Beanie Feldstein bids ‘Funny Girl’ goodbye as Lea Michele straps on her tap shoes
Beanie Feldstein’s truncated time as the star of “Funny Girl” has finally come to an end.
The “Booksmart” star concluded her rocky Broadway tenure on Sunday and memorialized her roller coaster of a journey in an Instagram post that channeled Joni Mitchell.
“But now it’s just another show and you leave ‘em laughing when you go,” Feldstein captioned her photos, quoting the singer’s “Both Sides, Now.”
The first Broadway revival of ‘Funny Girl’ reveals why it’s taken so long to return.
The actor’s run as Fanny Brice began in April and had no shortage of drama. The “Impeachment: American Crime Story” actor was initially set to play the lead role until Sept. 25, but decided to depart the production nearly two months early.
“Once the production decided to take the show in a different direction, I made the extremely difficult decision to step away sooner than anticipated,” Feldstein said in July.
Before her final show, Feldstein also had to postpone a handful of shows. In June, she canceled a few gigs after contracting COVID-19. A month later, Feldstein dropped out of weekend shows to deal with a bout of tonsillitis.
Capping a week of ‘Funny Girl’ drama, star Beanie Feldstein has now canceled this weekend’s shows after contracting tonsillitis.
With Feldstein officially done with the Broadway production, Lea Michele is now gearing up to take over the role. In July, the production announced that the “Glee” star would make her debut as Brice starting on Sept. 6. Julie Benko, who filled in for Feldstein during her missed shows, will play the title role in the meantime.
Less than a day after the curtains closed on Feldstein, Michele teased fans with her preparations for the part.
On Monday morning, Michele shared a video of her practicing the musical’s tap-dance numbers. The black-and-white video, posted on her Instagram stories, saw Michele spinning and saluting in a studio with choreographers Ayodele Casel and Dre Torres.
‘Glee’ actor Lea Michele will star in ‘Funny Girl’ on Broadway. The ‘different direction’ pushed Beanie Feldstein to exit two months earlier than expected.
“The great honor of having these two geniuses teach me how to tap for @funnygirlbway has been so unbelievably incredible and inspiring!,” Michele captioned a photo with her instructors.
The September debut will mark Michele’s first Broadway appearance as Fanny Brice, but the actor previously took on the show’s beloved tunes — such as “Don’t Rain on My Parade” — in “Glee” as Rachel Berry.
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