Lea Michele replaces Beanie Feldstein in Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’

Maddii Jul 12, 2022, 1:39 AM EDT

Lea Michele is Broadway’s next Funny Girl. Ella replacing Beanie Feldstein in the coveted role of Fanny Brice, as predicted or at least widely suspected. Jane Lynch will leave the production and Tovah Feldshuh will take on the role of Mrs. Brice.

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Will Beanie Feldstein replace Lea Michele?

The cast of Funny Girl will be joined by Lea Michele, best known for her work on Glee and Spring Awakening on Broadway, and Feldshuh (Yentl, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), beginning September 6 at the August Wilson Theater. Both Tony nominee Jared Grimes and Ramin Karimloo will continue to play Eddie Ryan and Nick Arnstein, respectively. The casting was revealed today by the producers.

What did Lea Michele post on Instagram?

A dream come true is to put it mildly, Lea Michele posted on Instagram. “I feel beyond blessed to be a part of this incredible cast and production and to make my Broadway stage debut as Fanny Brice. On September 6, see you. (See below to see Lea Michele perform Funny Girl’s “People” on Glee.) Julie Benko, Feldstein’s replacement, will play the title role on Thursdays beginning September 8 and Tuesday, August 2 through Sunday, September 4, respectively.

Beanie Feldstein was supposed to leave at the end of September.

Lynch will continue to play Mrs. Brice until September 4, leaving her role earlier than planned. She was initially scheduled to leave at the end of September, but now she is leaving with Feldstein, leaving no time for her former Glee co-star Michele to show up. Feldstein unexpectedly announced last night that she would be leaving the show on July 31, two months before her scheduled departure date of September 25, which was also before her scheduled year-end date. Feldstein has missed quite a few concerts recently, at least in part due to Covid. Feldstein said he made the decision to step down in late July after “the production chose to take the show down a different path” in an Instagram post last night. She did not explain the new direction further and the producers have not commented.