Hey, Mr. Arnstein, here she is! Lea Michele is officially going to play Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl . The Glee alum announced the news on Monday with an Instagram post that read, “A dream come true is an understatement.”
“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,” she added.
Lea, 35, will be replacing Beanie Feldstein, who announced on Sunday that she will be leaving the show early. “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,” Beanie penned on July 10.
“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. “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.”
Lea famously belted “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” along with other songs from Funny Girl on her hit TV series Glee. Her character on the show, Rachel Berry, later landed the role of Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of the musical.
The actress previously expressed interest in the role after Ryan Murphy purchased the rights to Funny Girl. During a 2017 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Lea told a caller, “I hope so. I really hope so.”
“We were thinking of doing it right after Glee,” she shared. “I did a lot of the songs from Funny Girl on Glee so it felt like a little soon. But I feel really ready to do it now so maybe we can do it soon.”
