “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.”
The news came just one day after Feldstein revealed on Instagram that she’d be departing “Funny Girl” earlier than expected. The “Lady Bird” actress was originally set to star in the show until September 25.
In her post, Feldstein said she’ll be leaving “Funny Girl” at the end of the month, and shared that 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.”
“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.
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Feldstein’s last performance was on July 31, before standby Julie Benko stepped in. Benko has been starring as Fanny Brice and will continue to do so until Michele takes over on September 6.
Meanwhile, Michele’s former “Glee” co-star, Jane Lynch, like Feldstein, was originally set to star in “Funny Girl” until late September. Lynch — who starred alongside Feldstein in the revival as Mrs. Brice, Fanny’s mother — departed the show on August 14. Her exit was moved up from September 4 because of a planned vacation.
Standby Liz McCartney has been filling in since August 16 and will continue to do so until Tovah Feldshuh takes over the role on Michele’s first night.
Lynch has asserted that Michele joining the show didn’t contribute to her early departure. While speaking with Playbill earlier this month, the actress said, “It has nothing to do with not wanting to see Lea. I text with Lea. She and I are fine. I’m thrilled for her. I love working with Julie. I loved working with Beanie. There’s no drama here. None.”
